MENTAL OBJECTIVITY

MENTAL OBJECTIVITY

Word Origin and History for objectivity - from Medieval Latin objectivus, from Latin objectus (see object + ity) the state or quality of being objective, something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain oraccomplish; purpose; goal; target. Standing back decreases emotion and increases logic.

How it works

Have you ever been in a conversation where the other person said something like 'Let's look at this in another way. If you stand back and look at the problem objectively, it seems less important.' ? Taking an objective stance has a calming effect, helping people to see things as they really are or from a different viewpoint. Objectivity works in two ways. First, it helps to remove emotion, allowing people to think more rationally. The other use of objectivity is that it provides neutral territory that allows an equitable discussion to take place. 

When we say 'be objective' we typically mean a number of things:

• Be unemotional, not getting agitated or distressed in any way.
• See things as they really are, not from a personally biased viewpoint. 
• Be neutral, understanding both points of view.

An objective viewpoint is thus more realistic, fairer and far more likely to be result in an agreeable resolution to human differences. 

Subjectivity

Objectivity is the opposite of subjectivity. A person who has a subjective viewpoint sees things only from their own position, complete with all biases, internal mental models and so on.

The problem with a subjective point of view is that it is invariably different from everyone else's subjective viewpoint.