Dichotomous thinking: what it is, effects and distinguishing features

Dichotomous thinking is an 'all or nothing' mentality that can generate many problems.

We know that in life, few things are usually black and white, but that almost everything moves on a scale of grays.

However, we often tend to polarize our thoughts and move into absolutes.. We will explore this issue throughout this article. We will explore the characteristics of dichotomous thinking, the consequences of its use and other issues of interest.

What is dichotomous thinking?

Dichotomous thinking, also known as polarized thinking, is that way of thinking in which only one way of thinking in which only two alternatives that are totally opposite and mutually exclusive are contemplated.. It is also commonly known as all-or-nothing, black-or-white thinking.

As we anticipated in the introduction, this is a very common way of thinking in certain people, but it is not logical, or at least not always. The fact is that, except in very specific circumstances, there are few occasions in which there are really two possibilities and they are so radically differentiated.

Therefore, we could say, when talking about dichotomous thinking, that we are dealing with a distorted way of looking at reality. This does not necessarily imply suffering from any pathology, since it is a phenomenon that all people have experienced at some time, but some will do it more frequently than others.

People who tend to fall into this way of seeing the world usually have one characteristic in common: an authoritarian way of being. This personality confers on them a categorical worldview, which is what shapes their dichotomous thinking. In other words, usually contemplate only two alternatives when making approaches: all or nothing..

But, as we have said, there are not many situations in which the decision is between option A and option B. Generally, life offers us a whole range of nuances that these people simply do not contemplate. Dichotomous thinking would be a way of simplifying reality to the extreme, reducing all alternatives to only two, which are also usually extreme.

Consequences of dichotomous thinking

Obviously, the use of dichotomous thinking has a series of consequences. The very simplification of reality is already one of them, since the person who uses this type of thinking is ignoring a whole range of possibilities of thought and action that are limiting him in his actions, since he only contemplates two possible options, although there are many more.

Another problem with polarized thinking is that one can tend to fall into different biases, since the person opts for a simpler way of reasoning, which implies less use of resources (hence the simplification of reality that we saw earlier). By making use of these thinking biases, the subject misses information that can be very valuable.

In fact, dichotomous thinking has been described by psychologists such as Aaron Beck as an immature and primitive way of reasoning. Beck sees negative implications in these thought processes, as he considers that these subjects have problems in identifying the different dimensions of the reality they are considering.

Likewise, Aaron Beck points out that individuals who tend to use dichotomous thinking do not tend to rethink their assertions.Therefore, even if they are wrong, it is difficult for them to change their minds and change their approach. On the contrary, they will remain firm in their categorical position.

Other authors, such as the Japanese psychologist, Atsushi Oshio, go beyond the authoritarian personality we were talking about, and he states through his studies that subjects who tend to reason through dichotomous thinking, usually score high on the narcissism scales but at the same time show a low self-esteem index.

Not only that. Other personality characteristics of these individuals include a need to be in control, a quest for perfectionism and a low tolerance for situations of ambiguity. and a low tolerance for ambiguous situations.. They are also radical in their thinking, rejecting options contrary to those of their preference, since they only contemplate their option and the opposite one, without intermediate possibilities.

In addition, an abuse of dichotomous thinking can affect the subject's mood, since constantly moving in absolutes can generate frustration when not always being able to impose his or her criteria and considering that this inevitably entails having to suffer the totally opposite option. The damage to the mood could even lead to depressive symptoms.

This way of looking at life can also have consequences for the establishment of adequate social relationships, as these can also deteriorate.These can also deteriorate if the person tends to move in extremes and to try to validate only the alternative he or she proposes, as opposed to the other, which would represent everything he or she does not want.

Obviously, this is an unrealistic way of reasoning, and it is understandable that it generates frustration to a greater or lesser extent.

How to modify it

But we should not be pessimistic, because the good news is that dichotomous thinking is a phenomenon that can be reversed. dichotomous thinking is a phenomenon that can be reversed.. Obviously, depending on the personality characteristics of the subject in question, this process will be more or less simple and will allow greater or lesser flexibility in the new way of reasoning.

Replacing dichotomous thinking with a broader way of thinking that takes into account the whole range of alternatives available to the person at any given moment is a way of enriching our mental and reasoning processes. Therefore, it is a way to increase problem-solving capacity, as we tend to see new ways of thinking that were previously unnoticed.

Working to foster flexible thinking rather than dichotomous thinking is more effective if done at an early age.. Thus, it will be easier to accustom a child to reason using flexibility rather than dichotomy than to try to do so with an adult who tends to constantly use dichotomous thinking.

But the work is certainly worth the effort. The possible frustration that can arise from a constant use of such reasoning will tend to diminish as we move away from absolute positions. Likewise, one can experience a greater creative capacity and even more empathy towards other people's positions.

We see, therefore, that flexible thinking offers a whole series of advantages that are more difficult to find if we opt for dichotomous thinking.

Examples of dichotomous thinking

After an exhaustive exploration of the implications of dichotomous thinking, it only remains to look at some simple examples in order to establish this knowledge.

1. Black or white

We have already seen that dichotomous thinking implies an all-or-nothing differentiation. For example, a person could consider doing a complex task that is going to take many hours, all at once, with the consequent fatigue that this will entail, versus the opposite option, which would be to do nothing.

As we can see, you would be discarding the whole range of intermediate alternativesThe other option, which would consist of spreading the task over different days, so that the effort would not be so intense, or even asking for help from another person, if possible, in order to distribute the workload among several people.

2. Either with me or against me

On many occasions, dichotomous thinking is posed as a personal question in which the subject considers that the other person agrees with him one hundred percent, or on the contrary is radically against him. He will hardly realize that he can share parts of your reasoning, but not all of it..

It can also be seen as a reasoning that approaches coercion, either you are with me or you are against me, radicalizing positions and considering that anyone who is not in the same line of thought is practically an enemy. As we can see, these are very rigid approaches, typical of authoritarian mentalities.

3. Perfection or catastrophe

Likewise, dichotomous thinking can cause the person who uses it to fall into a distortion that makes him perceive only two optionseither absolute perfection or disaster. Obviously, the decisions we make in life are not always perfect, but that does not imply, far from it, that they trigger a catastrophe.

However, for someone who moves in dichotomous terms, the failure to reach total perfection can only be considered a complete failure. Esta es una vía perfecta para vivir en un estado de frustración constante y sufrir las consecuencias en nuestro estado de ánimo.

Como ya hemos visto, el mejor antídoto para no caer en este problema no es otro que trabajar el pensamiento flexible y contemplar así todas las alternativas que la vida nos ofrece.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Egan, S.J., Piek, J.P., Dyck, M.J., Rees, C.S. (2007). The role of dichotomous thinking and rigidity in perfectionism. Behaviour research and therapy. Elsevier.
• Oshio, A. (2009). Development and validation of the dichotomous thinking inventory. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal.
• Oshio, A. (2012). An all‐or‐nothing thinking turns into darkness: Relations between dichotomous thinking and personality disorders. Japanese Psychological Research. Wiley Online Library.