Irrationality is in psychology... Definition and meaning

• November 28, 2018
• Psychology of conflict
• Svetlana Semak

Only internal analysis allows you to know and improve your own “I”. A person can be rational or irrational. An intuitive person, who is more inclined to perceive phenomena and states than logical arguments, is more often able to understand his inner world.

Irrationality is a term in psychology that refers to inconsistency and bias. A person who thinks in this way relies on intuition and comes to non-standard, sometimes completely absurd, conclusions. Irrationality means that a person lacks critical thinking.

Irrationality is in psychology. Different approaches

The term “rational psychology” was first introduced into science by Christian Wolf. By this concept he meant strictly defined relationships within the human soul. Psychology itself studies how a person perceives the world, how he thinks and feels, and according to what canons he builds his internal concepts of existence.

And what is irrationality in psychology? Psychologist A. Ellis described irrational thinking as over-pretentiousness. That is, the desire for self-deification, the refusal to accept one’s human framework, to accept the possibility of mistakes and imperfections around oneself and in oneself. Another psychologist, A. Beck, called unreasonable thinking simply cognitive errors. C. Jung believed that those who have “access” to archetypes are irrational and can create based on these archetypal images.

In fact, there are a lot of approaches in psychology. From what has been said, it can be established that in psychology, irrationality is the definition of thinking built on the basis of illusory ideas.

Rationality and irrationality. What are the differences?

We often say about someone - “he is irrational.” What does this concept mean? Rationality means consistency with reason, validity. From Lat. ratio is reason. Whereas irrationalis is unreasonable, based not on arguments, but on general ideas.

To understand the difference between reasonable and unreasonable, we present the signs of both principles of thinking.

Signs of rational judgment:

1. Confirmation of logical conclusions by experience.
2. Balance of emotions. Rational thoughts never cause a “storm of emotions” in the soul of an individual.
3. There is no absolutization of phenomena. A rational person knows that all events and phenomena mean exactly as much as the value we ourselves put into them.
4. Efficiency.

Now let's list the signs of the irrational.

1. The categorical judgment is “I won’t be able to live if...”.
2. Bias. No facts can prove an irrational thought.
3. Presence of violent hysterics, tears.
4. Inefficiency. Such thoughts do not help you move forward towards a positive goal.

Now it is clear how irrational individuals think. Anyone who is biased, unpredictable and cannot separate the main from the secondary because of his emotionality when solving pressing issues is irrational. What does it mean? This means that a person most likely has emotional-figurative thinking since childhood. And a profession should be chosen by such a creative person, associated with emotional states, not facts.

But sometimes the reason for such thinking is negative attitudes. Such programs serve only destructiveness and need to be corrected with the help of a psychotherapist.

Rational aspects

Logic and ethics are functions with the help of which a person makes certain decisions. Decisions based on logic appeal either to facts and cause-and-effect relationships (black, also known as business logic), or to abstract structures and systems (white logic). Decisions based on ethics are based either on subjective ideas about morality, relationships, good and evil (white ethics), or on ideas about external aesthetics, emotions, external human reactions (black ethics). Logic and ethics are called decisive and therefore rational aspects. Carriers of psychological types, the basic function of which is one of the forms of logic or ethics, are called rationals.

Cognition of reality. Concepts

Psychology considers 3 forms of rational knowledge: concept, judgment and inference. Knowing how to make rational conclusions, a person makes his life easier in many ways. People who are driven by irrationality accept the world based on intuition.

Concepts of reality can be based on logical objective judgments, but they can also be completely biased, that is, irrational. Biased mental constructs need to be worked through throughout life, otherwise they can interfere with the normal development of the individual and provoke unreasonable anxiety.

What are these beliefs?

• “I have never been confident, and never will be.”
• "I have something to prove."
• “I have to be approved, otherwise I’m worthless.”

An irrational person is one who is accustomed to thinking irrationally and accepting sensations as an objective reality and logical arguments as something frivolous.

The vague and unclear image that people are discussing is also irrationality. We will consider this definition and the meaning in the psychology of such thinking later.

Irrationality of claims

Irrationality in psychology is an unreasonable approach to reality in terms of expectations from other people. By assuming that other people owe us something, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

Such expectations are called irrational because they are not based on any objective agreement. You can expect something only after a mutual agreement, when two adults clearly define each other’s responsibilities and rights. They are also biased beyond what they expect from themselves.

Advantages and disadvantages of irrationals

In order to understand the differences between rationals and irrationals, their qualities should be briefly listed. The obvious advantages of an irrational mentality include:

• flexibility;
• adaptability;
• susceptibility;
• prudence;
• multitasking;
• internal independence from rules and regulations.

The disadvantages of irrationals include:

• spontaneity;
• inconsistency;
• unstable performance;
• poor planning abilities;
• in the long term - lack of punctuality.

The meaning of irrationality

Irrationality makes a person vulnerable, but he himself is not aware of his delusions.

The negative consequences of such thinking are manifold:

• the perception of the external material world is disrupted;
• no adaptability, flexibility;
• motivation to act decreases;
• fear of communicating with superior people develops, as well as an unreasonable fear of public reproach;
• efficiency in professional activities decreases;
• Anxiety and depression develop.

Note that it is generally useless to think about your emotions. Therefore, irrationality is a negative state in psychology.

Installations from childhood. List

We acquire most of our irrational attitudes in childhood. Since the child’s mind is not yet capable of critical thinking, he perceives all judgments of adults as pure truth. As an adult, every person must reconsider their views and understand which beliefs are personal and which are inspired by their parents and educators. Those attitudes that were useful in childhood and adolescence, but are harmful in adulthood, must be removed. They are also irrational. This means that every attitude that we can become aware of must be subjected to critical analysis.

Here is a list of popular beliefs that bring suffering to an individual:

• should, but could not;
• should have done better;
• they (he) owe me;
• if I fail, there will be a disaster;
• I'm a failure in life;
• nobody needs me.
• and etc.

All these mentalities have no logical basis. They are simply useless and need to be “removed” from the mind, like virus programs from a computer.

Irrational aspects

Sensory and intuition are perceptive functions. With their help, a person perceives the surrounding reality, orienting himself in it. Because they focus specifically on perception rather than decision-making, they are also called irrational aspects. Sensory perception implies either one’s own and others’ physical sensations (white sensory), or a feeling of one’s own and others’ power potential (black sensory). An intuitive sense of reality involves either perceiving reality as a dynamic process extended over time (white intuition) or as a static space with countless options and possibilities (black intuition). Carriers of psychological types, the basic function of which is one of the forms of sensory or intuition, are called irrationals.

Pre-neurotic state. The role of attitudes

The danger of irrational perception and an unreasonable way of thinking in the development of deep and long-lasting neuroses. Negative attitudes and constant anxiety lead to a pre-neurotic state. When an individual's nervous system becomes tired of incomprehensible alarm signals, it experiences functional overload. But a person cannot do anything about his condition, since he is not aware of his negative and biased attitudes.

Rationality is more useful in this regard than irrationality. In psychology, this meaning is quite serious. Helping to make the transition to rational thinking is the main task of a psychoanalyst who works with such a patient.

Features of irrationals

So, rationals and irrationals, no matter what anyone says, are very different. Irrational people tend to listen to their own feelings in everything. They focus on the environment. They seem to listen to the vibrations of existence, trying to navigate the myriad of sensory and intuitive signals. Because of this, their decisions often look spontaneous, thoughtless, taken at random. Rationals often reproach irrationals for the unplanned and chaotic nature of their actions. But in fact, this apparent chaos has its own internal logic, based on a deep understanding of the surrounding reality, characteristic of irrationals.

Irrational intuitives tend to rely in everything on their premonitions, fantasies and insights. The whole world for them is an endless thin space woven from images, trends, dynamics and possibilities. They move through this space, relying on their basic function - black or white intuition. Among these people are many writers, poets, futurologists, shamans and fortune tellers.

Irrational sensorics literally “live” in the material world, “breathe” matter. They perfectly sense both the capabilities and state of their own body, as well as the physical properties of surrounding objects. Thanks to this ability, they stand firmly on their feet and “pull up” their duals in this - somewhat overly pliable, careless and irrational intuitives cut off from life. All decisions made by irrational sensors are based on the well-recognized properties and features of the material world.

How to learn to think rationally?

Sometimes irrational behavior interferes with living and establishing contacts with people. Therefore, it is extremely important to learn to work with your irrational attitudes. We need to gradually replace them with rational ones and move forward.

Irrationality - what is it in psychology? Let us remember that this is a tendency to think and act biasedly. And in order to learn to act logically at the right time, in the right place, in accordance with the requirements of rationality, you will have to train.

There are 3 ways to change your way of thinking.

1. Before making a decision, learn to ask yourself questions: “why do I think this?”; the second question is “is this really my thought, and not something inspired by my mother (grandmother)?” To conduct such an analysis, you need to retire to a quiet place and calm your internal anxiety.
2. Substitution of irrational thoughts. You’ll have to develop a new habit—think critically about your fears. And when a person begins to reproach himself again, say, for low motivation, he should think: “Perhaps I demand too much from myself. Motivation cannot be high 365 days a year.
3. Keeping a diary in which every “strange” thought should be analyzed. It is necessary to simultaneously create thoughts that make you balanced and confident. And gradually replace negative ones with positive attitudes. This is an effective method, but takes a long time.

The problem is that it is difficult to change your thinking on your own. This requires patience, perseverance and discipline. The main thing is to be sure that the work done on yourself should bring good results.