We all have faulty thinking patterns at times, and there is nothing wrong with that. How we see the world and how we think are heavily influenced by our past experiences, our values and the current information we have. All this creates a frame of reference within us that is as unique as we are.

We use this frame of reference to evaluate incoming information. But because all incoming information also modifies that frame of reference, we sometimes develop faulty thinking patterns.

For example, we might expect that our family visit will be boring. Because of our expectation we only see the boring parts of our visit and not the more interesting parts. In this case our frame of reference modifies the information that we get by paying more attention to the boring parts of our visit.

After the visit we think it was another boring family visit, and the next time we will be even more convinced that it will be boring again. In this case our experience alters our frame of reference and just reinforces the belief that family visits are boring. Of course the next time we visit our family we will be even more convinced that it will be boring and just like this a faulty thinking pattern can become stronger and stronger over time.

In the Psychology Essentials course you learn how to detect your own unique thinking patterns as well as ways to change them. You will be amazed by the interesting thinking patterns you will discover in yourself.