The 10 Types Of Beliefs, And How They Speak About Who We Are
In many ways, we are what we do and what we think. The beliefs that we internalize and through which we live define who we are and, for example, they focus us on certain moral values or others, they make us have certain types of priorities, etc.
In this article we will see a classification about the main types of beliefs and the way they affect us on a daily basis.
Beliefs are fundamentally memorized ideas about what the world is like and how we should act. Specifically, they are cognitive schemes that is, systems of relationships between concepts that appear in our memory.
For example, for some people the term “anti-system” has connotations associated with terrorism and insecurity, so when entering this topic, their thoughts will move through the semantic field of acts of vandalism and violence; but for others, it has positive connotations associated with participatory democracy and collaboration, so very different conclusions will be reached through this scheme.
Having said that, Let’s see what the types of beliefs are.
Depending on whether they are normative or not
Beliefs can be descriptive or, on the contrary, indicate a direction in which our actions should go. That is why we distinguish between descriptive beliefs and moral beliefs.
These beliefs are assumed to be a simple (imperfect) copy of reality: They show what is in the present, whether we want it or not. For example, there are people who believe that the evolution of species follows a logic by which individuals must fight each other to survive, while others believe that evolution also creates frameworks in which those who survive the most are those who collaborate.
2. Moral or normative beliefs
These types of beliefs are what They tell us what is good and what is bad. For example, believing that inequality is something that must be fought.
According to their connection with religion
Historically, religions have had a very important weight both in the lives of individuals and in political and social events. That is why it is important to distinguish between religious beliefs and secular beliefs.
3. Religious beliefs
Religious beliefs, as their name indicates, are linked to a religion, regardless of their degree of extension and popularity. That means They subscribe to dogmatic ideas that should not be questioned, to certain rituals and principles based on the supernatural.
4. Secular beliefs
Secular beliefs are not linked to religion, at least not directly. Therefore, they are all those that cannot be included in the previous category.
Depending on the level of consciousness
In many respects, there are beliefs so implanted in our way of thinking that they are unconscious, automatic. This distinction is confusing because it is not easy to know to what extent an idea is unconscious or not, or if an apparent unconscious belief only arises in moments of intense emotionality or under certain circumstances, or if, on the contrary, it is always there, latent and hidden.
This type of beliefs is part of our daily discourse, the way in which we explain our convictions either in spoken or written form, referring to our opinions.
6. Unconscious beliefs
unconscious beliefs are expressed through biases, involuntary acts and thought experiments. For example, a person who claims that lying is always wrong may realize that he does not really think that if he is presented with a situation in which not lying has catastrophic situations.
According to its usefulness
Beliefs also have an impact on one’s quality of life. This is why we distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive beliefs.
7. Adaptive beliefs
They are those that allow us to adjust to our daily lives without causing suffering to others or ourselves. Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy, for example, is based on making our core beliefs adaptive.
8. Maladaptive beliefs
As their name indicates, they are those that do not allow us to adapt to our lives correctly, since they generate stridencies and conflicts, both intrapersonal and interpersonal.
For example, believing that it is correct to weigh less than 40 kilos is a maladaptive belief related to extreme thinness, and the same goes for the belief that homosexuality is unnatural or that there are inferior races. In the first case this idea causes pain mainly to oneself, while the others cause suffering to others.
Depending on whether they are internal or external
Beliefs can be directed towards oneself or towards others.
9. Beliefs about one’s own identity
They are closely related to self-esteem, self-concept and the expectations we place on ourselves.
These can be beliefs about the society in which one lives, friends and acquaintances, etc. It is very important in the so-called attribution styles, through which we attribute the causes of what we experience to others, to luck or to ourselves.
