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Mar 07, 2017 at 04:07 AM
#1
So ive heard people talk about this but what does it mean? Black and white thinking? Ive thought a lot about it and I want to know what it is. Could you give some examples? I mean I think I understand but no one has really explained it well enough for me. I have an idea but I still have questions. Also im not the best at explaining my thoughts. There's more I want to say but I don't kniw how. At least not right now.
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Mar 07, 2017 at 09:12 AM
#2
Black and White thinking is one of the Common 10 Cognitive Thinking Problems. Think 'all or nothing'. It is a failure or avoidance of thinking in between. Something will turn out either extremely positive or else be disastrous. People will accept me perfectly or think ill of me. Nothing will have a positive outcome. You are either responsibility free or totally to blame.
This extreme thinking affects our choices and behaviours. I won't bother to find work because I will fail anyway. An example of 'grey' thinking would be to acknowledge I am probably not going to perform at an ultra-high level right off but it is more likely I will perform proficiently. |
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 DechanDawa, Gus1234U
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Mar 07, 2017 at 09:15 AM
#3
Beware of words like never and always.
__________________ "And don't say it hasn't been a little slice of heaven, 'cause it hasn't!" . About Me--T |
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Mar 07, 2017 at 06:04 PM
#4
I have a big problem with this, to be honest.
It's really most aptly summed up like the others mentioned as all or nothing. If I don't get 100% on this paper, I failed it. If I don't get a 5 (out of a 5 point evaluation scale) I'm a horrible employee. If I'm not 15 minutes early, I'm late. If I'm not thin, I'm fat. Does that help clear it up a little? |
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DechanDawa
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Mar 08, 2017 at 12:26 AM
#5
Well I see what you mean but I just thought that both ways of thinking can have there strength and weaknesses like if I cut something in half you would call that the gray area but there's still either something there or there isnt. Eventually you wont be able to cut something in half anymore. I just saw it as two different ways of looking at it. I dont think its all bad to use that thinking its just good to use both.
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Mar 08, 2017 at 12:55 AM
#6
I wasnt sure what other people were saying by saying black and white but I guess I saw what they were saying. Sometimes I just need more information about something to understand it. I see why it would be bad to only use black and white thinking but I could see why it would be bad to use only grey thinking.
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Grand Magnate
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Mar 08, 2017 at 01:13 AM
#7
Quote:
I kind of agree with you. __________________ Last edited by DechanDawa; Mar 08, 2017 at 02:54 AM.. |
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Mar 08, 2017 at 01:14 AM
#8
I think black and white thinking means that if you failed in something, like in a driving test, then you would label yourself as a failure, while in fact you failed in one thing. If you looked harder, probably you would find other aspects you are successful in. By the way, I just realized I use this way of thinking
Last edited by Anonymous37955; Mar 08, 2017 at 01:30 AM.. |
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Mar 08, 2017 at 03:08 AM
#9
Here's an article I liked about how Black and White thinking can promote your survival under certain circumstances, but can also lead to depression, if you do too much of it.
All or Nothing', or 'Black and White' Thinking and Depression I've known people who do B or W thinking excessively. When they talk about someone, the person is either a saint or that person is the devil. They can't seem to accept that most people are a little of both. They think someone is their savior, or their mortal enemy. So they imagine that a person is such a good friend that they would die for them, or else a person is their enemy out to destroy their life. They think in extremes. |
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Mar 08, 2017 at 09:24 AM
#10
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Rose76
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Mar 08, 2017 at 08:33 PM
#11
I think black and white thinking helps you to understand if something is contradicting itself but sometimes it just sounds like its contradicting itself but its acually not. Or you can think of it like this some people have senses that or more combined so they will smell colors or something and that would be a more gray area but other people senses or more split apart and that would be a more black and white way of thinking.
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Rose76
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Mar 09, 2017 at 08:30 AM
#12
Again, it is either positive or negative with absolutely no in between. The resulting behaviour choice tends to be to give up.
Some of these other descriptions are great. we are getting into the other Negative Cognitive Thinking problems however. https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sourc...4FVq78mhwmYS5Q Black and White Thinking is also referred to as 'All or Nothing' |
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Mar 09, 2017 at 01:49 PM
#13
Well It seems that if you use it when it comes to your emotions it can give you a negative mindset but if your doing things like math or looking at paradoxes then its good for those things.
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Mar 09, 2017 at 01:53 PM
#14
How can you apply it to mathematics?
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Mar 09, 2017 at 02:13 PM
#15
Well like 2+2=4 and it will always be that way. Thats a fact. I mean you could always add or subtract something more but then 2+2+1 will always be 5. Thats thinking in absolutes.
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Mar 09, 2017 at 02:18 PM
#16
When your not using black and white thinking on your emotions I think its just seeing that there are facts. It helps you understand things better and so does gray thinking. I've been trying to use my gray thinking but I still try to use my black and white thinking as well.
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Mar 09, 2017 at 02:42 PM
#17
Black and white thinking has nothing to do with facts. If anything, it's far from that. I gave you an example before. Black and white thinking means you think, for example, you are a bad person because you did a bad thing. It means you ignore all the good things you have done because of one bad thing. I hope it's clear now.
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Mar 09, 2017 at 02:53 PM
#18
Yeah that makes sense. Seems pretty clear to me. I just think theres more than one way to look at it.
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Mar 09, 2017 at 04:16 PM
#19
What do you mean "theres more than one way to look at it"?
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Mar 09, 2017 at 06:12 PM
#20
Quote:
I think people are confusing Black and White Thinking with 'Emotional Reasoning' 'Mental Filtering' and 'Disqualifying the Positive' Black and White Thinking = all or nothing (vs finding somewhere in between) Emotional Reasoning = gut feeling (vs objective facts) Discounting the Positive = twisting positive into negative Mental Filtering = overlooking the positive by focussing on the negative |
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