All-or-nothing thinking

See also: Polarization
**All-or-nothing thinking** (also called **black-and-white thinking** or **one-dimensional-thinking**) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the many dimensions of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism.

The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., people's actions and motivations are perceived to be *all* good or *all* bad with no middle ground).

There is also a strong tendency to oversimplify complex situations to a single dimension when in fact they are actually multi dimensional.

Splitting creates instability in relationships because one person can be viewed as either personified virtue or personified vice at different times, depending on whether they gratify the subject's needs or frustrate them.

This, along with similar oscillations in the experience and appraisal of the self, leads to chaotic and unstable relationship patterns, identity diffusion, and mood swings.

Splitting is common during adolescence, but is regarded as transient. Splitting has been noted especially with persons diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

## Examples

Seeing people as either "cool" or "nerds".

Seeing people as either "macho" or "effiminate".

Seeing people as either "holy" or "evil".

### Racism and Bigotry

*We will not tolerate your not tolerating our intolerance*
Racism is a form of bigotry (all-or-nothing thinking) in which members of another race are seen as being "all bad".

Bigotry (prejudice) can also be directed against people because of their political affiliation, sex, gender, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality, beauty, occupation, education, criminality, sport team affiliation or any other personal characteristics.

Prejudice is extremely common in wartime. See Anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States.

Mocking and belittling someone for merely being what they are (which they have no control over) is an act of cannibalism.

Seeing men as "masculine" and women as "feminine" or seeing introverts as "introverted" and extroverts as "extroverted" or seeing squares as "square" and circles as "round" is NOT a form of prejudice. It is true by definition.

Confirmation bias is not the same thing as racism though it often goes along with it.

## Borderline personality disorder

Main articles: Borderline personality disorder
Splitting is a relatively common defense mechanism for people with borderline personality disorder. One of the DSM IV-TR criteria for this disorder is a description of splitting: "a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation".

In psychoanalytic theory, people with borderline personality disorder are not able to integrate the good and bad images of both self and others, resulting in a *bad representation* which dominates the *good representation*. This school hypothesizes that they consequently experience love and sexuality as perverse and violent qualities which they cannot integrate with the tender, intimate side of relationships.

## Narcissistic personality disorder

Main articles: Narcissistic personality disorder
People matching the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder also use splitting as a central defense mechanism. Most often narcissists do this as an attempt to stabilize their sense of self positivity in order to preserve their self-esteem, by perceiving themselves as purely upright or admirable and others who do not conform to their will or values as purely wicked or contemptible.

The cognitive habit of splitting also implies the use of other related defense mechanisms, namely idealization and devaluation, which are preventive attitudes or reactions to narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury.