ethnocentrism

The tendency to view 

one’s own race or 

culture as central, 

based on the 

deep-seated belief 

that one’s own group 

is superior to all 

others.

egocentrism

The individual 

version of ethnocentrism, the 

tendency to view everything 

else in relationship to oneself; 

one’s desires, values, beliefs, 

and actions seem to be self-

evidently correct or superior to 

those of others. 

fair-mindedness

A trait 

of a critical thinker involving 

respect for others, willingness 

to hear and understand 

different viewpoints on an 

issue, and an openness to 

change when new information 

or insight warrants chang

defense mechanisms

Techniques aimed at 

self-protection through 

the avoidance of unpleasant 

realities.

rationalizations

A defense 

mechanism that underlies 

many others; it involves 

justifying or making sense of 

things that don’t make sense 

and explaining things away 

that should be brought under 

examination.

cognitive

dissonance

A state of mental discomfort 

that occurs whenever two 

ideas (or cognitions) are out 

of sync or when behavior is 

inconsistent with beliefs. 

denial

A state of mind that 

blocks critical thinking by 

the repression of or refusal 

to recognize negative or 

threatening information. 

conformity

The tendency 

to follow others uncritically, 

usually to gain acceptance or 

avoid conflict; the practice of 

using the beliefs and actions 

of others rather than our own 

best judgment as the primary 

guide to personal thoughts and 

actions.

groupthink

The tendency 

for group members to rigidly 

conform to and reinforce a 

collective opinion or judgment 

about an issue. 

emotional

reasoning

The process of using one’s 

feelings as definitive proof 

of an accurate analysis of a 

situation.

overgeneralization

Coming

to a general conclusion on the 

basis of a single incident or a 

few incidents.

mind reading

Assuming

that what would be true for 

you in any given circumstance 

is true for the other person; 

making assumptions about the 

thoughts, feelings, or motives 

of another and taking the 

assumptions as true without 

further proof or discussion.

filtering

The process of 

distorting reality by focusing 

on all the negative details of a 

situation and filtering out all 

the positive. 

catastrophizing

A form of 

emotional reasoning in which 

one imagines and anticipates 

disastrous outcomes or future 

problems.

personalizing

A form 

of emotional reasoning 

in which a person relates 

everything that happens to 

him- or herself, assuming 

that general statements 

or actions are personally 

directed. Personalizing also 

involves the belief that one’s 

characteristics or actions are 

continually being compared, 

favorably or unfavorably, 

against the characteristics or 

actions of other people

perfectionism

A form of 

emotional reasoning based on 

a desire and belief that one 

should be without flaws; good 

qualities, good work, or the 

good parts of a situation are 

minimized and focus is placed 

on how others or oneself have 

not measured up

points

of logical

vulnerability 

Topics about 

which a person has difficulty 

being rational or objective. 

general

semanticists

Scholars who study the effects 

of language on mental health 

and behavior. 

semantic

devices

Tools created by general 

semanticists that help people 

make their words more 

accurately reflective of reality. 

indexing

A process by 

which one takes general labels 

(women, Catholics, Asians, 

Americans) and substitutes 

a reference to actual people. 

Indexing is used to prevent 

stereotyping.

empathy

The ability to 

identify and understand the 

feelings and perspectives of 

others.

active

listening

Paraphrasing and summarizing 

the thoughts and feelings of 

the speaker with the aim of 

empathic understanding of his 

or her viewpoint.