Beliefs: concept, types, how they are formed and how to work with them

What are beliefs

The Encyclopedia of Practical Psychology gives the following concept of belief:

Convictions are firm, conscious and deliberate beliefs that serve as clues or life guidelines for a person. This is a human intellectual reflex. Fixed reaction to certain aspects of life.

Beliefs and prejudices should not be confused. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion to which a person draws subsequent conclusions. Whereas beliefs are thought out, meaningful, related to experience and logically justified. Beliefs, together with prejudices, form what a person calls “his truth .

Beliefs are mostly static. It is much more useful to use a living mind, which is always looking for something new. Thinking is more effective . And it allows you to find a new approach to solving problems and tasks.

Life does not stand still, and the world is not fully known. Therefore, it is extremely naive to believe that you know and understand everything, adhering to certain beliefs.

Beliefs are your internal filters, the prism of life

Methods of persuasion in psychology

A simple word, spoken at the right moment and with the right intonation, is a powerful tool for almost limitless influence on any number of people. Even if you have to speak in front of a whole meeting of categorically minded colleagues and management, there is always a chance to pull the blanket to your side.

Psychological persuasion is one of the most complex and multifaceted methods of organizational influence. The desired effect is achieved mainly through correctly constructed arguments for one’s position and promoting it to the masses.

How to convince a person that you are right?

In practical psychology there are many methods for justifying a personal point of view with an emphasis on the opponent. Among them there are several basic ones that work always and everywhere:

Relieving tension.

To do this, you will need to establish a strong emotional contact with the person. This includes a well-timed, appropriate joke that defuses the situation, a light and non-binding compliment, a detached phrase that is in no way related to the main topic of the conversation. This way the interlocutor will begin to gradually remove the barrier of contradiction and mistrust.

Formation of a number of “clues”.

With its help, you will be able to clearly and as briefly as possible state the essence of the situation and link it directly to the content of the conversation. This will serve as a starting point for discussion. Use comparisons, your own impressions, or some events known to both of you.

Stimulating the imagination.

If your interlocutor has a sober view on the subject of discussion, then this method will give good results. In this case, we mean asking a number of questions at the very beginning of the conversation. All of them should concern exclusively the topics raised in the dialogue.

This method allows you to immediately direct a person’s thinking in the direction you want and reduce the flow of unnecessary information from your opponent. The subconscious mind of the interlocutor will automatically involve imagination, which will play into the hands of the outcome of the argument.

Direct approach.

This option is perfect for a business meeting with partners and other work moments. You get right to the point of your speech without wasting time on any preamble. You simply briefly list the reasons for the meeting and immediately move on to their direct discussion.

Photo by fauxels: Pexels

Ignoring method.

A very risky psychological technique. If a person figures him out, he will probably immediately stop trusting him. However, if the outcome is successful, victory will certainly be on your side.

If the fact stated by the interlocutor cannot be refuted, then its value should be simply ignored. In this case, the person will not have the opportunity to use it in the continuation of the conversation.

Visible support.

This is a real red herring. When your opponent has presented his facts and vision of the situation, you do not contradict him, but, on the contrary, agree, bringing new evidence in favor of your interlocutor’s arguments.

When a person relaxes mentally after such support, it is necessary to strike a “counterstrike.” Tell me about the complete inconsistency of everything that your partner has voiced.

Partial consent.

Here the expression “yes..., but...” will come to your aid. Give your opponent the floor. Let him express his own point of view. After this, partially agree with his judgments and at the same time refute them, taking revenge using this expression.

Types of Beliefs

In cognitive therapy, beliefs are divided into deep and intermediate.

Deep - fundamental attitudes that a person is not aware of. They stem from childhood. If a child is constantly told by adults that he is stupid, he will become shy, distrustful and unlucky.
Intermediate - assumptions, rules and relationships between people. They change with age, experience and under external influence.

The depth criterion , in this case, is the number of reinforcing beliefs, subconscious attitudes, facts confirming the belief. Another criterion may be the predisposition of a particular personality type to a given belief.

At the heart of every belief is a value—what is important to a person. Beliefs that lead to the realization of values and associated goals are called supportive .

Beliefs that influence our experience negatively, do not lead to good results or lead to bad ones, prevent us from taking action or force us to spend too much effort are called limiting .

How to identify your negative attitudes

You have probably already discovered some of your limiting beliefs thanks to the list above. I propose to go further and “get” even more useless husk from your subconscious.

We will do an exercise with you called an “explanatory note.” It will require a sheet of paper, a pen and 30 minutes of time.

Execution order:

Consider one area of your life in which you cannot achieve what you want. For example, finance.
Write the phrase in the center of the sheet: “Why I DON’T WANT to earn 3 times more.” Yes, yes, you don’t want to. Limiting beliefs are limits that you set for yourself. We will remove them.
Now, within the allotted time (you can set an alarm), write everything to justify yourself. For example: “Then my relatives and friends will constantly ask for loans,” “To earn 3 times more, you need to spend 3 times more time, I simply won’t have time to do anything else in my life, my family will suffer,” etc. .

This technique can be used for a wide variety of areas and issues. For example: “Why I don’t want to get married” (for women who supposedly cannot get married in any way). The answers may surprise you. Someone will find that they are afraid of responsibility, someone is convinced that all men are the same, that they cheat and control, and they don’t want to experience all this. And so on.

Now you have a whole list of everything that limits you and does not allow you to achieve what you want. Look carefully at your notes and ask the following questions for each statement: “Who told me this?”, “Why do I think this?” and the like.

In most cases, your mind will not even be able to rationally explain the nature of your negative conclusions. And if something comes to your mind, they say, this happened to all my girlfriends/friends, this is statistics, then rest assured that this is pure self-deception.

How beliefs are formed

After birth, a child learns about the world through his senses—this is experience. Next, restrictions are imposed that arise from focused attention.

When parents constantly tell a teenager that smoking is harmful, he focuses on the prohibition. There is a desire to try and develop a personal judgment . The teenager forms hypotheses: “If I try to smoke, I will feel bad,” “If I try to smoke, I will look cool,” etc. Finally, he makes up his mind. Gains experience and forms a belief according to one of the hypotheses. If you liked smoking, the teenager’s attitude towards the process is positive. Didn't like it - negative, accordingly.

This is how a person forms his own belief system:

Generalizations, ideas, decisions made about oneself , one’s character, values, abilities, behavior;
About people , relationships with them and the world around us.
Repeated repetition of similar situations also forms beliefs.

To delve deeper into the topic, watch a video of how a person creates a certain image and then struggles with it.
— broadcast by Elena Bolgova

Sources of Beliefs

The main sources of beliefs are upbringing, personal experience, social stereotypes, and authorities.

Upbringing . Parents and their parents received some specific experience. From this experience a conviction was born. In the process of raising him, he was passed on to us, and we accepted him as our own. People are not inclined to check these beliefs acquired in childhood and defend them as “native.” For example, a father told his son that crying in public is weakness. The son accepted this and now raises his son in the same way.

Social stereotypes . What people say, what they write in newspapers, popular points of view today, transmitted orally and in writing are a powerful source of influence. First of all, if a person does not have his own point of view on this issue. If a position has already been developed, beliefs have been formed, then those that contradict them act as “strangers” and often only strengthen existing ones.

Personal experience . The subjectivity of human perception is such that, based on personal experience, people successfully convince themselves of what they are confident of. For example, those who are convinced that suppressing emotions is harmful find confirmation of their point of view. Just like those who believe that controlling emotions is natural.

Authority is powerful and important. The only problem is that there are few or no generally recognized authorities. Science is an authority, but not for everyone, just like religion, etc. However, it is authorities and personal experience that are the most powerful sources of beliefs.

Example of Belief Formation

Let's simulate the situation. There is a boy Petya. He sees himself as a singer. Petya’s dad is a stern, fifth-generation military man. The son tells his father about his desire to study at a music school. And he receives sharp criticism of his abilities, ridicule for choosing a “frivolous” profession.
“Dad said that I have neither voice nor hearing. So, I shouldn’t be a singer. Dad knows better,” this is how Petya accepted his father’s suggestion about his capabilities on a rational level . And on the emotional side , a “sediment” formed from feelings of shame, guilt and pain for the wrong choice, lack of voice and hearing, ridicule.
Here’s the deal: being a singer = shame, pain, guilt .
On a rational level, with the help of books, teachers, and his own willpower, the grown-up Petya can reset and develop his own conviction. But the emotional “sediment” will remain unprocessed. And at the end: “Why isn’t it working? I have so much... but I have no strength anymore...”

More information about emotions and feelings can be found in the article where we examined the concepts of “going into feelings”, “looking feelings in the eyes” and “letting go” of the situation . And they talked about the difference in feelings and emotions.

List of beliefs from different areas of life

Let's look at a list of beliefs that may be preventing you from enjoying life and achieving your goals.

About money

Money is evil.
All rich people are thieves and bad people.
If there is a lot of money, there will be no time for family.
Money is earned only through hard work.
The price for money is the pain of work.
To make good money, you need to spend a lot of time and effort on work.
Having a lot of money is dangerous.
Big money brings big problems.
Taking money for your services is wrong.
Spiritual people don't think about money.
It's a shame to spend money on yourself.
I consider myself unworthy of big money.
Money is dirt.
You can’t have a lot of money, they can take it away.

You can read more about money settings here.

About relationships

Relationships are a cage.
All men cheat.
Love only causes problems.
Life without a man is impossible.
I'm fine alone.
A woman is incomplete without a family.
I must obey my man in everything.
The appearance of a family and children is the end of a free life.
The woman in the family bears everything on herself.
Nobody needs self-sufficient, smart, self-confident women.
There are no real men left.
Nowadays you rarely see a happy family.
Men do nothing but eat and sleep.
Men don't care about women's feelings.

About friendship

There is no such thing as female friendship.
Friendship between a man and a woman does not exist.
There are no real friends.
Friends are with you only in joy.
Being a good friend means sacrificing yourself.
A true friend is found in trouble.
Friendship only happens in childhood.
Adults do not know how to make friends, because they think only about their own benefit.
In this life, everyone is for themselves, no one will help you.
Friends shouldn't be offended.
It's dangerous to be friends with women.
It's difficult to make friends as an adult.

About health

I'm constantly sick.
My health depends only on doctors.
Everyone gets sick at my age.
They don't live long in our area.
I don’t have enough money for treatment; a good doctor is expensive.
If I don't take this medicine, I'll get sick.
A strong wind blew, and the sheets fell again.
My work will take me to my grave.
With my lifestyle it is impossible to stay healthy.
There is a flu at work, I will definitely get infected.
All doctors only need money, otherwise they will not cure.
I have a weak immune system.

About work and career

To get a job, you need connections or money.
There are no good bosses.
You can’t be “the smartest” in a team; no one likes that.
It’s better to consistently earn 30 thousand in the office than to step into the unknown.
For many years now I have not been able to get a good job.
Nobody needs my experience.
There are plenty of more successful and knowledgeable people around.
You cannot admit your mistakes, otherwise you will be deprived of your bonus or fired.
Work is not a wolf; it will not run away into the forest.
The boss will never praise you.
The work is never interesting.
Working for yourself is too risky.

About hobbies

You can't make much money from a hobby.
Hobbies are a waste of time and money.
You can't make money from creativity - it's just a hobby.
I cannot create - this is the lot of the chosen few.
Work is for money, but hobby is for the soul.
Nobody needs my hobbies.
A hobby cannot be turned into a job or business.
An adult does not need hobbies.
Hobbies have no practical use, so there is no need to engage in them.
First you need to get a normal specialty, and then you can engage in a hobby.
Hobbies don't bring any results.

About rest

Only the lazy rest.
To rest, you first need to work hard.
I have no time to rest.
Vacations are not for everyone.
If you're going to relax, then do it in style.
Rest must be earned.
Idleness is not rest.
While you are relaxing, others are busy doing useful things.
The best rest is a change of activity.
Time for business, time for fun.
When I rest, I waste time.

Using false arguments

It is also interesting that in rhetoric there are a number of quite convincing techniques that are completely rejected by logic. They are called arguments and are used in various disputes, discussions, and debates between the parties in courts.

Argument to personality. This is the logical basis of the statement, but refers to additional methods of persuasion. It is used in argumentation (for example, in characterizing an offender).
Argument to the public. The speaker tries to evoke certain feelings in the audience so as to change their attitude towards the issue on the agenda. This argument strengthens the existing argument. But it is best not to use it without (or as a replacement for) the main evidence.
Argument to authority. Here, the main argument is the statement of famous personalities (scientists, politicians, philosophers). Like previous methods of persuading a person, this argument is recommended to be used as an additional, and not the main one.
Argument for compassion. Often, in order to receive a positive assessment or contribute to a satisfactory resolution of an issue, a person tries to evoke sympathy or pity for himself or someone else.
Argument to ignorance. The calculated use of arguments known to be unknown to the public.
Argument to benefit. Here the expectation is that the arguments provided will be positively received by those listening only because they are beneficial. For example, during an election appeal, people automatically have a better attitude towards someone who promises an increase in wages without evidence, because the people are interested in this.
Argument to strength. The use of threats against those who express their disagreement with the stated theses.

None of these arguments are accepted by logic because the purpose of proof is to substantiate the truth.

So, during the discussion, the interlocutor can use the following manipulation techniques and methods of persuasion and suggestion:

substitution of theses in the process of evidence;
using thesis of arguments that do not prove anything or are partially true under certain conditions, or the use of deliberately false arguments;
evidence of the falsity of someone else’s thesis and the correctness of one’s own statement.

Structure

Psychological beliefs are a life script. Beliefs determine our activity. All life comes down to proving the correctness of the main goal. And here it is important to understand how significant the nature of the installation is. For example, if a person believes that no one needs him, then he will spend his whole life alone, because unconsciously, in order to confirm the correctness of his belief, he himself will push people away and ruin relationships.

Note! The structure of beliefs includes 3 components: cognitive (thoughts), emotional (feelings and emotions) and behavioral (actions). If it is necessary to adjust some setting, then you need to work in all three directions.

Let's take a closer look at what psychological attitudes are like in structure.

Fixed

The structure of belief includes the experience and needs of a person. In a given situation, a person acts as he has already acted in similar circumstances.

Social

The basis is the need for social contacts. Social belief is a person’s attitude towards society, the processes and events that occur in it.

Uznadze's theory

According to Uznadze’s theory, the structure of belief includes a need and a situation that can satisfy it. The attitude predetermines the conscious behavior of a person and can only arise when a person comes into contact with the environment.

Psychological barrier

Negative beliefs about oneself, combined with low self-esteem, form a psychological barrier. This can also be considered as a belief - an attitude to remain silent, to withdraw into oneself in situations of social interaction. This attitude also manifests itself in the form of passivity when performing any responsible task.

Positive

Such beliefs consist of faith in friendship, love, loyalty, devotion and a person's good attitude towards himself and the world. Positive attitudes make a person happy and help them achieve success in life.

Negative

Such beliefs consist of a person's negative attitude towards himself and other people, as well as a belief in the injustice of the world. Negative attitudes make a person unhappy and interfere with personal development. People with a negative attitude towards themselves and the world often get sick.

Relationships with other people in society and society

Mandatory attitudes that already exist within you are your attitude towards your environment. How to behave with your surroundings? Do people around me wish me harm and should I strike first? And of course you are right! There are completely different people, there are worthy ones and there are scoundrels. With whom to communicate and link your destiny? Is your attitude towards society that there is nothing good in society or vice versa? From these answers a person’s worldview is built. These answers and attitudes determine a person’s personal qualities and life principles. This determines whether a person is deceitful or honest, responsible or irresponsible, brave or cowardly, strong in spirit and will or spineless and weak.