Have you ever thought about the difference between what you do and what you say?Why does a person seem to say something that’s the opposite of what they really feel?Conflicting messages are confusing. In this article we talk about it from a psychological point of view.
What is a contradictory message? Read on to discover some keys to understanding this type of communication, including examples. In addition, you’ll see the results of some recent research on the subject, particularly that of Gregory Bateson, a social scientist.
“Messages are no longer messages when no one can read them” – Gregory Bateson-
Conflicting messages are those that convey dissonant information from the same source, so they are paradoxical. The topic has been reviewed by several authors and trends:
Gregory Bateson, an anthropologist and linguist from the United Kingdom, spoke of conflicting messages from the systemic model, referred to the theory of double bonding, emphasizing the association between members of a system, and developed it to explain psychology. causes of schizophrenia, a condition associated with modes of communication.
Dual links are communication dilemmas that arise from the antagonism between the content of different messages from the same source, thus causing confusion in those who receive them.
However, this theory has been revised and expanded, exceeding the limits of schizophrenia, and has also been applied in other contexts and it is suggested, for example, that some use dual links as a means of control or manipulation.
When it comes to conflicting messages, the sender can say that there will be bad consequences if the recipient does not engage in a particular behavior, and also provides abstract commands that contradict this command. Below, we list more features of such messages. Message:
The methods of communication, yours and others, influence your health, there are researchers who even claim that they can be found at the origin of certain pathologies, this does not mean that they are the cause, but one of the factors that favor or trigger them (triggers).
Currently, there are a number of investigations in this context. In their article published in Keyword magazine, Rodroguez-Zoya, LG and Rodroguez Zoya, in their article published in Keyword magazine, show how the processes of communication and social interaction can distort or hinder social representations and social communication in the theory of double bonding.
In addition, there are other types of analyses, such as those focused on intervention proposals in double-link situations in teacher-student interactions, an idea presented by García-Castro, Saneleuterio and García Ramos in the journal Psychology and Education: Present and Future.
Everyone can receive conflicting messages. They are usually quite toxic; Please note that they may be recurrent and have implicit content that confuses, blocks, and can lead to:
People who generate this type of message are also affected, as their wishes are often not fulfilled or their needs are met, just as for the dual link to occur, the relationship must be significant, since the disappointment of not meeting expectations can be deeper.
An example of this type of message occurs when a mother communicates to her child that she loves him while rejecting him in one way or another. Another example is when a person tells their partner, “do what you want,” or when you tell them trust someone, but maintains a surveillance attitude at all times.
In short, in these situations, the same demand manifested in the message makes it impossible to comply, so contradictory messages cause shame on both sides: in those who send messages, because it is very difficult to receive the response they want, and in those who receive them, because they do not know what to do.