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.

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.

In the dictionary Complete accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznya

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What it is?

Irrational thinking is based on feelings. Such thoughts appear as if out of nowhere. It seems to a person that he has suddenly “seen the light.” He often gets help in this from the outside, in particular when it comes to religious fans. In psychology, irrationality is considered one of the most dangerous types of thinking.

Often people who have it try to improve their lives by circumventing all the norms and rules. They do not recognize generally accepted postulates and ultimately become hostages of their own illusions. They have some special characteristics, we list them.

Excessive suspicion

Thoughts that initially resemble prophetic thoughts ultimately lead a person to a dead end. The guide there is obsessive ideas like:

• I know that he thinks badly of me;
• he knows that I speak badly of him;
• they think I'm evil;
• There are enemies all around, etc.

Summarizing everything

Such thoughts place non-existent and at the same time insurmountable barriers before a person. The following signals come from the head:

• I failed the task last time, which means I will never succeed;
• this teacher “knocks down” everyone in the exams, which means I won’t be able to pass the test for him;
• This girl refuses to date everyone, which means she’ll turn me away too.

Exaggerating the "magical" abilities of others

A person begins to consider himself an “open book” that anyone can look into. He is sure that:

• they see right through him;
• everyone thinks that he is not like everyone else;
• everyone notices his excitement;
• anyone can see his shortcomings.

All these “postulates” lead to the fact that a person finds himself in a vicious circle, from which he cannot and does not want to leave.

Incomprehensible actions

Irrational behavior is an action aimed at obtaining a result without premeditated actions and evaluation. Such behavior does not have pre-considered possible options for the development of a situation, issue or task. It is usually associated with the spontaneous manifestation of feelings and emotions that irritate or, conversely, sharply calm thoughts arising as a result of an emotional impulse.

Usually such people are able to see reality beyond its logical explanation and with the advantage of some arguments over others. They are guided by actions without pre-prepared algorithms of actions, called “life instructions.” Most often, such behavior is based on the person’s own faith in the good result of the work performed, with a complete practical lack of understanding of how the required result was achieved. Sometimes people have only one explanation - the favor of fate.

You can often notice that irrational thinking saves a person from destructive criticism of his own actions and actions. It brings to the fore the idea that the individual has already encountered such a problem and once again solved it with the help of acquired experience. Although the problem arose for the first time, and its solution was spontaneous and not conscious. This is explained by the fact that a person looks for answers in his subconscious on a sensitive and also intuitive level, and already in the process of solving the task he copes with it.

Rational thinking: what is it?

The basis of rational consciousness is real facts for reflection and logically sound arguments for making decisions. They allow you to see things in their true light, explain incomprehensible phenomena and show the shortest path to your goal.

Traditionally, a rational way of thinking is associated with the exact sciences, but in everyday life people are forced to use it to build their career, save money for a major purchase, and plan a vacation.

Rational Personalities:

• sensibly assess the surrounding reality;
• set realistic goals for themselves;
• respond adequately to criticism;
• listen to others;
• support their conclusions with specific facts;
• are distinguished by prudence and pragmatism;
• soberly assess the possibilities – their own and others’.

The determination to think rationally is a positive thing from the point of view of a person working on his shortcomings.

People of a different type, who do not know how and do not want to make plans for life, sometimes find it difficult to achieve their goals, because they:

• do not think about the consequences;
• they are late everywhere;
• They do not know how to predict the course of events.

Guided by rational thoughts, a person does not commit spontaneous and rash actions and minimizes the risk of unpleasant surprises. It is this calm view of the situation that allows a person to gather himself at a critical moment, when passions and emotions are boiling around.

Irrational and its characteristics

If we try to explain the concept of “irrational” from the position of philosophy, then it can be characterized as a certain beginning of human nature, opposite to the property of rationality, i.e. understand this world intelligently. The irrational admits that there are areas of the worldview that the mind is not able to understand, but nevertheless they are acceptable thanks to faith, feelings, and intuition. Thus, the irrational is one of the characteristics of the special nature of reality. Over the years, issues of the irrational have been studied by such famous philosophers as Bergson, Delta, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and many others.

So to speak, “free” individuals who do not think about the consequences can allow themselves to think irrationally. To act this way is to admit that reality cannot always be understood using scientific methods. Based on the views of supporters of irrational thinking, reality with all its components and derivatives, for example, life and psychological processes, is not subject to generally accepted laws.

Of course, such a position has its place, but in the case of critical thinking it is completely unsuitable. Irrational people strive to understand the laws of existence, violating all generally accepted laws, while rational people, on the contrary, think critically, not trusting what cannot be verified, relying only on reliable and confirmed facts. And, taking this into account, we must say that even if the irrational is characteristic of you, if you want to develop the ability to think critically, you must at least temporarily discard everything that may contradict it.

What exactly is to be discarded? Let's try to clarify this point, because irrational thoughts can be of different types.

Methods of irrational thinking

Unlike rational cognition, irrational cognition is based not on the logical techniques discussed above, but on instant comprehension of the problem. The basis of irrational thinking is:

• Intuition: is a form of direct knowledge,
• allows you to comprehend reality without the testimony of the senses.

The methods are not limited to the above forms. These also include the emotional sphere, spiritual insights, meditation practices in Eastern religions and others.

In everyday life you can often find destructive examples of irrational thinking. Suffice it to remember how many brilliant writers, artists and musicians in real life were helpless and did not have basic means of subsistence.

How to fight?

Recognizing irrationality on your own is quite difficult. If the case is advanced, then it is still worth contacting a specialist.

If you believe in your own strengths and are ready for introspection and changes in life, perform special exercises.

• Keep a diary and write down all the thoughts that cause you anxiety or any other negative emotions. It will soon become clear where they come from and what causes their birth. Over time, this way a “barrier” will appear in your head that will not allow irrational ideas.
• Don’t give in to panic, even if it suddenly seems like the whole world has turned against you. A colleague or close friend refused to communicate, and this became the cause of despondency. Perhaps they are just in a bad mood or tired. And everything that happens has nothing to do with your personal relationships. Always try to look at the situation from the perspective of the person nearby. Are you ready for fun when you're sad? Take the place of your counterpart. It will soon become clear that the devil is not as terrible as your consciousness painted him out to be. It’s just that my friend suddenly turned out to be out of sorts. This happens to everyone, and this is not a reason to let everyone down.
• Find a middle ground. Stop going from one extreme to another. Eliminate from your vocabulary such words as “terrible”, “impossible”, “wonderful”, “best of all”, “worst of all” and so on. Try to use less categorical assessments. Give yourself and others the right to make mistakes.
• Don't give up on yourself. Even if it seems that the situation is hopeless, never allow the thought that this will kill you and make life unbearable. Remember that there are more important things in life.

Irrationality in philosophy

Philosophers at all times have paid much attention to the knowability and/or, on the contrary, the unknowability of the world and the phenomena in it. It was they who first introduced the terms “rational” and “irrational”. This was an attempt to divide what is happening around into what can be known and understood, and into what is not worth even trying to figure out. For that is, phenomena for which there is no explanation that would be understandable to the human mind.

In addition, such a stable phrase as “irrational person” has been formed. Essentially, we are all irrational because sometimes, and quite often, we act, feel and behave inexplicably, or experience emotions for which there is also no rational explanation. In addition, it is almost never possible to find an exact reason or pattern for what a person likes or dislikes, what makes him happy or upset.

Another stable expression - “irrational reality” - refers to a slightly different facet of this complex term. In this case, “irrational” is a synonym for “unlawful.” It is believed that events occurring in the world are unpredictable, because they are inaccessible to the knowledge of the human mind, and occur chaotically, sometimes for no apparent reason.

“Irrationality”: origin of the term

“Irrational” is a word of Latin origin, derived from the root ratio - “sum”, “count”, as well as “reason”, “thinking”. The prefix ir expresses negation. Thus, the term was coined to define something that is not subject to reason and lies outside it, is not “rational” - reasonable, knowable, amenable to the laws of logic.

Methods of rational thinking

These methods are based on the use of logical techniques for processing information:

• Analysis is the mental division of a whole into its constituent elements, highlighting its properties, connections and other characteristics, determining its structure.
• Synthesis is the reunification of several elements or parts into a single integral structure. With the help of synthesis, a person mentally connects parts in new combinations, which allows him to establish connections between them and draw conclusions about their interaction.
• Comparison - establishing similarities and differences between objects or objects. With the help of comparison, a person identifies various properties of objects and objects, both qualitative and quantitative characteristics.
• Generalization is the mental unification of several objects according to some of the most significant characteristics.
• Abstraction (distraction) - highlighting the basic, essential properties of objects and distracting from unimportant details.

A wide variety of processes are carried out on the basis of logical ones. They are successfully used both in academic research and experiments, and in the field of simple everyday affairs.

Irrational thinking: what is it?

A rational way of thinking discards emotions, impulses, desires, moods, impressions and all personal aspects, thereby limiting intellectual potential. In contrast, irrational thinking “thinks with the heart”, is not constrained by any specific boundaries and is fundamentally:

• feelings;
• impression;
• mystical experiences;
• state of mind.

The closest thing to an irrational image is children's thinking, which has mobility, emotionality, vivid fantasies, spontaneity and a lack of rationality.

As adults, people of an irrational nature prefer to develop frantic activity, but often their actions are chaotic, devoid of logic and consistency. In life, they are guided by their own ideas, which have little in common with the surrounding reality.

The irrational type of thoughts is inherent in creative people who need a flight of fantasy like air. It is impossible to imagine a creative genius, writer or artist operating within strict rational boundaries. Personalities of the irrational type, as a rule, have a pronounced ability to influence the thoughts and desires of other people.

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.

Causes of irrational thinking

To begin with, it is worth saying that behavioral stereotypes are often laid down in early childhood. They are necessary because not only save energy and time for making decisions, but also contribute to initial adaptation to life and society, ensuring the survival of the individual. But upon reaching adulthood, a person begins to encounter “failures”, i.e. with problems with irrational thinking. The main reasons for this are the following:

• Not all mental patterns and mechanisms formed in childhood turn out to be correct
• Not all thought patterns and mechanisms that are suitable for a child are suitable for an adult

Irrationalism is a disorder of thinking. Subsequently, this leads to problems of adaptation to the surrounding reality. In addition, destructive basic attitudes are formed in the human mind, namely:

• Excessive demands on oneself (I should do this, I shouldn’t do that)
• Excessive demands on the environment (they should do this, they shouldn’t do that)
• Catastrophization (if this happens, it’s the end, horror, death, catastrophe, everything is lost, etc.)
• Low frustration tolerance (I won’t be able to survive this, this is the end for me, etc.)

Adding up all the thoughts above, the output we get is something like: “In no case should I stumble during my speech. If I suddenly stumble, they should not make fun of me. But if this happens, it means the end for me, I won’t survive it.”

In reality, the variety of thoughts can be much wider, but if you discard all unnecessary things, you can always see the standard mechanism of irrational thinking, working each time in different situations in a modified form. By the way, such a scheme often causes all sorts of human fears.

Any problem, any phenomenon or process, when confronted with which a person experiences psychological discomfort, can be disassembled into elements in order to find the main irrational scheme that causes fear, anxiety, panic and other manifestations and disrupts interaction with the outside world.

In simple terms, someone who is unable to distinguish between fiction and truth, as well as find cause-and-effect relationships, is using irrational thinking. It will never help you predict events or calculate the results of your actions, which is why spontaneous actions and unnecessary experiences arise.

But rational and critical thinking to some extent also includes an irrational, one might say spiritual, component. For example, people of art, creating unique works, often contradict logical laws, although they act deliberately. However, the irrational should not dominate the mind of a sane person, and its manifestations can and should be fought.

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.

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.

Causes

A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it. And if, having reached adulthood, you still do not understand this, most likely you have problems. A person who cannot distinguish fiction from real history, a lie from the truth, is unable to understand why this or that event occurs, is irrational.

This property appears in each of us in childhood. When we are waiting for Santa Claus or calling for a mouse to take our pain into its hole, this is nothing more than a clear manifestation of irrational thinking. But having matured, a person must realize that not all childhood beliefs are true, and, in principle, an adult should not reason like a child. If this does not happen, then first of all this leads to the problem of adaptation in life. Such a citizen cannot become a full-fledged part of society, since attitudes are triggered in his head that interfere with integration:

• I have no right to make a mistake;
• I have to save the world;
• the world must save me;
• There is complete horror around me;
• I won’t be able to cope with this and survive this.

People with this mindset are afraid of any mistake. Moreover, they are more frightened not by the fact of the mistake itself, but by the attitude of others towards their person in connection with it. They always feel like they are being laughed at and mocked.

The impact of illogical behavior on scientific research

Irrational is not scientific or without a logical approach. Philosophical teachings in this area are divided into such areas as intuition, psychology, contemplation of something superreal, as well as the appearance of inexplicable but subjective experiences in a person. All these facts served as the reason for a repeated and deeper consideration of this phenomenon. First of all, researchers of human psychology, which at one time was deprived of close and thorough study.

Many early experiments were not accepted due to lack of evidence of obvious manifestations of irrational behavior among employees not only of scientific centers, but also among representatives of rational thinking. But many serious theoretical problems that arose later forced scientists in the field of human behavior psychology to return to the study of illogical human activity.

Irrationality in psychology

“Irrational” is, as already said, something unknowable by the human mind, inaccessible to it, lying beyond its limits. In psychology, this adjective is used to describe functions of the human psyche that lie beyond the mind, such as, for example, intuition.

It is impossible to rationally, logically and understandably explain why a person feels the approach of danger, anxiety or even fear in advance, why he takes an umbrella with him in sunny weather or dresses warmly on a hot summer day, anticipating a thunderstorm that is ready to break out, about which there was not a word in the weather reports. This is why intuition is irrational. No one knows exactly how it works, where it comes from, why some people have it better than others. It is only known that, due to some of its own laws and principles, it still works properly: a person with an umbrella, at which friends walking lightly laugh at, gets caught in the rain, and warmly dressed people do not catch a cold when the weather suddenly turns bad.

Not only intuition, but also ordinary sensations (not physical, but psychological) can be considered irrational. A person cannot always explain to himself why he is happy or angry, why sometimes in the morning he feels cheerful and ready for new achievements, and on other days he collapses from fatigue and scolds everything and everyone that stands on him. That is, his feelings fall under the definition of “irrational” - this is the same as “incomprehensible”, “illogical”, “inexplicable”.

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.

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.

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.

Typology

Even if you understand a little about how irrational thoughts are born in your head, you can immediately understand that they have no place there. Well, unless, of course, you have the same supernatural abilities as the great Bulgarian fortuneteller Vanga.

First, look among your thoughts for those that fall under the following descriptions:

• appear spontaneously;
• interfere with reasonable decisions;
• reduce labor productivity;
• reduce self-esteem;
• cause anxiety and irritability;
• disrupt harmony with the outside world;
• cause fear;
• contribute to the development of suspicion and lead to loneliness;
• create problems both in personal and professional life;
• cause dependence on bad habits;
• they single out “idols” whose calls seem to be the only true laws of life.

It is people with irrational thinking, inclined to believe in miracles, who most often find themselves at the mercy of banned sects. They themselves do not notice how, under the influence of the “charms” of their leaders, they lose loved ones, jobs, and well-being. Yesterday's successful businessman literally overnight becomes flexible material in the hands of skilled “puppeteers.” The strings they pull seem magical. Unfortunately, this is far from the case.

Irrationality in mathematics

In mathematics, expressions or equations can be irrational, but numbers are much more common. This is the name given to those that cannot be expressed using an ordinary fraction or decimal number.

The most famous and frequently used examples of irrational numbers in mathematics include:

• Pi number – 3.14159265…;
• number e – 2.7182818284...;
• root of two – 1.41421356…;
• root of three – 1.73205080….

It is known that the concept of irrational numbers originated in the seventh century BC, in India. However, at that time, the existence of numbers that cannot be expressed was perceived only as a theory that did not have clear evidence.

The existence of an irrational number was first proven around 470 BC by the ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician and theorist Hippasus of Metapontus. It is not known exactly which number he proved to be irrational. There is an assumption that this was the so-called golden ratio.

Summing up

When talking about what “irrational” is, it is important to remember that this word has not one, but four meanings:

• In philosophy, irrational phenomena are what cannot be analyzed and understood. Everything inaccessible to the human mind, illegal, not based on the logic, rules and principles familiar to humans. Man in philosophy is also an irrational being: he acts chaotically, and his thoughts, decisions and sensations can rarely be predicted.
• In mathematics, irrational numbers are those that cannot be written using a fraction or a decimal.
• In logic, irrational conclusions are conclusions that have no basis in real facts and are not correct.
• In psychology, human sensations and intuition are considered irrational.

Thus, the meaning of the word "irrational" varies depending on the context, but always denotes something beyond human understanding.

Specifics of irrational beliefs

— Most often, these are ideas not produced by the person himself, but “picked up” by him from society. Social psychologists are well aware of the effect of “contagion” of ideas. As soon as a reference is made to “everyone knows,” “goes without saying,” “repeatedly proven,” a person is in direct danger of becoming dependent on these other people’s opinions, which are not as obvious as they seem and do not stem from his personal experience.

— These ideas are not feasible. Their obvious unattainability can give rise to neurotic reactions, “obsession”, depression, wariness, etc.

— They have enormous potential for suggestion (including self-hypnosis). You become “infected” with them involuntarily and unnoticeably.

— Most often, with mature reflection and analysis, they turn out to be vulnerable and can be corrected, including with the help of a psychologist.

Recommendations

1. Barrett 1977C. 1–35, 40.
2. Barrett 1977C. 133–234.
3. Barrett 1977C. 136, 156.
4. Barrett 1977C. 160, 168.
5. Barrett 1977C. 251–271.
6. Barrett 1977, para. iv.
7. Barrett 1990, para. iv.
8. ^ a b
   Jordan 1958C. 431–432.
9. ^ a b
   Stew 1986, p. 50.
10. ^ a b
    Pulver 2015.
11. Williams 2021, para. 4.
12. Macquarie 1973, para. 239.
13. Peikoff 1982, para. 182.
14. Stewart 1996, pp. 306, 381.