by William R. Taboas, MA
Human beings are irrational thinkers by nature. But despite our irrationality, we are also capable of thinking rationally. It takes deliberate effort for us to think rationally. While philosophers, historians, and casual observers alike have noticed this for millennia, cognitive psychology has empirically corroborated what we knew all along: we are prone to nutty ideas!
So, what do we mean by irrational thinking? An irrational idea or belief:
1. Distorts reality.
2. Is illogical.
3. Prevents you from reaching your goals.
4. Leads to unhealthy emotions.
5. Leads to self-defeating behavior.
When Dr. Albert Ellis wrote about irrational thinking and irrational beliefs, he was on to something. Subsequently, when Dr. Aaron Beck developed what we know today as Cognitive Therapy, he construed that “errors” in thinking or cognitive distortions supported and maintained maladaptive schemas. Thanks to researchers such as Dr. Amos Tversky and Dr. Daniel Kahneman, among others, we have data to support that humans are prone to cognitive biases, cognitive distortions, and irrationality.
The data and theory of neuroscience, behaviorism, and cognitivism began to converge for me with a book. Dr. Kahneman, known for his research in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, published a book, titled Thinking, Fast and Slow, back in 2011. In this book, he describes how our brains are wired to perceive information and make sense of it at a rapid pace, which he calls System 1. After all, making slow decisions can be detrimental to the evolution to the species. But a consequence of fast thinking is that our brain takes shortcuts, and thus, ignores relevant information. As a consequence, we tend to generate irrational thinking as a side-effect of this rapidity.
While Dr. Ellis devised REBT to combat irrational thinking, Dr. Kahneman later corroborated that our “slow” brain is responsible for more rational and sensible thinking, which he calls System 2. Both Ellis and Kahneman converge on the premise that we can train our brains to catch dysfunctional or maladaptive irrational thinking by slowing down. Dr. Albert Ellis would say that a goal in psychotherapy is to live with our biological fallibility of experiencing emotions and irrationality. I believe this is the part where we create the habit of “slowing down” our thinking and evaluating the thought, before letting our “fast” mind take over.
Can we really think clearly, logically, and functionally if our minds are being hasty? I personally wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, as homework, try to sssslllloooowwww ddddoooowwwwnnn, take a pause, and notice your thinking.
