Dichotomous thinking. All or nothing. Good or bad. Wonderful or evil.

[uppityperson]

"You're either with us or against us."--George W. Bush

http://bpd.about.com/od/glossary/g/dichot.htm

Definition:
Dichotomous thinking is also sometimes called “black or white thinking.” This is when someone is only able to see the extremes of a situation, and is unable to see the “gray areas” or complexities of the situation. For example, a student who engages in dichotomous thinking may believe that if they don't get an "A" in class then they have failed.

Dichotomous thinking is a very common problem in people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this disorder, people tend to see themselves, others, and the world as either “all good” or “all bad.” Dichotomous thinking in BPD is linked to splitting behavior.

Also Known As: black or white thinking

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7398/is_6_37/ai_n35695950/

Dichotomous thinking relates to the propensity to think of things in terms of binary opposition: "black or white", "good or bad", or "all or nothing". This thinking style is useful for quick comprehension and decision making. Moreover, dichotomous outcomes are commonly used in everyday society. In the political realm, the vote is either for or against proposed bills. In the criminal court system, defendants are either guilty or not guilty. Such clear outcomes bring immediate closure to debates or problems and expedite arriving at conclusions. However, this black-and-white thinking style can potentially lead to a gross misunderstanding between people who have incompatible opinions. While it may have advantages for quick decision making, dichotomous thinking has also been related to negative psychological outcomes. For example, dichotomous thinking has been related to some cluster B and C personality disorders (Beck, Freeman, & Davis, 1990). In their model of clinical perfectionism, Shafran, Cooper, and Fairburn (2002) linked dichotomous thinking and perfectionism, indicating that dichotomous thinking is a central factor that maintains perfectionism.

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Splitting is one of the defense mechanisms from psychoanalytic theory and this is also closely related to dichotomous thinking style. Splitting leads to value judgments of everything being either "good" or "bad" while dichotomous thinking affects a wider range of judgment than does splitting. While splitting is generally regarded as an unconscious defense that plays a necessary role in psychic development, it is also an identified symptom of both Borderline and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Jacobson, 1954; Volkan, 1988). In recent advances in cognitive therapy, some researchers proposed another meaning of splitting as relating to the cognitive domain. The central schema of splitting is to see oneself and others as "all good" or "all bad". According to Benjamin and Friedrich (1991) and Horowitz (1977), any one component of a schema can activate the entire schema, evoking its power to influence current events. Because the dominant schema determines what is noticed, how it is processed, the meaning that is assigned, and the emotions that are evoked, schemas that are anchored in "all good" or "all bad" spheres perpetuate the abrupt oscillations (Siegel, 2006). In this way, splitting relates not only to cognitive processes but also to processing of emotions and memory.

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Overall, the DTI was found to have acceptable levels of reliability and validity for measuring individuals' dichotomous thinking. This inventory may be applicable not only to personality disorders and depression but also to wider psychological symptoms. For example, uncertainty avoidance and intolerance of ambiguity are related to ideological orientation. In particular, in some studies it has been found that intolerance of ambiguity has a positive relationship with conservative political attitude (e.g., Jost, 2006), and results in the present study showed a positive relationship between high scores gained on the DTI and intolerance of ambiguity. So, it is possible that dichotomous thinking is related to certain political attitudes such as conservatism. In addition, a positive relationship was found between high scores gained on the DTI and tendency to undervalue others. Undervaluing of others is positively related to anger (Hayamizu, Kino, & Takagi, 2005) and hostility (Kodaira, Oshio, & Hayamizu, 2007), and dichotomous thinking is also related to entity versus incremental theory in perception of others (Levy, Stroessner, & Dweck, 1998). It would be worthwhile to explore the relationships between dichotomous thinking, interpersonal theory, and interpersonal decision making. However, the data gathered to validate the DTI in this study are not sufficiently comprehensive, hence further studies are required to carry out further validation tests.

[Codeine]

1. Remember how we mocked "You're either with us or against us"?

Now it's the linchpin of much of DU's thinking.

[pnwmom]

5. I see it on both sides. n/t

[uppityperson]

9. I see it on both sides and it is too bad. nt

[pnwmom]

10. Yes, it is.

I thought maybe that's what you were getting at, in that thread that got locked.

[tavalon]

7. I don't see that as the majority view here, luckily

But there is a very vocal minority that is trumpeting that point of view. I see it as a pretty hypocritical stance.

[DeSwiss]

2. K&R

[MrModerate]

3. And the greatest Bushian dichotomy of all:

How could anyone (let alone millions) see that smarmy, arrogant fucktard as a good and caring man?

[Codeine]

4. Because you love nobody more than a person who shares

all of your secret hates. They saw a kindred spirit with all the same barely-suppressed prejudices and nastiness that they had built their own lives around.

[MrModerate]

6. Thanks! I feel much better now! Uh-oh. n/t

[pa28]

8. Some years ago that phrase was shorthand for Bush style authoritarian thinking.

More recently I've seen it used here with complete sincerity.

WTF. I guess some people just lack an irony gene.