Black-and-White Thinking: Cognitive Distortion #1

To say that I have taken a long time to resume my post writing would be an understatement. Has it been over half a year since my last online publication. So as to redress my decline in posts, I will start writing more often. Needless to say that the motivation I have towards keeping this blog alive has not been the same this year as it has been in previous ones. Without further ado, I will proceed with the topic for today: "Dichotomous thinking"

Before we start nonetheless, it would be wise to understand what a dichotomy is first. According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary a dichotomy is: "The difference between two completely opposite ideas or things." Case in point, a dichotomy between what people say and what they do.  Back to our main point, Dichotomous thinking, otherwise known as "Black and White thinking" refers to the following: Thinking in extremes or absolutes regarding everyday situations. For instance, Mary is having a job interview for a sales rep position she wants to take at a local mall. Everything seems to be fine. However, she notices that she forgot to mention one of the places where she had worked before when asked about her experience. Even though the aforesaid is a minor detail, she takes it to heart and believes her potential employer might take note of this. Mary decides to leave in the middle of the interview and excuses herself. Not only did she lose the opportunity to find a new job, she also limited herself by assuming a minor slip would affect her overall assessment. 

This sort of behavior can have serious repercussions in a person's personal and professional development. Thus, the need to seek help from a mental health specialist when you feel your life is getting out of control due to this condition. Having weekly therapy sessions and making use of cognitive behavioral therapy should be enough to tackle this issue. Our mind is incredibly powerful. It can either lift us up or it can bring us down. It all depends on how much we take care of our emotional and mental health. In most cases, not having an "in-between" is not good whatsoever. To illustrate my point, let us consider the following situation: If a person commits a crime such as a robbery, they should be punished. There is not an "in the middle". On the other hand, what if a teacher has a student who does not show up for the final exam of the semester owing to the death of a loved one? Should he fail such student? Or should the school and he give the student another chance to take the test when she recovers emotionally?

Lastly, I would say that we all need help at some point. It does not always work to have a conversation with a relative or friend to deal with a condition such as "All or nothing reasoning". Oftentimes it takes the help of a therapist to put us back on track. Having the right mindset can be a great asset towards the pursuit of our ultimate goal. Only by keeping both our mind and body working at 100%, will we be able to realize our goals.  I will leave by quoting Obi-Wan from Star Wars: "Only a Sith deals in Absolutes."

Sources:

- Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel

- Dichotomous Thinking definition | Psychology Glossary | alleydog.com

- Cambridge Dictionary | English Dictionary, Translations & Thesaurus

Why Do Stupid People Think They're Smart? The Dunning Kruger Effect (ani...

It has been about 5 months since my last post. To be quite honest, at some point I was considering to delete this blog. Mainluy due to the fact that I do not make any profit whatsoever out of this. My only reward out of this page is the satisfaction of the few readers I have. Apart from what I learn myself by writing this posts. The topic for today has to do with some people overstimating their intellectual skills. In the following, I will tackle to "The Dunning Kruger Effect" to the best of my ability.

Rumor has it that at some point at 1995, a man decided to rob a bank in Pitsburg, Penssylvania by himself. He was convinced that since he had smeared his face with lemon juice, he would not get recognized by the security cameras. His reasoning was that since this juice was one of the compotents used to make invisible ink, his idea would work. Be that as it may, he was sadly mistaken. Not only did he not succeed in his endeavor, he was also shown the footage of the robbery. Despite the proof, he was quite dazzled to realize his plan had failed. 

This peculiar case inspired Cornel University psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger to research this phenomenon in depth. He conducted a study with two groups of undergraduate students in different categories. The categories taken into account were: grammatical writing, logical reasoning, and sense of humor. After all the participants had taken the test, they were asked how well they thought they had scored. The group with the lowest score overstimated their results by a large margin.  As opposed to the other group who had performed better than they anticipated. The first group ended up obtaining a low score. The second on the other hand overperformed. The Dunning Kruger Effect posits that low ability people wronly assume to have better skills at a particular discipline than they actually do.

In summary, I would say that the more we know about a subject, the more we realize how much we still have to learn. It is always highly recommed to have unbiased feedback from peers and teachers. As well keeping track of our progress. 

Sources:

- Better Than Yesterday YouTube Channel.                                                                                        - Dunning-Kruger Effect | Psychology Today

Better Than Yesterday

The Pygmalion Effect

Needless to say it has been over a month since my last post. Thus, I felt the necessity to make new one.

I am beyond sure I have already touched on "The Pygmalion Effect". Given that is such a fascinating topic. Nonetheless, it can be expanded upon and explored further. In the following, I will tackle the aforesaid. As well as providing real life examples and experiences.

The Pygmalion Effect can be defined by the phrase: "Higher expectations lead to higher performance".    In other words, our beliefs about a person can influence our actions towards them. Hence, altering the person's belief in themselves. Which in turn can lead to them either succeeding or failing in their endeavors. Case in point, a father has the preconceived notion that his older son is naturally more intellectually gifted than his younger one. Even though not only have they the exact same IQ results, but are only a year apart in age. Consequently, the father spends most of his money on his favorite son. He enrolls him in several language learning lessons, music lessons, etc. He has the best tutors in town assist him whenever he is struggling with a subject matter at school. His younger son however, only attends his regular lessons at school and performs at an average level. Obviously the older son is going to feel superior than his brother. Be that is it may, it was the father's unfair intervention what altered their performance. As opposed to their natural talents.

The aforementioned concept can tie in with intrinsic motivation. Which is an empowering tool especially in adults. Most of us are still susceptible to what other people in authority perceive or believe about us. If however, despite our best efforts we fail to live up to their expectations, we must press on. For instance, feedback can only be useful in the teaching profession if educators remain as objective as possible. Notwithstanding, that is not always the case. Because of the preconceived idea a teacher might have of a student, he can draw the wrong conclusions. As a result, the need for us to remain calm and speak out only if we must. Our opinion about ourselves should outweigh any other. Oftentimes, it is ourselves who are our best judges. We can not only notice, but improve on mistakes me make quite efficiently. Only constructive criticism must be taken into account.

In summary, we can all agree that other people's perception of ourselves can ultimately influence our behavior. Only if we let that happen however. As soon as we become emotionally mature in all aspects, we can fight those preconceptions. I could name multiple examples of highly successful people who faced countless rejections. Yet, they had the inner strength to keep going and prove their detractors wrong. The Pygmalion effect parallels the myth it was based on. In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a prince of Cyprus who was seeking the perfect wife. He made an ivory statue of the perfect woman he envisioned. The prince pleaded with Goddess Venus to bring his creation to life. She granted his wish. Pygmalion married the woman of his dreams. It only worked out in the end because she possessed all the qualities he was expecting for.

Sources:

- Sprouts YouTube Channel.

- Personal experience.

- https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-pygmalion-effect.htm

Rev. Al: George Floyd Funeral 'Was Very, Very Emotional' | Morning Joe |...