The All-Or-Nothing Thinking information handout forms part of the cognitive distortions series, designed to help clients and therapists to work more effectively with common thinking biases.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
All-or-nothing thinking (often also referred to as ‘black and white thinking’, ‘dichotomous thinking’, ‘absolutist thinking’, or ‘binary thinking’) is a common form of cognitive distortion or ‘unhelpful thinking style’. People who think in all-or-nothing terms may also act in equivalently extreme ways. They may veer, for example, between complete abstinence and ‘binges’, or between extreme effort and none. The All-Or-Nothing Thinking information handout forms part of the cognitive distortions series, designed to help clients and therapists to work more effectively with common thinking biases.
All-or-nothing thinking is associated with various psychological disorders. This resource helps clients:
Characterized by extreme standards.
Associated with emotional instability and dichotomous thinking.
Characterized by all-or-nothing thoughts related to shape, weight, and eating.
Sometimes accompanied by extreme attitudes towards work and performance.
Recognize the presence of all-or-nothing thoughts during sessions.
Explore whether clients relate to the information provided in the handout.
Encourage clients to use the strategies outlined to address their all-or-nothing thoughts.
Assess any positive changes in clients' thinking, behavior, or emotional responses.
Cognitive distortions, cognitive biases, or ‘unhelpful thinking styles’ are characteristic ways in which our thoughts can become biased (Beck, 1963). Different cognitive biases are associated with different clinical presentations. For example, catastrophizing is associated with anxiety disorders (e.g. Nöel et al, 2012), dichotomous thinking has been linked to emotional instability (Veen & Arntz, 2000), and thought-action fusion is associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (Shafran et al, 1996).
All-or-nothing thinking (often also referred to as ‘black and white thinking’, ‘dichotomous thinking’, ‘absolutist thinking’, or ‘binary thinking’) is a common form of cognitive distortion or ‘unhelpful thinking style’. People who think in all-or-nothing terms may also act in equivalently extreme ways. They may veer, for example, between complete abstinence and ‘binges’, or between extreme effort and none. Unfortunately, all-or-nothing thinking rarely matches reality and can set individuals up to feel confused or disappointed.
There are evolutionary reasons why people might think in binary ways (Gilbert, 1998). In the face of an uncertain situation, forming simplified binary representations (e.g. it is ‘good’ or ‘bad’?) is thought to confer a speed-of-processing advantage which facilitates fight or flight responses (Bonfá-Araujo et al, 2021). Similarly, categorising in a binary fashion makes the world simpler to understand (at the cost of accuracy): complex problems become solvable and the world may feel more predictable.
