This is a link from the article: How Cults Use Brainwashing and Mind Control Techniques to Achieve Indoctrination (Part 1)
Source: 5 Ways Black and White Thinking Poisons Your Perspective | by Reina Gattuso | talkspace.com
Excerpt:
We all think of the world in black and white terms at times. From refusing to see the flaws in our loved ones, to being overly hard on ourselves, the human brain’s tendency to understand the world in either/or terms has a profound effect on our relationships.
The official psychological term for black and white thinking is “splitting.”
In everyday settings, it can simply hold us back from experiencing some of the richness of our lives and relationships.
Does this line of thinking sound like yours? If it does, here are some ways black and white thinking may be holding you back:
1. Black and white thinking can negatively impact your relationships - in the context of otherwise healthy relationships, black and white thinking can impact your comfort with each other and prevent a deeper bond based on acceptance. In family relationships and friendships too, quickly changing from thinking a loved one is perfect to feeling they’re awful can erode intimacy and trust. By seeing your loved one as either all good or all bad, you’re not letting yourself see them for what they are: a normal, fallible human just like you.
2. It can hurt your self-image - Black and white thinking can make you hypersensitive to others’ opinions and make it difficult to accept criticism without deep insecurity. That can prevent you from genuine growth and self-compassion.
3. It can hold you back from success - Like all aspects of life, work will have good days and bad days, and many days that are somewhere in between. But if you think in black and white terms, it’s easy to internalize every failure and have an unrealistic expectation of every success. When we acknowledge that our professional lives, like every other aspect of life, are complex and may have pluses and minuses, we enable ourselves to learn and grow toward success.
4. It can literally change how you feel - According to psychological research, thinking in binary terms can actually change the way we perceive the world, effectively conditioning us to miss nuance. In a 2016 study, Pomona college researchers found that participants’ perceptions of how someone was feeling changed depending on whether they were given black and white, or more fluid categories, to understand emotion. By conditioning you to see things in more binary terms, black and white thinking can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, making it even harder to perceive nuance.
5. It can signal a deeper problem - While everyone experiences black and white thinking to some extent, extreme black and white thinking can also be a symptom of mental illness. People with Borderline Personality Disorder, for example, experience intense black and white thinking, which can in turn affect their perceptions of their relationships with others and with themselves.
How can I leave Black and White Thinking Behind?
A simple exercise involves thinking of binary or extreme words you might use to describe a person, relationship, or situation (bad/good; ugly/beautiful) and then imagine more nuanced ways to describe situations. It can also help to actively cultivate empathy.
Balanced Thinking Means a Richer Life
Black and white thinking can give us a measure of security. After all, who doesn’t want to think they have all the answers? But it can also cut us off from the complexity and richness of life.
Source: 5 Ways Black and White Thinking Poisons Your Perspective | by Reina Gattuso | talkspace.com
Excerpt:
We all think of the world in black and white terms at times. From refusing to see the flaws in our loved ones, to being overly hard on ourselves, the human brain’s tendency to understand the world in either/or terms has a profound effect on our relationships.
The official psychological term for black and white thinking is “splitting.”
In everyday settings, it can simply hold us back from experiencing some of the richness of our lives and relationships.
Does this line of thinking sound like yours? If it does, here are some ways black and white thinking may be holding you back:
1. Black and white thinking can negatively impact your relationships - in the context of otherwise healthy relationships, black and white thinking can impact your comfort with each other and prevent a deeper bond based on acceptance. In family relationships and friendships too, quickly changing from thinking a loved one is perfect to feeling they’re awful can erode intimacy and trust. By seeing your loved one as either all good or all bad, you’re not letting yourself see them for what they are: a normal, fallible human just like you.
2. It can hurt your self-image - Black and white thinking can make you hypersensitive to others’ opinions and make it difficult to accept criticism without deep insecurity. That can prevent you from genuine growth and self-compassion.
3. It can hold you back from success - Like all aspects of life, work will have good days and bad days, and many days that are somewhere in between. But if you think in black and white terms, it’s easy to internalize every failure and have an unrealistic expectation of every success. When we acknowledge that our professional lives, like every other aspect of life, are complex and may have pluses and minuses, we enable ourselves to learn and grow toward success.
4. It can literally change how you feel - According to psychological research, thinking in binary terms can actually change the way we perceive the world, effectively conditioning us to miss nuance. In a 2016 study, Pomona college researchers found that participants’ perceptions of how someone was feeling changed depending on whether they were given black and white, or more fluid categories, to understand emotion. By conditioning you to see things in more binary terms, black and white thinking can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, making it even harder to perceive nuance.
5. It can signal a deeper problem - While everyone experiences black and white thinking to some extent, extreme black and white thinking can also be a symptom of mental illness. People with Borderline Personality Disorder, for example, experience intense black and white thinking, which can in turn affect their perceptions of their relationships with others and with themselves.
How can I leave Black and White Thinking Behind?
A simple exercise involves thinking of binary or extreme words you might use to describe a person, relationship, or situation (bad/good; ugly/beautiful) and then imagine more nuanced ways to describe situations. It can also help to actively cultivate empathy.
Balanced Thinking Means a Richer Life
Black and white thinking can give us a measure of security. After all, who doesn’t want to think they have all the answers? But it can also cut us off from the complexity and richness of life.
