Excerpt Thinking

8/8/2019 Excerpt Thinking

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The ollowing xcerpts rom:

Thinking, haPterZ,byGaryR.Kirby ndJeffery 'Goodpaster'4th dit ion,publishedyPrentice al l , AO7,p' t{- tt"

3 o> rut""'A"n'P/A1'4-lvrdt b ,l* A-LA 6L AJ'*^el/W-rf\euft- tr UYLAent-fu f;h,J-/L


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PERSONALARRIERSMan is an ewotiona/qnimal,occasiona/lgational; and through hisfee/ingshecanbedeceivedo hishean'b contant.

*WILL DURANT, MA NS|ONS OFPHI LOSOPHYtX/ho we are s how we think. tMhere and how

we were raisedmay determine whether we are pessimistsor optimists, conserva-tives or liberals, atheistsor theists, idealistsor realists.Our upbringing shapesour fears,which keep us from facing thoughts. It shapesour self-concept,whichmovesus to defend our thoughts. And it shapes ur emotions, which can distortour thinking to an exceptionaldeglee. n this and in other ways our psycholog-ical world, shapedby our exposure o cultural and genetic orces,often acts asabarrier to sound thinking. In this chapter we learn about thesebarriersso thatwe can diffuse some of their negative influence on our thinking' But this re-quires hat we faceourselves onestly and completely,so that we can discover hepersonal factors that inhibit our thinking. Unless we face the fact of who we re-ally are,we wifl not becomethe sound thinkers we are meant to be.

Imagine or a moment thar you have he geneticconstitutionyou havenow butwere aisedby parentsn anothercountry. maginehow you would bedifferent. fyou were raised n India, you would probably be of Hindu faith, believe n


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Enculturation15reincarnation,and be familiar wirh many gods and goddesses,uch asVishnu,Shiva,Shakti, Firishna,and Rama.Or perhaps ou would be of theJainreligion,reveringanimal ife so much that you would nevereatmeatandwould evensweepinsectsout of your house nsteadof killing them. if you were raisedby parentsnIran, you would probably despiseAmerican capitalismand revereMuhammadabove esus.f you werea man in the Sambian ribe of New Guinea,you wouldlikely engagen homosexual ehavioruntil you were married.And if you wereawoman in the Mburi tribe in Africa, you would feelcomfortable oamingyourcommunity in nothing but a oincloth. Evenyour tastepreferencessubject o cul-tura] forces.n America,four favoritepizzatoppinemight be sausagend mush-room, but in Japan t would probablybe squid, n England unaand corn,andin India pickledginger. n sum, manyof the values ndpreferencesou havenow,includingreligiousdeas, exualmores,andwork ethic, were nstilled n you sincebirth by your culture. This prdcess, alledencuhuratioa s goingon continually,evennow no marrerwhat your age. 7hat does his have o dowith thinking?Justthis: The extent o which you areable o think critically about deas hat conflictwith your basicattitudesand values s inversely elated o the exrenr o which youareenculturated. f you acceptonly your enculturated otionsof rhe world wich-out resistinghem,challenging hem,thinking criticallyabout rhem, you becomea "logicalegoist"a term usedby Kant for close-minded eoplewho areso sureofthe correctnessf their ideashat theyseeno reason o tesr hemagainsthe ntel-lect of others.Ben Franklinseemso citean example f this:

But houghmany rivate ersonshinkalmost shighlyof theirown nfallibil-iry asof thatof theirsect,ewexpresst sonaturally sa cerrain renchadywho,in a dispute ith hersister,aid: I dont knowhow t happens,ister,ut meetwithnobody utmyselfhatisalwaysintheight." Franklin, 945, p.6SI-52)

Sourcesf EnculturationEnculturationhasmanydifferentsources r influences. ne of rhe major nflu-encess the family in which we growup. Therewe learnour religiousbeliefs, th-icalstandards, rejudicesand stereorypes,aringhabits,and worldview.The rwogreatdepth psychologists f che wentiethcenrury, or example,Sigmund Freudand Carl Jung, accusedeach other of negatively nfluencedbyfamily background.Jurg accused reudof establishing negative sychologybecauseewasJewish,while Freudaccusedungof beingblindedby his srrongreligiousbackground,which preventedhim from acceptingsexualmaladjust-ment as he root cause f neurosis Pune, 1947) The rwentieth*century hiloso-pher BertrandRussell aw mmanuel Kant'smoral argumenr or the existence fGod as ooted"in the maxims hat hehad mbibedar his mother'sknee"(Russell,1957,p. 11),and x/ill Duranrwroreof the nfluence f Martin Luther's arents,


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16 CHAPTERI Personalarrierswho pushedhim into the cloistered ife through their repeatedhrashingof himduringyouth, and who passedo him theirvisionof a hard,strictGod and heirbeliefsn witches, lves, ngels, nddemons Durant, 1957,p. 341).Another source f enculturation s our placeof wor[


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i l

Enculturation17

Religion nd EnculturationMastmenndzed, swellasmost ectsn religion, hinkthemseluesn possessionof all tntth, and, hat whereuer thersdffir from them, t is sofar error.-B ENFRANKLIN,UTO OGRA,PCALWRTNGS LASTPEEC)Religion is one area n which it is easy o see he enculturadonprocess nd its.ff..tr on thinking. For example,mostAmericans reChristiansbecauseheywereraisedby Christianparenrs ndnot because f anydeliberate hoiceon their part.Most Christianshave not objectively nvestigated lternative eligionsor lookedextensivelynto t}re history of their own religion. Most areunawafe,or example,that some omanticstoriesof other religious ounders; ike stories fJesus,nvolvemiraculousand supernatural onceptions, r that dre BuddhistandJaincodesofethicsare n somewaysmore strict thanthat of theChrisdan en commandments.And most Christiansare probably unawareof the numerouscontradictions ntheirsacredext,of l-ikely orgeries f someof theEpistles, f thealterationof textsby later scribes, f the geographical rrors,and of the Epicaf Gilgamah,a myth*to,r, a Babylonian ing much older han the OldTestamentbut with stories f agreat lood, a man who built a boat to save is family' and a godwho mademan

Americans.onsider:n the UnitedStatesmostwomen,andsomernen, ut holesn theirears;mostmales avehe oreskinf theirpenis eryroved;nd many housandsf womeneach earhavesurgeryo enlargeheirbreasts. aybe hat sconsideredsick" sonly hose eformationshatarenotdonenone's wnculture.Theres onlyoneGod.Thismonotheismscharacteristicf Judaism,lslam, ndChristianity.ost ther eligionsrepolytheistic./esuss God.People f Jewish nd slamicaithwouldcertainlyis-agree ith his.TheChristian ible s the onlyholybook. Of course, irtually verynon-Christianould isagree.here remany ooks onsideredo beholy. heKoran nd he-'Bhagavad-Gitare wo examples.!t'sal labautmoneyl heAmericanbsessionith moneyscatchingf i re hroughoutheworld, utsome ulturesut ess mphasisnit. Years go,one Russianmigranto the UnitedStates ctuallyreturnedo Russia.is eason:mericansorship oneyike god.Marryingor reasonsther han ove s mmoral. hroughout istoryand even odaymarriagesrearrangedor practicaleasons:ostrengthenamilyies,or companionship,nd or healthyffspring.Love rows ater.n fact,peoplen some ountriesind our require-ment f ronnanticoveor marriagebsurd.


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t8 CHAPTERffi Personalarriersfrom clay. Nor are most Christians awareof the extent to which their ownChristiandoctrinehasbeenshaped y "meremortals"oyer he astseventeenun-dredyears. his lackof familiaritywith onet own religionand that of others,dueto enculturation rocesses,s truenot onlyof Christians, ut alsoof Muslims'andat peopleof all faiths.Despiteour moderategnorance boutour creed nd hoseof orhers,mostof us arecerrain hat the beliefsof,our faith are rue,and the faithof othersand heir heroess false. his we "knov,/'without any nvestigation t all.Obviously,our thoughtsabout religionarebasedmoreon feelingsengenderedyour faith andour cuhure han on critical thinking based pon knowledge ndrea-sonedargument.As \William Jamesput it, "Reasoned rgument s but a surfaceexhibition. nstinct eads,ntelligence oes ut follo#' (1902,p.74).Clearly, f peopleareseekers f truth and clear hinking, resisting ncultur-ationand ts blinding nfluence includingan examination f theirown religion)becomes ssential,or it allowsptople to stepback rom their condidoning olook at issuesmoreobjectively-ethical ssuesuchasabortion,proofs or God'sexistence,he meaningof life, new roles or women,andsoon. A failure o re-sistenculturation, speciallyn religiousareas,may ead o fanaticism.Onecon-sumedby thisdiseaseelieveshat, asS7illiamJames uts t, "hisdeityt enemiesmu$ be pur ro shame" 1902,p.342). Out of fanaticism crusadesavebeenpreached nd massacresnstigatedor no other reasonhan to remove fanciedslightupon theGod" (p.335).Perhaps obodyputs t morebluntly thanRobertGreen ngersoll 1955), he notednineteentfr-centurygnostic fator:

\flhenevera manbelieveshat he has he exact ruth from God, here s n thatman no spirit of compromise,He hasnot the modestyborn of the imperfec-tions of hu-"tt nat,tie; he has the arroganceof theologicalcertainty and theryrannyborn of ignorant assurance,elievinghimself o be the slave f god,he rnitates is master, nd of al l tyrants, he worst saslaven power. p. 589)

THfNK ASSLJT T Findingaultswith a literalnterpretationf asacredextshluldnot lead persono rashly ismissll its eachingsthat mightbe throwingout thebabywith thebath water.There retrrneless ordsof wisdom catferedhroughoutmostholybooks.Butif some ayyou come o believehat, n the wordsof Nietzsche,Godisdead,"or thatyourholybook sriddedwith contradictions,rrors,andmyths,would hatmean hat t wauld henbe akay osteal, ie,cheat, ape, ndkill? notherwords,what reasons,esideslblicalauthority, an ou find or themoralvalues ndbehavioralodestaughtn mosteligionsbout tealing,ying, illing,orgiving thers,etc.?


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Enculturation 9

Hewasoffered1,}aA lorinsayear o conceal isdoubts;whenherefuseci,n attemptwasmadeo assassinaterm.-BERTRANDRU55ELL, HISTORYFWESTERNHILOSOPHY

Oneof the morenotableesistersf enculturationas hephilosopherSpinoza1632-1677).ewasa simple, oor, ndhumbleman,a lensgrinder ndmystic f theseventeenth-century.ewas aisedewish,uthis ealor ruth edhim o studyhephilosophersf manyaiths. ecausehis deas hallengedewisheachings,ewasat theageof twenty-fourexcommunicatedromhis hurchnddisownedyhis ather.o heJews,hewasa raitor, ut nhisowneyes,o desistromhis hallengeso Jew-ishdogma ouldmake ima greaterraitor, raitoro the ruth ThomasandThomas,959).Many etout o convert im, rat easto refute im, utSpinozatoodsteadfast,eeting ischallengersith reasonedrgument. is eliancenreasonsapparentn hisexcerptroma ettero oneof his hallengers:Acknowledgehe eason hichGodhas iven ou, nd ollowhat,unlessouwouldbenumberedith hebrutes!Elwes,. a25)Refusingifts f moneyromhis riends nda universityositionnphilosophy-theatterwith"a ontingefrcyhathenotchallengehees-tablishedeligionf thestate-Spinozaied poorman.

An Exercisen EnculturationAnswer yes"or "no" to the ollowing uestions.hepurposef thisexercises o examinehe oundationsf some fyour hinking,otyourconclusions,odon'tbeconcernedboutwhetherour nswers ight rwrong. ust ehonest.nmostnstancesheresnogeneralgreementnwhat he iqht nswerhould e.

1. Doyoubelievehat he democraticorm of governmentsthe bestkindof governmentn theworld?a. Areyouawareof the problems f democracyoften citedby sociologistsnd people romnondemocraticountries?

(continued)


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20 CHAPTERI Personalarriers

ffiffi

f3.

b. Canyou expresshe basic hilosophyfalternativeorms f government?c, Canyou citeanypositivespectsf eithercommunismrsocia l ism?2. Doyoubelievehatabortionswrongnmost ral lcases?- a. Do you havewell-reasonedrgumentsosupportourbelief?b. Does ourdef in i t ionf "human eing"el lyouat what noment human eing omesintoexistence?c. Do-.younowatwhatmoment developingfeius ecomesonscious?

d. Doyouknowatwhatmoment developingfetus scapablef experiencingain?e. Canyou citeany argumentssedby pro-choice dvocateso support bortion?Doyoubelievehatcapital unishments ustifiedor massmurderers?a. Do you knoq4hat capital unishments amore xpensiveunishmenthan ife mprtson-mentbecausef the numerousndvery x-pensiveudicialppealsnvolvedn he ormer?b. Haveou een ny tatist icshat learlyhowcapital unishmento inhibitmurder?Doyoubelieveheresa God?a. Areyouaware f the oroblem f evi l?an argument garnsthe. Canyou presentexistence f God?c. Areyou awareof someof the logical roofsfor God and the challengeso theseargu-ments?Doyoubelievehat t ismoralo useanimalsor medicalexperimentshatmaymakeifebetteror human eings?a. Do you believehat it would be moral orbeingson anotherplanetwith intel l igencesuperior o ours to use human beingsasguineapigs or the advancementf theiral ien ulture?

4.

5.


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Enculturation21

Have ouever eenaboratorynimalsufferinanexperimentaletting?Doyouknow hatpigs re lowtorchednderanesthesia,unnies ave heireyes ewedshut, ndmonkeysaveheirheads mashedto study he effects f burn reatment, os-metics,ndconcussionespectively?Have ou ever eadanyargument gainsttheuse f animalsna laboratory?Can oucite uch nargumentow?Doyou believehat ESPsnonsense?-"{ Have ou readanystudies y parapsycholo-

gists?Are ou amiliar ithany ase istoriesfESP?Have ouheard f J.B.Rhine?Doyouhave good rgumentoryour osi-t ion?Doyoubelievehathumans re he most ntell igentifeformsn heuniverse?a. Doyoukriow hat here rebillions f galaxies.eachwithbillionsf stars,o hat f us tone n10 billion tars asa planetwith life, herewouldbeover ne rillion lanets ith ife?

Doyouknow hat humanifeemergednthisplanetnabout .5bill ionearsnd hattheuniversesoldenoughor his volution-aryprocesso have appenedhree imesnsuccession?Areyouawarehatastronomersave iscov-eredmany lanetsrbiting urnearbytars?Doyoubelievehatone acial roups nnatelyuperioroanother?a. Doyou know of anyevidencehatwil l sup-portyourbelief?

Doyou know he extent o which he envi-ronment eterminesntelligencend eco-nomrc uccess?Doyouknow heamount f geneticimilar-i tyamongacial roups? (continued)

b.

d .

6.

7.

b.C .d.

b.

8.

b.


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22 CHAPTERE Personalarriers

9. Doyoubelievehat heUnited tatess he best ountryntheworld?- a. Doyouknow hat heU.S.nfantmortalityrate shigherhan hatof many thermodernindustrialountries?- b. Doyouknow hat heUnited tatesas neof the highestates f violent rimen theworld?c. Doyou know hat he op 1 percent f theU.S. opulationoldsmore han40 percentof allwealthn thecountry, ore han hecombined ealth f thebottom90 percent,reflectinghegreatestnequalitymong d-vancedndustrialountries?- d. Do you know hat peoplen manyothercountriesaveongerife panshanpeoplein heUnited tates?

_10. Doyoubelievehathumansidnotevolverom owerifeformsbutwere reatedeParatelY?- a. Have ouSier eada bookon theevidencefor evolution?- b. Have ou ever alked o a paleontologist,geologist, iochemist,r zoologist boutevolution?c. Doyouknow hat95 percentf ourgenesare denticalo those f a chimpanzee?- d. Areyouaware f anyof the ollowing?HomoloEoustructuresVestigialracesMajorossil iscoveriesDNA imilar i t iesHowour er^nbryonicntogenyecapitulatesphylogeny

lf youansweredyes" o thenumbereduestionsbove, ut no" o theleitered uestionshat ollow, t couldbe hatyou havemerely doptedyourposiiionhrough nenculturationrocess-thats,youhave ickedup your deashrough eers, arents,eligiousommunity,ndso on,


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Sel{-Concept3

insteadf through arefuleflectionnd hegatheringf facts. "yes"responseo many f the questionsboves not necessarilyrongandcouldbesupportedy sound easoningnd acts. hought might p-pear o, his snotanexerciseo supportliberal" iews. he ointsnotto determinehat s rueabout hesessuesut o show heencultura-tionprocesst workby liustratinghe ack f both hinking ndknowl-edgehat endso go nto hese eliefs.

It happensuer ndouer gain. compaqthat sdoingpretty ell n a businesstknois will takeouer nother om?dn! rzd uin it' . , . Whyd.o ompaniesahesuchbig mistahes?ne edson,suggest,sego.Thel uAnt0 showheyare hebigge*, martettidson hebhch. . . Whenwill theseqts rowup?-JACKNEAS, AT& T-NCRCOMB US D DN'TCOMPTERecognizinghe extent of our encultu-rationessensts effectsand movesuscloser o an openmind, which is essentialo criticaland creativehinking, Butwe musr alsodealwith other barriershat inhibit sound hinking, oneof whichis self-concept.Our self-concepts the way we view ourselves,t may be unhealthy fwe seeourselvesather negatively for exarnple, sno t very intelligent orvery prerty); or it may be healthy, f we seeourselves ositively asattrac-tive and worthwhile). \flhat goes nto our self-conceptmay include notonly intelligence nd attractivenessut a varietyof other things: he sportsteam we favor, our grades n school, our home, friends, religion, state,country, ar,pol i t icalposition, alues, ossessions,nd soon.Thus,some-onemayview herselfasan American,a "card-carrytngRepublican" a 49erfan, a conservativeCatholic, an animal rights activist, an exceptionallybeautiful person,and a consumerwho would never buy anything but aMercedes.Peoplevary in the degree o which they use their attributes,things,values, nd affiliations o define hemselves nd form their self-con-cept.To somepeople, heseelements recentral o the notion of self; heydefend hem as hough they were defending hemselves.hus,we hearsto-ries of sports ansassaulting thersbecause f somecritical remarkagainsttheir favorite football tearn, teenagefs illing each other over a pair of


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i il '24

r-_--CHAPTERH Personalarriers

athletic shoes,and wars betweencountriesover sacred uildings and dif-ferent religiousbeliefs. 7hen theseelements ecomeso central o our no-tion of who we are, we are not likely to think critically about rhem.Instead,we respondemotionally and may engage n ego-defense echa-nisms, self-serving iases, nd other distortions to ensureourselvesha twhat we identify with-that is, what we think 1ys41s-i5 good.

I

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f

The deaof SelfWhat sour deaof self?Werewe bornwith t? t seems ot.Thenhavewe made t our owncreation'?f so,havewe done he right hing ncre-ating t?Doesheself rulyexist? r s t only he mind idea?Whetherour dea f self eferso a real ran llusoryelf,most f uswillagreehatwe dospend lotof imedefending,aintaining,nd reatinghat deaof self-for example,henwe fightwithothers hen heydemean s,explainway badexam radenordero appear orentelligent,r buya newcar o showoff ourwealth. uddhistcholarndmonkWaloolaRahulaffershisperspective:

The dea f self .producesarmfulhoughtsf "meandmine,self ishesire,raving,ttachment,atred,ll-will,onceit,ride,egoism,ndother efilements,mpurities,ndproblems.t s hesourcef all roublesn heworld rompersonalonflictso warsbetween ations.nshort,o this alse iew anbe raced ll heevi ln heworld.1974, 51)

Doyouagree ithRahula'statement?s he dea f self hisdangerous?Can ou ite nstanceso supportt?Can ou ite easonso disagreeiththis tatement?Payspecial t tention o the news or the next ew days. owhatextent an he "troublesn the world" be attributedo the ideaofselfWhataboutroublesnyour wnpersonalife?Reflectnyour ecentargumentsr moments f tension ithothers. owhatextentwasyourthinking ffected yyourneed o protect ourseif-concept?Finally,san exercisen "self" lry o respondo othersoday ndtomorrow ithouta sense f self,withoutprotectingn ego.Howdiffi-cultdovou hink t wil lbe?Whatwere he esults?


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Self-Concept 5I:iiJ

LettingGolf your dea f self anget n hewayof your hinking,good trategyoaidstraighthinkings o practiceetting o of thosedeas ouhave fyourself,whetherrueor false. etting o meanseducingsmuch spossibleour dentificationith heconstituentshatyouuse o defineyour elf. ou anbeginhis etting oby istinghemajordeasouhaveof your elf n he ines elow.Activitiesoumost ike o do

People nd hings ou mostenjoy

Traitsoumost dmire bout ourself

Now maginehatyouare iftyyears lder.Which raitswill begone?Which eople nd hingswill have een eplaced? hich ctivitiesil lyouno onger edoing?Most ikely our dea f self odaywillnotbeyour dea f self omorrow etyouwillprobablyelievehatyouare hesame ersonphilosophersebate hether personsactuallyhesameor notover ime).Should e, herefore,dentify ith hoseraits, ctivi-ties, nd oveso thepoint hat t leads s o conceit,nger, efensive-ness, ndan nabilityo take onstructiverit icismhen hose herishedkontinued)


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CHAPTERffi Personalsarriers

things re hreatened?n the otherhand,would t be acceptableobelieven somethingomuch hatyouwoulddie or t?Doyou hink twouldbe possibleo letgo of your deaof selfandsti l lact o defendsome rinciPle?

Ego defenses fe psychological oping strategieshat_ istort reality n order topior.., ourselvesro- "miery, guilt, and other bad feelings.Someof the moret"ri. or,.s that impacton our thinkirig aredenial,projection,andrationalization.Denial

Experi.enceithanalcobolicopulationilKstshatcertainndiuiduakwill denytO hcPOiNtOfui"S-".FORREST,DIAGNOSISANDTREATMENTFALCOHOLISM\ilhen we simply refuse o acceptan unpleasant eality,we are vsing d'enial'Definingwh"t "r, unpleasantealiryisvariis fro$ oneperson.to nother'For healcoholi!, t is hiso. ir., drinking problern.Thus' becausef denial,manyalco-holicsareunable o think criticailf abour heir drinking behavior. imilarly, ol-legestudenrsmay d.eny hat they are dgjng poorly in school, hat they are tzy,or"th"t their boyi}i.ni o, girlfriend reallydoesnot love hem' Religious eoplemay d"eny .i"ntifi. or loglcd challengeso their faith, and scientistsmay denysound .uid.rr.. that chaliengesheir favorite theory.By keeping heseunpleas-ant realitiesatbay,*. pror.J, ourselvesrom a realiry hat is unpleasant,1t wealso nhibit our abilirlto think objectively bout he situationand to rnake n-telligentd"ecisionsor our own andothers'best nterests' he followingappeafsto bea case f denial:

No scientist verhas,no r everwill se ea star or m becausehe Creatorcre-atedal l of His starsn rh e ourth dayof thecreationweek Genesis :14-19 )ir, rt. Springof 1992,somescientists laimed o be observing star ormout in th. ,l.ll"t heavens. hey usedvarious mathematicalequations.tocome ro their conclu sion.Howiuer, if their conclusions in direct contrad'ic'tion to what the Bible says, hen theii conclusions wrong [emphasisadded].(Matt in, 1994, . 175)In the abovepassage, ne gers he sense hat no matter what the strength of

the evidence or the bith of .i"rr, the conclusion will simply be denied' \fhen

:lii!,4j,,1{


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EgoDefenses 2tour beliefsasealready eli-grounded,weak, oolishevidence r argument-doesnot deserve ttention,", *h.t someoneries o argue or a ftrat arth'Unfortu-nately,hoseusingdenial too conveniendyoverestimatehe strengthof theirporit'ior, as n thJ exampleabove,and dismissstrongchallenges nd facts-asnothing more rhan rubbish.The powerof the mind to deny realiqymight bedor,btJ by some; t shouldnor be. t is all too apParent henoneconsidershesteadfast elusions f the mentally ll: someschizophrenics ho believeheyare sjesuswill, when n thecompanyof otherschizophrenicsith thesame elusion,insisr hat theothersaremposters; norexics an ook in a mirror andsee need,o lor. weight;and someonewith a multiple personal,rtyan exhibit a subper-sonaliryofih" opposite ex. f the human mind canachieveheseengths f d:-ception,ho* *rr.r, easiermust it be for it to delude he restof uswith denialsof moreprosaic hings.

ProjectionThereI see be beam in m1town ele ds d mote in m7 brother! eye.h is right therebecauseamunconsciousf thebeamn * ':TTKIUNG, c.G. JUNGpEAr{rNG

Projections hedefensemechanism y whichwe seen others Partof ourselv.esthat we cannoracceptand do not reco8nize.7e may believe thersarehostiletoward uswhen it is'wewho arehostile toward them.tffe may see n othersourown incompetenceand.deceitfulness,which we are unable to accept n our-selves.7e maysee elfishmotives n others,

which are eally he selfishmodvesin us hatwe do not consciouslyecognize.n short,wesee thersnot as heY re'but asLueare. ur thinking aboutourseluesnd others s therefore rossly is-tortedwhen*. .rrg"g. in frojection, Like denial, his interferes ith our abiliryto think crirically"bJrrto*r.irr.r, others,andour social ituations'Notice n

theexamplebelow ro* " mant perceptionof othersascfazyand desiring o hurthi* reems o be a projectionof hisown inner reality'

THfNK ABCIl,.lTT: Whatbeliefsbout ourself,ourchildren,ourreligion, tc., oyou hold o dearhat challengeso themmighttemptyautodenytheunp|easanttruth?HawaboutchallengestO'theiuin oryour religion? h'allengesbouthe goodnerof yourchildatschool? hallengesoyouranliry u handle rugs?Challengesbouttheextento which ou have hecharacterraitshatmake ouproud?


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28 CHAPTERf PersonalarriersINTERVIEWER:

PATIENT:INTERVIEWER:

PATIENT:INTERVIEWER:

PATIENT:

Rationalization has its rootsits founder, Sigmund Freud, maY

\kll, how do you feel about all those hings they aresaying?\ftrat do you mean, "feel"?[saidwith distrust]. They'rerazi,Theywant to seenedestroyed.Oh, well, that'sawful. It's scary o havepeoplesaycrazy hingsaboutyou. \flhat would make hem do that?They're ealousof me, that I havemy wife; they must betryingto gether from me,\rell, of course, ou'rea proudman,and t mustbe difficult tohave hem talking aboui you like that. Now lett see f there'sanyway we canhilp you stayon toP of thingsand keepil t:"-,tot. Vr. canboth agreehatyoure a strongman, and t's im-portantnot to let it weakenYou.Yes. 'm strong.But [m ueryworried hat herfamily.-rnightmakernedosomethilgcrazy-li[e wdnt to hurt someoneVailiantandPerry1985, .965;emPhasisdded)

RationalizationThe asiestPersono :::;:#;K

Of ail the defensemechanisms,ationalizations perhapshe greatestnhibitorof clear hinking. Rationalizations disto?ied hinking that attempts o justifrbehaviormotivatedby self-interest r unacceptable esires't serveso protectusfrorn bad feelingsby, for example, urning selfishmotives nto honorableones.For example,arlationalzationmayhavecome rom the captainof thecruiseshipoceanos,which ank n the Indian ocean in 1991.when askedwhy he eft hisship in a lifeboatwhile hundredsof passengerserestill on board'he repliedth"t th. order o aband.onhipappliei o everyone, nd once he order s givenit doesnot mattel when att. t"pani" leaves.He alsomentioned that he couldcontrol rescue perations etter rom the shore'In essence,ationalizations lying to ourselves boutthe realreasonsor ourbehaviors nd feelings.t is .rr.rrrirtlhat we believen this lie in order or it topforecrus; if we krJ* *. were ying, it would do us no good' M"ty of us caniecognire he following tax-seasonationalization:

I cheat nmy taxes ecausef theway hegovernmentpendsurmoney,youla1161y-[snar"ar"i aotlarsor a plainh"timer and housandsf dollarsorarciletseat.t's ourduryasU.S.ciiizenso put a stop o thisnonsense' aybeif weall heldbacka iitle unclesamwouldger hemessage.in psychoanalyric sychology' ronicdly, evenhavebeenguilry of it. He gaveseveraleasons


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Self-Seruinoiases 29why the proverbialcouch,which deterspatient-therapisteyecontact,enhancestherapy,but elsewhere e stated, I cannot put uPwith beingstaredat by otherpeople or eighthoursa day (or more)" (cited n Roazen, 975,p. 123).A famous, lengthy rationalization is found in StephenCranet The RedBadgeof Courage.he Civil .Warsoldier,who abandonshis comradesand fleesfot his ife out of sheer errorwhen an enemybattalionapproaches,ustifieshisactionsater:

He [speakingf himself]haddonea goodpart n gaving.himself,howasalittlepiece fthearmy.Hehadconsideredhe ime,hesaid,o beone nwhichit wai theduryof everyittle pieceo rescuetselff possible.ater heofficerscould it the itde piec.s ogeth r again, ndmakea batderont. f noneof thelittlepieces et o,rir. tto.tgh o tartehemselvesrom he lurryof death tsucha tirne,why, hen,wherewouldbe thearmy?t wasall plain hat he_ ro-ceeded ccordingo verycorrect'aflAommendableules . . H.: theenlight-enedman . . . had ledbecausef hissuperior erceptionsndknowledge.(Crane, 89411951,P.B7-88)Yes, ndeedlAs Shakespearet alstaffsaid, "The better part of valor is dis-credon" Henry the Fourth,Part ).Finalty, ett not forget he rationalizations f the anti-abolitionists,hosepeo-

ple who wholeheartediysupported slavery, ncluding the Fugitive SlaveBill.i{o* 1n*y of them, insteadof f".irrg the truthof their motivations, hat theirsuppoft ,.rid.d in enculturatedbigotry or the personaleconomicadvantagesffree^slaveabor,convinced hemselveshat their position was an honorableone,that slaverywas n accordwith the Law of God, that sending unawayslaves ackto their mastefswas also n accordwith the law of God, and that the supportofslaverywas ood or the countryt stability?Preacherseadpassagesrom the Bibiethat apparentlysupport slavery(e.g., Exodus 21:2-8 and 20*2I; LeviticusZ5z44J6; Ephesians:5;Timothy 6:I-2) anddeliveredheir rationalizationsnpublic r.r-onr, "\flhen the slaveasksme to standbetweenhim and his master,ih"t do., he ask?He asksme to murder a nadon's ife; and I will not do it, be-cause havea conscience-becausehere s a God" (craft, 2000,p.733).

Nothing s emier han selfdeceit. or what.ea.ch an wishes'- tbat healsobelieaeso be rue.-DEMOSTHENES,HIRDOLYNTHIAC

If our actions are driven by good motives, they do no t need to be rational-ized,. But actions, even with gtod motives, can lead us into other thinking dis-rorrions if they lead ro undesirable consequences, onsequenceshat threaten


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30 CHAPTER2 PersonalBarriersour self-esteem. he accionsof others can alsothreaten our self-esteem. uchego-rhreatening ituationscan ead us o cognitivebiases alledself-seruingiases.Theseare biasesn our thinking andperceptionhat protector elevate ur self-esteem.As noted above,we do not always hink about and perceive hings asthey are, or that would oftenmean ooking at ourselvesn an unpleasantight.Consequently,most people end to seewhat theyneedtoseeand whatthey wantto see n order to maintain or sffengthenpositive eelingsabout themselves(Maslow 1954).

One aspectof rhe self-serving ias s the tendency o takecredit for oursuccessesnd to blame our failureson external actors (Zuckerman, 1979;Bradley, 1978).For example,a student failing an exammight attribute herfailure ro an unfair testor an incompetent nstructorrather han her poorstudy habits.And politicians who loseelectionsare ikely to attribute theirloss o negativecampaigningby fheir opponent or a lack of funds necessaryto get their messagecrossather han to flaws n their own personalityof po-litical perspective. n the other hand,whenwe getpromotedat work or getan A on a test,we afe tikety to attribute our successo our intelligence,per-severance,nd hardwork.Whereaswe often attributeour failures o siruational actorsand our suc-cesseso personal nes,asecond spect f theself-servingias s thetendenry om"k. oppositeattributionswhen udging the behaviorof others hat threatensou, o-t-r.lf-esteem. \(hen a student competitor in collegegetsa better gradethan we do, we may find it threatening o our self*esteemnd attribute the bet-ter grade o luck or someprivileged elationshipwith the instructor.Yet,whenothJr. fail, we may look to their character or an explanationand ascribe heirfailure o their incompetence,gnorance, r laziness.The tendenry o .ng"ge in egodefenses nd self-serving iases houldde-creaseas our psychologilJ health increases.Heatthy people are more able toown up to theiotaliry olwho theyare,both positiveandregative (Jt,ng,I969a)'When we cantruly accePt urselves swe arewith our fuults-that is, whenwecanthink of ourselves i worthwhile personsn spiteof our failings-then wehave essneed o repfess, eny,project,or makemisattributionso protectour-selves. s healthierpeople,we are ess hreatenedby the successesf othersandmore able o to[.r"t. ot, o*r, failures;we own up to our mistakes ndgivecreditto others. n sum,we think better or beingbetter.

THfNK ABOUT T: Have ou evermadean erroneausttributionfor someone/se3 ehavior? ave ou everbeenhevictimof suchanattribution?


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>etljservrh$tases

Ourattributionsbout urownbehaviorsswellas hebehaviorf othersareoftenwrongbecauseheyarebiased yourneedo protect urself-esteem.ut heycanalso owrong or other easons,orexample,f wesaw youngman peedingy na red onvertibleitha beautifulady yhis ide, ewould robablyttributeis ehavioro mmaturitynd how-ingof f Thissbecausef a tendencye haveo attributehe behaviorfotlers o their ersonalraitsnsteadf to their ituation. ftentimesheseinternalttributionsrewrong nd hesituations he ealorce ehindhebehavior.nsuchnstancese have ommittedhe fundamentalttribu-tionerror.In he examplebove,he studentmightbe speedingo thehospitalecauseisgorgeous ife sabout o deliver baby'Theactor-abserverr,asxtendshe undamentalttributionfroronemore tepbystatinghatwe tend o makenternal ttributionshenob-servinghe behaviorf others ut Situationalttributionshenassessingou,o,irnbehaviorexcept henexaminingursuccess).hus, mployees(observers)ay ttribute manager'strictuleso themanagerrigid er-ionatity,hereashemanageraitor) xplainshe ules snecessaryo dealwith hestressesndpresiuresomingromhersuperiors' n he otherhand, managertheobseruerow)may eeherunproductivemployeesas azy nduimotivated, hereashey theactors)erceiveheirunpro-ductiveehaviorsanaturalonsequencefworkingor an nsensitive,u-if,ontarianersonality.hedifferencesn attributionreprobablyootedndifferencesn pointsof view: he boss s essawareof herself ndmoreaware f theemployees,hile heemployeesre ocused.onheboss ndare essocusedn hemselves.ortunately,hisbias anbeminimizedyhavingach ide mpathizeith heotherReganndTotten, 975).

Self-servrngiasesre ognitiveistortronshatputus na avorableost-tron. he tatementsetow omerom he nsuranceorms f car-accidentvictimshowere skedo summarizeheaccident.re hese elf-servingbiasesr ustgrammaticalistakes?1. A pedestrianitmeandwentundermycar'z. ns rapproachedhe ntersectionsign uddenlyppearedn a placewhere osign adever ppearedefore'

kontinued)


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32 CHAPTERX Personalaniers

OwningUp o Our DarkSideWehave een owa ailureo see ndaccept urselvesswe are an eadto thinking istort ionsswe rationalize,roject,eny, nduse elf-servingbiases.herefore,t sworthwhileo ook t hedark ide f ourselvesndacceptt aspart f whoweare. nd fwe hinkwedon'thave dark ide,we might onsiderhewords f thephilosopherertrandussell1921).

Self nowledgesproverbiallyareanddifficult. ostmen, orexample,aven heir ature eannesses,anities,ndenviesfwhichheyarequite nconscious,hough venheir estriendscanperceivehemwithoutanydifficulty.

Sobehonest ithyourselfndwritedown hose meannesses,anities.andenvies."ohelp ou dentifyhose ark lements,hichhepsychol-ogistCarl ung alledhe "shadow,"eflect ack n criticismsouhavereceivedromothers nd rememberhat otherpeople, speciallyurfriends nd oved nes, ftenknowus better hanwe knowourselves.Anddon't orget our nemies:lt isanoldsaying ut rue: fyouwish olearn our aults,isteno whatyourenemiesay" Eads,879, . 167).Also eflect n howyou eactedo thatcriticismndconsiderhese tate-ments yM.-1. onFranz1964),neof Jung'students:lf you ee lanoverwhelmingage oming p nyouwhena friendreproachesouabout ault, oucan e airly urehatat hispointyouwill inda partof your hadow,fwhich ouareunconscious.kontinued)

3. Mycarwas egallyarked s t backednto heother ehicle.4. The ndirectause f thisaccidentasa l i t t le uy na small arwitha bigmouth.5. An nvisiblear ame utof nowhere,truck y ehicle,nd anished.6. The elephoneolewasapproaching.wasattemptingo swerveutof theway,when t struckmy rontend.7. I hadbeen rivingor ortyyears hen fellasleept thewheel.8. Toavoid itting hecar n rontof me, struckhe pedestrian.9. Thepedestrianadno deawhich irectiono run, o ranover im.10. pulled wayrom heside f the oad, lancedt mymother-in-law,andheadedor heembankment.


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TheRole f ExpectationsndSchemata

It sparticularlyncontactsithpeoplef hesameexhatonestumblesverbothone's wnshadow nd hose {otherpeople'When n ndividualakes nattempto see is hadow,eoecomesware f (andoftenashamedf) thosequalitiesndimpulsesedeniesn himselfutcanplainlyeenother eople-such hingsasegotism,mentalaziness,ndsloppiness;nrealfantasies,chemes,ndplots; arelessnessnd owardice;nordi-nate oveof money nd possessions*inhort,al l he ittlesinsaboutwhich emight reviouslyaveoldhimself:That oesn'tmatter; obody ill noticet, and n anycase therpeople o ttoo " (pp 168-69)

So hatyou don'twalkaway rom hisexerciseepressednd ull ofloathing boutyourself, rite down en positive haracteristicsf yourp*rronSlitylso. hen ongratulateourselfor aking small tepowardbetterhinking nda richerife, or "only hosewhohave chievedelf-knowledgendareconstantlyeekingoth o enlarget andapplyt intheir ailt iving, re apablef overcomingheir utomaticeactionsndreachingheir wn dealimits"Mumford,951, 250) '

Nan'in, a Japanesemafier during the Meiji era (1868-1912)'receiued, uiiuersityprofessorwho came o in-quireaboutZen.Nan-in seruedea. {e piured his uisitor's up ull, and thenkepton Douri*. Theprofesiorwatchedheouerflow ntil he tzohnger,oild ,ttr"*in himsitf "It is ouerfull'No morewill go in!" "Likethiscup,"Nan'in onid, yo, arefull oflour ow^n pinions ndspec-.-ulatiois.How can showyoaZen unlesyoufirst emptyltourcup?"-N. SENZAKINDP REPS,Z'ffS TONES-Not only do we tend to rhink about the world according to what we want to seeand what we needto se,we tend to think of it in terms of what we expect o see'-Wetend to perceiveand think about others and situations n terms of the ideaswe have atready formed. about them. These ideas are called schemata plural ofschema).Often we distort the ruth to make it fi t into our existingschema,or wenotice only tftose aspectsof others' behavior or ideas hat fit into our existingideasabout them. In other words, we are reluctant to changeour percepdonsand ideas o accommodate the facts (accommodation); instead, t is easier o fi tour observarionsand thinking into our existing schemata assimilation).If our


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34 CHAPTER2 Personalarriersprior experiencewith someone s that he s extremelyselfishandwe form an dea"f [i- as"a selfishperson," hen we tend to seehis currentactionsasseifish. fhe suggests new policy at work to increasemoraleandproducdviqy,wewonderaboui he selfishmotives hat must beunderlyinghisnew policy'Surelyhe can-not be nterestedn the well-beingof othersand the cornpanytproductivity.Similarly, f a teacherbelieveshat a student s not very bright, frequentquesrionsrorn that student naybe nterpreted y theteacher sverificadonoftir. ,t.rd.rrt's gnorance.On the otherhand, f the teachers told that a studentis intelligentand highly motivated, he studentkquestionsmay be seenasre-flecting h., p.rro.r'sinsightandmotivation. maginewhat your reactionwouldbe if you heard hat a dictatorwas reeingsomepoliticalprisoners nd givingrnillionsof dollars o the poor in his country.Youwould probablyeitherdis-count the information asmefe l?,roPaganda'r quesdonhis motives,believingthat hewas rying to manipulate ispeople or some eason. is behaviorwouldnot likely.",rr. you to change our pefception f him from a ruthless ictator oa compassionateenefactor.A goodexample f a schemahat influenceshewaywe perceive nd thinkis thesiereorype-^simplistic, iased iewaboutmembers f acertaingroup' Ve[*"rn st.r.otypes rom a varietyof sources. ometimes e ovelgeneralizeiomour limited .*p.ri.t.. with membersof a gfoup. Often we learnour paren$'stereorypesylistening and observing hem,.andwe sometimes bsorb tereo-qyp., fro- ouf peers nd ,h" media. whatevertheir source, tefeotyPesaveapowerful effecton our thinking.It is important to realize hat .;tereorypes re naccurate.They assumehatgroupsaremofehomogeneoushantheyare.Forsome eason, hen t comesoour own group,*. ,." the richness nd diversiryof its members, ut when itcomes o our percePtion f othergroups'we assumehat their mernbers reallalike. On what baiis can we possiblyassume o?Certainly,similaritiesexistamonggroupmembers ut not to the degreehat stefeotypesmply.i,io"gh srereorypesn particularandschematan general ftendistortourthinking, sometirteswe do change ur viewsof peopleandsituationswhenwe.n"orrrri., factscontradictinga particularschema.Some esearchuggestshatthis accommodations mostlikely ro occurwhen the new nformation s mod-erately iscrepant ith our schemaBochnerand nsko, 1965)' f an dea sverysimilar o o,ri existing iews,we are ikely to minimize he difference ndassim-ilate t into our "*isting schema,husnot modifyingour views.Likewise,f theinformation is highly Jir.r.p*r, it simply cannot it into our scherna nd wereject t. For example,f rypicalChristiansweleexposedo argumentshat Jesus.r.,r.r .*irt.d and ih"t th. errtireNew Testaments a myth, theywould find thisinformationveryd,iscrepantndwould probably eject t without the east on-sideration.On the other hand, information that Jesuswas unusually riendly


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Emotionallnfluences5with a polidcal group whose ntent wasro overthrowthe Romansmight simplybeassimilatednto their schema fJesus sa spiritual eader,ho justiapp.r.ato appealo somepoliticaigroupsbenton overthrowingRoman ulers.Linle orno changewould bemade n their conceprofJesus.

Moderatelydiscrepant nformation, however, s too differenrro be easilyas-similatedandyet not so different hat it must be rejected. hus, f we are ikelyto change ur views n the faceof evidence,moderately iscrepantnformationwill mo-stikely,but not necessarily,ead o that change. an you imagineanyrealor fictitiousrevelation boutJesushat couldbe considered y -og chrir-tiansasmoderatelydiscrepantwith rheir views?

THfNK ASCIUT T: An opehmind s essentialocriticalhinking.But theres no easy ecipeor acquiring nopenmind,especiallyregarding rejudice.Negativehoughts owarda minoritygroupmaygo, but negativeeelings ften ingeron. Thoseeelingsmay eadus o continue ur negative ehaviors nd attitudesowardagroup.

Ernotionsare an important featureof human experience. hey are, n part,what separates umans rom machinesand the lower animals, ,or machinescan computebut they cannot experienceoy.And althoughanimalsmay findthemselvesttachedo others, hey do not love hem.Emotionsgiveour worldcolor and richness,oy and surprise,but alsopain and sorrow.Emodons canaffectand inspire hought, said WilliamJames, ut he alsosaid hey can de-stroy t. Later n this book we look at how emotionscan nspire hinking, butfor now our atrention ocuses n their nhibiting influence, n their capacityto bury, rwist, and fragment he thinking process nd take t to the depthsofthe rrational.Anger

Why doesmy uiolenceso silencereasonand intelligence?-]EAN RACINE,PHAEDRA

Both PlatoandAristotle believed hat angercould bea "potentially constructiveally of reason" Averill, 1982, p. 85), but both of them also ecognizedts de-structive nfluenceson rational thought. This destructivenfluence Mas pparent


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36 CHAPTERK Personalarriersto the Eastern hilosophers f that periodalso. n the Bhagavad ita (ch II. vs.63) we read:

Fromanger risesewilderment,rombewildermentoss fmemory; nd rornlossof memory,he destruction f intelligence ndfiom the destruction fintelligenceeperishes.Radhakrishnan,948, . 126)Likewise, heRomanphilosopherSenecaawno value n anger:

No provocationustifiest, nosicuationermitst, andno benefitsgained yit. Onceallowed, nger ntirely onsumests possessorndrenders ull hiscapaciryor reasoningndsensiblection. Averill,1982,p. 83)Certainly angerand reasonappear o most people o be the andthesis feachother;whereoneappears,he otherseemso beabsent. ngerhasdestroyedintimacy, hwarted good judgmEnt,modvatedsenselessillings, inspirednu-

merouswars,and probablyburnedmorebridgesn thecareer athsof menandwomen han anyother single orce.Thact becauset distortsour perception f asituation, olors urability o think criticdly about t, and mpairsourself-control.fu \WilliamJamesput ir, "Nothing annihilates n inhibition as rresistibly sangerdoes t." (1902,p- 264)The cause f angermay bea threat o somethingwe hold dear. t may alsobedue to frustration,which is often caused y the blocking of agoal,or evenbystress ndhormonalchangesn our bodies. to matterwhat the source,t is m-porranrnor ro make mportant decisionsn theheatof anget for good hinkingdoesnot prevailduring suchmoments. nstead,we want to releasehe tensioncaused y the angerand strikeout, hurt, or destroy.

The short-termgoalof releasingensioncan supersedend crushyearsofcarefuldeliberation nd plannir-rgswe sayor do thingswe knowweshouldnot.The aspiringbusinesswomanuins hercareer y beratingherboss or makingapoor decision, r a man angryat his fiancdetselfishbehaviorcastigateser foral l her personal aultsand breaksoff the engagemnt. lthough angermay n-spiregreatspeeches,r ofren throwsthinking in the backseat s our emotionstakecontrol.Earlierwe mentionedhow previousknowledge,ike stereotypesnd otherschemara,andistortour thinking. Feelings analsoaffect hinking in a similarway.Forexample, ngercannot only overruleour thinking but alsodistort t sothat we believehat what we are doing is usdfiedand rational.For exampie,parentmay severely panka child because f frustrationwith the child and aneedro release nger.The parent may then rationalize he aggressiongainsthe childby claiming hat suchpunishmentwasnecessaryo teach he child appropriatebehavior-in spite of the fact that psychologists ave or yearsbeen sayingthat appropriate ehaviorcan be taught by nonviolentmethodsand that such


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Emotionallnfluences 7

spankingcanbe harmful ro the child. The parentdoesnot acknowledgehe realmotivation for the behavior.Dealing with AngerIf angercan lead o unthinking behavioror overrideour better udgment,weneed o lessents mpact. Weoffer ive suggestions.First, donotuent ouranger:

The psychoiogicalationalesor ventilating nger .onot stand p underex-p.ri*"rrt"l scr"utiny.heweightof theevidencendicates reciselyheoppo-,ir., .rpr.rring angermakes-ou angrier, olidifies n angryartitude, ndestablisheshostile"habit.f youkeep-quietbout nomentaryrritations ndJirir"., yourself ith pl.au"nt ctiviqyntilyour furysimmersown, hances;; fo" '*ili f.rt better,and ee!..better"'ttt, than f you let yourself o n ashouting atch.Tavris,98i,pp.143-44)Besidesueling he original Lnger,venting ngermoreoftenresultsn guilt, ow-eredself-esteem, ild.ieprerrlon, anxieryembarrassment,nd an exacerbationoi rtr. originalconflict (Thvris, 912;Aver"ill,1982).This is not to say hat youshould stJwfor d"yswiih unabatedanger, f the angerdoesnot eventuallysub-sid"e, lthoughusually t does,an attemptshouldbe made o calmly alk aboutrhematter.Picka time when the otherp.t.o* is not angryandwill therefore emore ikely to listen.S..orri , getad.uicelsoutouf chosen ourse f action rom otherswho arenotangry.They iray be able o giveyou a clearerperspecdve nd prevent he some-timesdisastrous onseqrr.rr"J, f decisionsmadeunder the influence

of anger'Third, becomeorrtirr.Anger is sometimes aused y continuousvicdmiza-

tion. Being assertivemeansstlnding up for y?lt^ tigl-tt: in a self-controlled'nonaggressive anner hat diminishet th. potential or.defensivenessn the otherprson.Bear n mind, however, hat it is iirational to believe hat iife shouldal-i.rry, .r.r,. us ustly. In otherwords,dorit overdoyour assertive ehavior'Fourth, learn to relax and.o practice other stress-managementtrategies'Reducing he stressn your life ani Practicing elaxationexercisesegularlycanhelpyou control he frequency fyour angen'Lastly, don| getorgrl.This may soundsimplistic;however,whenyou con-sider hat anger , ,oot].i in the meaningyou g1e to the events roundyou' asopposedo the eventshemselves,t is rJaso,ta6l.o try to alter hat initial per-ceprionand preventcheanger rom occurringaltogpther. sychologistsal l hiscognitiue esnucturing , ,'"app'ai'al' For example' f you perceivehacsorneoneis rying to slightyou i" someway')'oumight askyourself f there s another ea-son or hi, b.hrrrior. t;dh. be possible, or.""-ple, that he s unaware f theimoacthis behavio,h"s oi you. Empathy, denti$ringwith the posidonof the


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38 CHAPTERX Personalarriersotherperson, ometimbs elps o make hese eappraisals. r you might want toput things n properperspective. orexampleif you werecountingon someoneto mow the lawn today and he did not, you canaskyourselfhow important it isthat the lawn be mowedtoday asopposed o tomorrow. Even f the lawn mow-ing were o beskipped or a week,what's he worst hat would happen?

THfNK ABS{JT lT Aristotle aid,"But to be angrywith the rightperson, o the right degree,at the right time, for the right purpose,and in the right way-this is not easy" Nichomachean thics).h6stafernenfsuggestshat there sa place or anger.Even esus otangry: "And makinga kind of whip of cords,he drove hemall out ofthe temple,also he sheep nd oxen,and he pouredout the moneyof the changers nd overtutiied he tables" John2:15). n whatsituations,f any,do you thinkanger san appropriateesponse7What would be the right way to expresst? Be careful that you donat rationalize our past behavior.

PassionBe t what it will, th*ruling passion onquerseasontill'-ATEXANDER OPE, ORAIESSAYS

\filliam Penndefinedpassionas a soft of fever n the mind, which ever eaves sweakerhan t found us"(i 906,p. 57).Sfedefine t more prosaically s he ntenselove of someperson, hing, situation,or value o a level hat inhibits objective ea-soningabout ts object.Most peoplehaveexperiencedt in romantic ove,whencethe statem.nt"Love sblind." In loveor wherevert is found,passions able o un-seat eason, nd rational hought becomesrationalizedhought."How many unwantedpregnancies ccur because couplehassurrenderedto "theheatof passion"? ow many iveshavebeen ost becausef a passionorthe euphoriaof drugs? nd how many goodrelationships avebeendestroyedby misplaced assionett for someone lse?flhen we lovea personor thing in-t*rrr.ly, *. typi."lly do not see he dark side;we tend only to justify our desires'Romantic lou.rs, for example ideaJtzeheir partnersand often find themwith-out faults.Contraryopinions rom friendsand family areseenasmotivatedbyjeaiousy r bornof misunderstanding.- Our passion naybe our religion,our food, of otlf drugs' t may be teievi-sion,a p.rror, a home,or amaterialobject. fihateverthe soufce,we tendto im-merseours.lvesn our obiect of passion, evel n its variousqualities,and onlylater, f ever, ind our reason gain.Perhaps ecan ake he advice f theCistercian


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Emotionalnfluences 39monks Tiappists)who suggest eveloping humble awarenessf passion'soldon our reason:Cistercian umiliry makes ou very circumspectn your actionswhen you know your will to be weakandwoundedandyour intellect o be of-ten biindedby selfishnessnd passion."Merton,1949,p.23)

THINK AffiOUT T Forwhatpeople,hings, r ideas oyouhavesuchpassionhatyoumaynot be able o thinkclearly bout hem?

Depression-ilfihenour objectof passions ost,wemay find ourselves ysphoric r seriouslydepressed.his responsesechoid n the storyof RomeoandJulietand thenu-merous oungand old alike everyyearwho commit suicideout of a deepsenseof loss.But the lossof somethingdear to us is only one cause f depression.Other causesncludebiochemicalactors, evere tress, sense f hopelessness,lackof sunlight,and llogical hinking.Of particular nterest o us are the effects hat depressionmay haveonthinking. Several rudieson depression upport the idea hat irrational cogni-tions arecorrelatedwith depressien.Forouq--purposesirrational"and "illogi-cal" are the same,although some make a distinction here.)However,somedisagreement xistsabout whether unhealthycognitionscausedepression, rwhetherdepression auses nhealthy cognitivesryles.Alchoughwe can find re-search upportingboth hypotheses,he conclusion rom a ongitudinalstudyonthis topic, usinga sampleof 998 people, s that "people hangeheir expectan-ciesandsubscribeo irrationalbeliefs sa resultof beingdepressed,"nd not theother way around (Lewinsohnet al., 1981).Other studies e.g.,Miranda andPersons, 988)alsogivesupport o the idea hat mood can nf luence hinking.The kindsof irrational hinking that often accompany epressionncludeatendency o see r exaggeratehe negative ideof a situationand o diminish hepositive:

A depressed atient obserued hat a faucet was eaking in a bathroom, rhat thepilot light was out in the stove,and that one of the steps n the staircasewasbroken. He concluded, "The whole house is deteriorating." The housewas inexcellent condition (except or theseminor problems); he had made a massiveovergeneralizarion. (Beck, 1976, p. 219)To depressedeople he cup is half empry,not half full. Depressed eoplealso end to minimize their successesnd maximize heir failuresby attributingtheir successeso externalcauses nd their failures o internal causes.n general,


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40 CHAPTERS Personalarriersdepressivesremore critical'of hemselveshantheyshouldbe and seeheworldand their future in a more negative ight than nondepressiveso. That is whysuicideprevenrion enrersmust often help suicidalpeople hink of alternativesto theirproblems. heir abiliry o seeheir situations learlys often mpairedbytheirnegativemood.As Schneidman1985)pointsout, suicidalpeople,mostofwhom aredepressed, ay seeonly rwo alternativeso their dilemma:suicideorsomeunrealistic olution.Depression n variousdegreess so prevalent hat it is often called hecommoncold of mental llness. en percentof college tudents,or example,exhibitmoderate epressionCraighead t. al , 7984).Mild depression aybemuch more common, and even mild depression an negativelycolor ourthinking.Deali g with DepressionSerious epressionequires erious sychological r medical nterventionby apro-'fessiond.But if we aresimply sufFeringrom "theblues,"w must realizehat ourthinking about ourselves nd about life in generd s probablycoloredsomewhatby our negativemood. If possible,we should put off major decisions ndl ourmood lifts or talk to orhers o help us explorealternativecourses f action andachieve etter nsight nto our situation. fwe havenot already oneso,we shouldexercise; xercise an lessendepression Stein and Motta, 1992; Dunn et al.,2005). n the meantime,we can ry to identify tHbcausesf our depressionndtakeactionto correct hem or, if necessaryeekadviceon handling fiose causes.Sometimeshe cause f our depressions our own irrational hinking. Forexample,f we encountera pefsonwho doesnot like us,we may becomeex-tremelyupsetabout r and spendmanyhourswonderingwhat t isaboutus hatis difficult to like, and we may evensuffer nsomniaworrying about t. \fft mayqlso strive excessivelyo please hat person.Through our own reflectionorthrough he help of otherswe may corne o seehe rrationalassumption nder-lying our unhealthy "Everyoneshould me because 'm a niceperson." f we think carefullyabout this assumptionor a moment we canseethere s no truth to this, for plentyof nicepeople,ncludingJesus, andhi,andMotherTeresa, ad enemies. o matterhow nicewe maybe, somepeoplewillinvariablymisunderstand s or projecton us their own inadequacies.imilarly,studentswho feel oweredself-worthwhen they receive disappointinggradeareoperatingunder a different irrational belief: "My worth dependsuPon myachievements."hey needonly remind themselveshat many psychopathsavedonewell on collegeexams o realize he error in this kind of thinking.Cognitive psychologists elp peoplewith dysfunctional hinking to see heirrational nature of their thoughts and then suggestrational replacements. Ourlriends and colleaguesmay help us do the same,and we can even earn to do this:urselves.In the example below we can see how one cognitive psychologist


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Emotionallnfluences1challengedhe distorted"thinkingof a student whowas earful of giving a speech(soundFamiliar?).

PAT|ENT:have o givea talk beforemy classomorrowand m scared tiffTHERAPIST:

Whatareyou afraidofrPATIENT:think I'llmake a fool of myself'' THERApISI:uppose ou do makea fool of yourself. trhy is that sobad?

PATIENT:'[l never ive t down'ridiculeyou. CanYoudie from it?' PATIENTIf course ot.

THERAPISTIupposehey decideyou're h_e orst public speakerhat ever, lived. . . . \fiil this ruin your future career?nATTENT:o. . . . But it wciuldbe nice f I couldbea goodspeaker.' THERAPIST:ure t would be nice.But if you flubbed t, would your par-entsor your wife disownYou?

No. . . . They'reverysYmPathetic'\7ell, what would besoawful about it?I would feelpretrybad.Forhow long?For abouta dayor two.And then what?Then d beO.K. (Beck, 976,P.250)

PATIENT:THERAPIST:

PATIENT:THERAPIST:

PATIENT:THERAPIST:

PATIENT:i :if The resolution of depression

s not alwayseasy.Fortunately,most people;'donot become everely lpr.s."d' And mostwho are*:ld^ty': l:d:t""ly 9*,Or.rr.i, ""f.s. it is " majo, personalirycharicteristic, will

find their depression- :iilbqentualy trtgng. rn th.'*."ntime, we must be careful about the thoughts andi;;-i"*'*. maie while depressed nd remind ourselves f the cognitivedistor-i-ionswe maybe exPeriencing.

Five hinkingErrorsThe ive hinking rrors elow angenseveritynd requencyndcanbefound nal rof u]srom ime o time.They reparticularlyikelyo appearin times f emotionaltrain. syou read hem, hinkabout nstancesnwhichhesehinkinierrors ave istortedour hinking,ndhow heseerrorsave fiectedoursignificantthers' (continued)


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CHAPTER2f Personalarriers

1. Personalization:gocentrichinkingn which he world s seen orevolvenduly roundhe ndividual.person ight ake esponsr-b i l i tyora d isappoint ingicnic t he ake ysaying,l should aveknown t wouldprobablyain oday;t ra ins lot n May. shouldhavewaiteduntilJune,"or uponwalking y a woman n a storewithanangryook n her ace, person onders,Why sshemadat me?Whatdid do?"2. Polarizedhinking. lsocalled blackandwhite hinking" r "di-chotomoushinking," ategorizingomplexitiesntooneextremertheother later eexaminet as he"either/orallacy").or xample,a depressederson ay e rmselfnly n a negativeightand ail oseehegood haracteristitsehas,Or f a personsnotextremelyuc-

cessful,hemight onsidererself loser. manmight ay, Peopleeitherikeme,or theyhateme," not realizinghatpeople analsohavemixedeeling,sbout im.A person itha borderlineersonalitydisorderftensee"seople seither llgoodoral lbad'Politicssoftenriddled ith his

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