The
psychology of Criticism
There
are different types of critical minds, and the worst ones are those who use
criticism to improve a feeling of self-worth by negating the worth of the
person on the other side.
Language
has a way of evolving a vocabulary that filter out attitudes in thought. There
is one type of critical mind that objectively weighs the pros and cons and
reaches a conclusion. There is another type of critical mind that works on the
basis of emotional values and reaches a judgment. The former is called a
critique while the latter is considered critical. The latter is often partnered
with a stridency that leads to reactions of aggression or withdrawal.
A
critique works to find ways to reach perfection by focusing on a task or
output. The creation rather than the creator is the focus. Personal preferences
with respect to the topic under discussion may come into play. The creator’s
personal whimsicalities and irreverence do not affect the judgment of the
person who provides a critique.
Contrast
this with the mind of a critical person. Criticism stems from an internal sense
of dissatisfaction and a continuous effort to counter the feeling. An
individual who uses criticism is trying to improve a feeling of self-worth by
negating the worth of the person on the other side. Criticism has its base in
self-hate and is a primary relationship killer.
Imagine
the players in a team who are unable to see positive traits in each other. The
colleague’s sense the mutual lack of acceptance and display apathy or complete
antagonism. This increases the mutual display of negative actions until the
working relationship is fractured. Key issues are ignored as each individual
tries to highlight the faults in the other team members while underplaying
their own. The environment is fraught with negative thoughts and the team fails
to function effectively.
Companies
that claim to foster competition in the hope of maximizing profits fail to
recognize that criticism is confused with competition. An environment that
promotes an attitude of bettering the performance of a predecessor or
competitor hopes to gain confidence that it progressively betters its past.
However, this aim is lost when the members start to compare themselves and
assume they are better than their competition merely because it makes them feel
better about themselves. The overall purpose of organizational betterment takes
second place to individual’s working to prove their own worth.
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