Binary, Or Black And White Thinking...

[mamachick]

I agree with Solara about how polarized thinking is directed as self. I also think it comes out in judgements toward others as well. We all have judgements about what is good and bad based on our values and personal experiences. I think because of that, we can all have polarized thinking in one specific area for a period of time until it is resolved within ourselves as well.

EX; I was assaulted by a over zelous police officer, have worked with many women abused by police in their personal relationship. Therefore, for awhile, I took on a very biased attitude about officers in general until I worked through it.

I think when they are speaking of people who have black and white thinking are less intellegent, they are referring to those who are less curious to ask the right questions to seek out all sides of a situation, or seek many alternatives. I know people who are told one side of the story and repeat it as the gospel without seeking further information. EX; A lady at McDonalds spilled her coffee and was awarded millions of dollars. People can sue for anything and get large sums of money. The justice system is unfair. (without seeking why a jury awarded this sum, without the whole story)

Then there are those with trauma who have been conditioned to jump to conclusions, or black and white thinking because of the chronic stress on their lives. This may come out in not being able to see the many gray areas and result in faulty thinking patterns that can lead impulsiveness and to poor decision making. EX; I strongly suspect my husband has cheated on me. Am I going to let him walk all over me or divorce him? (not considering all the options or gray areas-driven by emotions)

As an overstressed person, I can see how my thoughts have been affected by my emotions. This is reversible. Thoughts guide emotions, but emotions can also control thoughts.

 

[elisabeth]

Absolutely, we make decisions based on our own personal experiences. Emotions can override our thinking. The stronger the emotion the harder to maintain perspective. We all get carried away at some point or another. I think the trick is being able to step out of the box. We have to try and put ourselves in the shoes of others to understand their way of thinking.

 

[Valentino]

Splitting is another psychological term related to black and white thinking, it's often described as splitting back and forth between seeing others as idealized or devalued.

Splitting (also called all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism used by many people. The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., an individual's actions and motivations are all good or all bad with no middle ground.)
...
Splitting creates instability in relationships because one person can be viewed as either personified virtue or personified vice at different times, depending on whether he or she gratifies the subject's needs or frustrates them. This along with similar oscillations in the experience and appraisal of the self lead to chaotic and unstable relationship patterns, identity diffusion, and mood swings. The therapeutic process can be greatly impeded by these oscillations, because the therapist too can become seen as all good or all bad. To attempt to overcome the negative effects on treatment outcome, constant interpretations by the therapist are needed.

-- from wikipedia

While splitting is most commonly used to refer to borderline and narcissistic personality disorder, I think it might also be quite common to codependents and trauma survivors. When the nervous system gets overwhelmed, we very easily fall back into more primitive survival strategies; of which splitting is very common. When we are in immediate danger, we don't need to see the good aspects of the person who's attacking us, that wastes valuable time and focus, we need to think of them as ALL BAD, and our actions for survival as ALL GOOD. Otherwise we significantly lower our chances of survival.

The problem is when we start using splitting in regular life experiences or interactions which are far from life or death situations.

 

[Philippa]

It kind of sounds like he attacked your thinking to put you on the defensive because he couldn't admit you had a point.

I think he needs a life coach.

That was my exact feelings as well. After his initial reply I felt like I'd pissed him off, and that was my intuition. When I asked him if I did piss him off he said something about how he can come across as having a negative reaction at the start of new arguments, but that he was brought up in a wealthy school on the debating team, and took to debates with zeal and encouraged them whenever possible.

I told him in my final reply that I am not much of a debater and find that debaters tend to hold more value in wanting to be 'right' all the time, which isn't my thing. It's more of an ego stroke and mental masturbation. I prefer open discussion where different perspectives can be thrown out there and learned from.

I haven't read his reply, and unsubscribed to his channel. I liked him a lot and looked forward to his vids but this reaction just turned me off big time. Deep down he knows I have a point, but as you say, he just can't bring himself to admit it...which is pretty childish.

Why turn it into an attack on my character, and invent this elaborate behaviour that I was supposedly presenting just to avoid saying "Hmmm, you may be right about that situation." or even "I don't think so, but interesting input, thanks."?

What a dick!

I pointed out every single assumption he made, and that would have made him look like a right asshole to his followers...though I'm sure they'd take his side, even if the reality is right in front of them.