Generalization: How overgeneralization distorts facts and simplifies reality

Paying attention to generalizing statements is a key skill in critical information consumption. Statements like “all,” “never,” and “everyone” often signal the simplification of complex phenomena. Why does our brain so easily accept these cognitive shortcuts — and how can manipulators exploit this feature to create effective, but not entirely truthful, narratives?

Generalization is the process by which a person identifies common characteristics from different situations or objects and applies them to new situations or objects, believing that these characteristics will also be true for them. Generalization makes it easier to adapt to new situations and to understand the world around us.

Overgeneralization is a thinking error in which a person makes generalized, but false, conclusions based on limited data and believes them. In other words, it is a tendency to see patterns where there are none without looking for evidence to the contrary. Thus, generalization is detrimental to the fact-checking process, since the perception of facts will be influenced by subjective generalized attitudes, which contradicts an objective (unbiased) analysis of facts.

Generalizing statements should be considered phrases that summarize the accumulated universal human experience, the experience of a certain society, or the life experience of a certain individual. These are aphorisms and maxims of famous historical figures, philosophers, political and cultural figures, quotations from literary and other works, phrases of our contemporaries, etc.

Generalizing statements regularly appear in media publications, on the Internet and social networks regarding a wide variety of topics, from politics and philosophy to everyday problems.


Types and examples of generalizing statements:

  • Generalization from a single incident or the actions of one person: when the action or characteristic of one person or small group is attributed to an entire nation, country, social or political group.

Example: “Generation Z doesn’t want to work, all they do is make TikToks.” (Based on several viral videos or the journalist’s personal experience).

  • Use of generalizing absolute words: words like “all,” “nobody,” “always,” “never” are almost always a sign of generalization.

Example: “No sane person would support this idea.” (Creates a false dichotomy: either you are with us, or you are not sane).

  • Simplification of complex processes and phenomena: reducing a multifaceted problem with dozens of causes and consequences to one or two simple factors.

Example: “Poverty in country X is a consequence of government corruption.” (Although the causes may also include historical, economic, and climatic factors).

  • Cultural and social stereotypes: using cliches and ingrained prejudices as explanations.

Example: “Scandinavian countries prosper because they lack cultural diversity.” (Simplification of a complex socio-economic model).

Generalizing statements are easy to remember, they stick in the memory, many of them due to their unexpectedness and paradoxicality. Thus, generalizing statements can act as an instrument of influence and form a certain picture of the world in the audience.

Generalization as a tool of manipulation

Generalizing statements, reducing a variety of facts to common concepts, help to comprehend reality. However, they can be used both for open persuasion and for covert manipulation of the audience’s consciousness. In this case, the manipulator acts implicitly, avoiding direct instructions. This roundabout tactic allows for the introduction of attitudes into a person’s consciousness, bypassing the filters of rational assessment. Ultimately, this leads to the formation of a distorted, but seemingly true, picture of the world in a person.

Moreover, for a message to sound authoritative, it is not necessary to cite experts. Trust can be created by the very form of the statement. For example, people often accept generalizing statements (like “everyone knows” or “it has long been proven”) as based on accumulated experience and indisputable facts. This stereotypical perception gives such constructions the power of persuasion. As a result, trust in generalizing formulations can be used to manipulate consciousness by presenting a subjective opinion as an objective truth.


Why can generalizations be harmful?

  • Distortion of reality

The tendency to generalize leads to a distortion of the perception of reality, when, based on a limited number of facts or a single event, broad conclusions are made that are not supported by evidence. This violates the principles of objectivity, since data that could refute the generalizing thesis are excluded from consideration.

  • Distortion of assessments

The tendency to generalize, even in a positive way, distorts self-esteem and perceptions of reality. For example, statements like “they always lie” or “I’m never wrong” are not objective facts — they are cognitive biases that cause people to ignore important nuances and context.

  • Limited Judgment

The cognitive distortion of overgeneralization creates false limitations that are perceived as objective reality. When checking facts, such statements, not supported by evidence, require special attention, since they form a distorted picture of possibilities and prospects in a person.

The main problem with generalization is that an individual, having once accepted such simplified interpretations as confirmed truth, often refuses to critically re-examine them for years, which limits his ability to critically analyze and adequately assess what is happening.

How to combat generalization bias:

  • Maintain awareness

It is important to realize that generalization is not the same as experience or life wisdom. Experience is when you know that you can cut yourself with a sharp knife. Generalization is when you avoid going into the kitchen because that is where the knives are kept. It prevents you from seeing differences, nuances, changes. It prevents you from noticing that you yourself are changing. That people are different and can change too. That life situations, although they can be repeated, are not identical.

  • Turn on logic

In order not to fall into the trap of such a thinking error as generalization, sometimes it is enough to stop and ask yourself: “Do I really always do this? / Does he/she really always do this?” or “Who are all people?” or “Are there examples in my experience that confirm the opposite?” These questions help to reduce the degree of categoricalness, bring us back into contact with reality, which, as a rule, is much more diverse, has more nuances than the rigid formulas “always”, “never”, “all”, “nobody”. Usually, in real life experience there are cases that refute generalizations.

  • Be careful with accuracy

Be vigilant to absolute formulations. Statements containing categorical generalizing expressions require especially careful verification. For comparison, try replacing them with more balanced formulations: instead of “This never works” — “In this case, it did not work”; instead of “Everyone thinks so” — “Many people hold this opinion”. Skepticism towards overly categorical statements will help to form a more multifaceted picture of reality.

Generalization is the Achilles heel of critical thinking. It offers the convenient but false comfort of simple answers, for which we pay with a distorted perception of reality. Freeing ourselves from this trap means abandoning the black-and-white picture of the world and recognizing that most phenomena are complex, multifaceted, and do not fit into “all/never” formulas. This is the only way to move from passive consumption of information to its active and meaningful analysis.