Socially Acquired Beliefs

Socially acquired beliefs are one of the two sources of beliefs that go on to form our core beliefs.

Unlike experiential beliefs which are derived from our own, direct experiences, socially acquired beliefs are those that we learn or pick-up from the social context in which we develop as people.

Although both types of beliefs can be found within our core beliefs, they are fundamentally different in nature.

Experiential beliefs are built around the evidence of our own experiences whereas socially acquired beliefs are those beliefs ‘given’ or ‘imposed’ upon us by other people or social institutions for which we may have no supporting evidence.

Examples of Socially Acquired Beliefs

Our core beliefs are full of socially acquired beliefs because we are social creatures who all grow up and exist is social settings.

The only way to grow-up without them is to exist in complete isolation from any social structures or other people.

This is nearly impossible, of course, because to survive from the time you were a baby to being able to care for yourself requires the input from carers.

It is these carers or caring institiutions that provide you with your socially acquired beliefs so that you can function within the social context in which you live.

They are the rules and regulations by which you socialy negotiate your position within the social structures and include beliefs such as:

• You should be kind to other people who you live with.
• You must respect your elders.
• You should not roam the streets without wearing clothes.
• When you get married it should be for life.
• You should give-up some of the money you earn to tax collectors.
• You must never say no to people when they want something from you.
• and so on…

As you can see, most of the beliefs are social regulations and are designed to ensure that you meet the rules that have been determined by the rule-makers who are in-charge.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about socially acquired beliefs or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.