– Why We All Tend Towards Black and White Thinking

Last Updated on June 21, 2016 by Chris Roberts

LEARNING WHY WE ALL FALL INTO BLACK AND WHITE THINKING THROUGH NASHVILLE INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY.

For those of you reading this article, you may not know what “black and white thinking” means, and for others that phrase is as common as the air we breathe. To put it simply, “black and white thinking” means that we find a binary way of looking at any situation. It’s the belief that there is a right and wrong, or good and bad to every situation. It’s similar to the analogy of the pendulum swinging back and forth: that there are basically only 2 sides to every story. For some of you, you may have to wrestle with this concept a little bit to make it apply to your everyday life. For others of you, you can see it happening all around you. Regardless of your understanding of the concept, the basis of this article is that we ALL do it, no matter how aware we are of the idea.

WHY DOES BLACK AND WHITE THINKING MATTER?

Black and white thinking is all around us: religion, politics, gender, race, war and basically every argument we have engaged in with a loved one. None of us are immune to it, and no matter how aware of it we might be, we all fall into this way of thinking almost every day. Black and white thinking matters, because it forces the way we see the world and others into a system that has only 2 alternatives. That wouldn’t be a problem except that there are at least 100 alternatives to every situation, if not more. We make ourselves and other people choose between 2 usually competing alternatives when oftentimes there are so many more possibilities available. When this happens conversations usually become stale or contentious.

KEEPING THE CONVERSATION GOING

If we are connect to ourselves, to the environment, and to others in a meaningful way, we must be able to keep the conversation going. Once conversations become stilted then we are usually forced to agree or disagree. We are taught this way of engaging the world from birth. Republican-Democrat. Christian-Atheist. Male-Female. War-Pacifism. We are taught this from our parents and from our society. The reality is the world is not cut into 2 possibilities.   When we reduce any person or any situation into a 2-party system, then we lose the ability to fully engage.

WHY WOULD WE EVER THINK IN BLACK AND WHITE?

If we ever sat down and consciously thought about the realities of black and white thinking, we probably would agree that it is not the most helpful or productive approach. However, black and white thinking makes life easier! We don’t have to think as much! There are only 2 alternatives to choose from and then we usually make one of those choices “wrong.” Bingo! Not only do we not have to do as much thinking (which is hard), we also get to be RIGHT about the choice we make. It just helps pare the world down and helps us get by on a daily basis. It’s actually a perfect scenario, if only it were based in reality.

FACING OUR BLACK AND WHITE THINKING IN NASHVILLE INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

One of the hallmarks of good psychotherapy is helping people see there are more alternatives to any given situation than we might have previously been able to see. When we can get a different perspective, then sometimes that can lead to different action. If you notice that you are stuck in a situation, or that the idea of black and white thinking has a predominant area in your life, then Nashville individual psychotherapy might be beneficial for you. Chris Roberts is a licensed professional counselor in Nashville, TN with many years helping people see different perspectives and getting moving in their life.