Selective abstraction
🧠Psych - 64 / 100
Hey, there.
Today, We will be talking about the Selective abstraction.
What is it?
Selective Abstraction is described as phenomenon in which a detail is taken out of context and believed whilst everything else in the context is ignored.
Example -
You fail a quiz and you think that this will ruin your entire grade, when really the quiz was only worth 3% and you still have an entire course to ace. [2]
Where does it occur?
Thinking errors, also called cognitive biases or cognitive distortions, are irrational patterns of thinking that can both cause, and be caused by, depression: the more depressed you feel, the more you are bugged by thinking errors, and the more you are bugged by thinking errors, the more depressed you feel.
When you live in an environment where the negative aspects of people and situations are highlighted, you get used to thinking that this type of analysis is the correct way to think. This perspective will gradually become fixed in your brain, and because of this you won’t be able to detect the cracks in your reasoning. [2]
Why do I need to know?
Not only you will start excluding the major context due to that single detail, it can affect your mindset as well. You will start judging the whole scenario based on that tiny little detail or happening.
Maybe you think that if you only focus on the negative, you run less risk of feeling disappointed or frustrated when you don’t achieve a goal or find mistakes or emptiness and flaws in other people.
Or maybe you think that seeing the negative is a more analytical and critical attitude, because the good things don’t need to change, instead it’s the bad things that should be improved. [2]
Takeaways:-
To break this vicious circle, you need to identify your thinking errors and successfully challenge them.
Being self-aware about it will help you to take a look at the scene with a broader look.
References & Studies:-
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268206576_Selective_Abstraction_in_Automated_Planning
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201612/thinking-errors-in-depression
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