Anyone familiar with the content of my blog likely understands that I pay attention to shifts in cultural norms regarding the United States (U.S.). Aside from amusement with how absurd some of these alterations are, I find value in thinking critically about what I observe.
As well, I value being able to think through these matters in public forum, posting conclusions in my blog, and then revisiting these suppositions in the future to see if I’ve changed my mind. Currently, I’m examining the breakfast question. According to one source:
The Breakfast Question or How Would You Have Felt If You Hadn’t Eaten Breakfast? is a bait question and a counterfactual conditional that references a 4chan story of a grad student who allegedly performed IQ research on convicts at San Quentin State Prison. During the research, individuals with low IQ struggled to simulate the hypothetical situation in their minds, instead answering that they did have breakfast. Online, the question has been used in internet arguments as a conspicuous way to indicate that one’s opponent is unintelligent, while the posts have often been referenced in memes.
Here’s how the breakfast questions works:
Interviewer: Imagine that you didn’t eat breakfast yesterday. How would you have felt?
Interviewee: But, I did eat breakfast yesterday.
Interviewer: Okay, but imagine that you didn’t. How might you have felt?
Interviewee: But, I did eat breakfast.
As indicated by the aforementioned source, the breakfast question is a simplistic – although invalid – assessment tool. The aim is to determine whether or not another person is capable of higher-order thinking, using a hypothetical question to assess for intelligence.
I find it humorous that some people believe the breakfast question actually serves as a crude measure of cognitive faculties and they use it as a form of overgeneralization while then dismissing input from other individuals. This method eliminates meaningful dialogue.
In essence, mere use of the breakfast question may suggest more about the interviewer than the interviewee. Regarding its lack of usefulness, one source elaborately states:
“If-then” statements like the one featured in the meme are called “conditional” constructions, because they present a condition (“if this”) and propose or interrogate a possible consequence if the condition is fulfilled (“then this”). The fancy word for the “if” part is a protasis, and the “then” part is called an apodosis.
Think of it like this: in the protasis you propose a scenario, whether hypothetical or actual. (In the apodosis you “give back” a corresponding result, which is what the word means.)
Conditional sentences are a little like algebra equations: you have to balance the “if” with a grammatically appropriate “then.” So, “hypothetical” is actually kind of an inexact term to describe what the question is supposed to be.
Given this understanding, the breakfast question may pre-deterministically suppose that an interviewee is unintelligent if unable to provide balance in the form of a presupposed answer. Assumption of this sort infers that the interviewer has the correct answer and then assesses the interviewee based on an expected response.
When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I try to remain cognizant of counterfactual arguments which are steeped in hubris of this kind. Admittedly, I don’t know everything there is to understand about life.
This includes overgeneralized assumptions about the intelligence of other people or whether or not a memetic question serves as a valid instrument of intellect assessment. Use of the breakfast question may suggest that an interviewer plausibly uses the irrational belief of global evaluation.
This occurs when overgeneralizing while assigning a rating of worth to oneself, others, or life. As an example, an interviewer uses the breakfast question to supposedly validate the belief that people who struggle with hypothetical analysis are merely stupid individuals.
Never mind that the interviewee may slowly process information due to a traumatic brain injury, could’ve been sleep or nutritionally deprived when asked the question, or experiences some other unidentified variable that causes disruption of cognitive ability. Nope, the interviewee is just dumb.
Shifting to a more applicable example regarding the field of behavioral health care, suppose I used the Trump question – based on the potential second term of Donald Trump for the U.S. Office of the President. Here’s how the Trump questions works:
Client: I’m terrified about the possibility that Trump may be reelected!
Me: Imagine that Trump is reelected. How might you feel?
Client: I can’t imagine such a thing, because it’s so awful that I couldn’t stand it!
Me: Okay, but imagine that he does get reelected. How might you feel about the matter?
Client: I absolutely can’t imagine it!
If I pompously determined that a self-disturbed client was stupid for being unable to imagine a hypothetical, my unproductive assumption would suggest more about me than the client whose unhelpful beliefs resulted in fear. Although irrational assumptions aren’t helpful, they don’t suggest unintelligence.
Therefore, the Trump question wouldn’t serve as a valid measure of intelligence any more than the breakfast question assesses for intellect. Perhaps a more logical and reasonable action would be to dispute the client’s unfavorable belief rather than pre-deterministically damning the individual.
Even if unsuccessful at being able to persuade a client to adopt more effective new beliefs, there’s no global rating of worth to be assigned in regard to the person’s self-disturbed condition. Even with wacky ideas about how Trump is “America’s Hitler,” people aren’t their beliefs.
With my approach to REBT, I’ll criticize, mock, and challenge irrational beliefs. However, I’m not using a global evaluation of worth for people who believe in some objectively delusional concepts.
Therein lies the difference between my perspective and that of the Trump question. Hypothetically speaking, or even as a matter of presumptive fact, Trump isn’t going to establish concentration camps in a manner similar to Adolf Hitler.
Although unfounded and irrational beliefs to the contrary are bonkers, people who maintain these assumptions aren’t nutty. Likewise, individuals incapable of responding to the breakfast question in an expected way may not be stupid.
After all, the question may serve as a gross assessment tool which suggests more about the interviewer than the interviewee. In any case, I’ll likely revisit this post in the future to see if my mind has changed. For now, I reject the premise and implied meaning derived from the breakfast question.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Chait, J. (2024, July 15). J.D. Vance joins ticket with man he once called ‘America’s Hitler’ – Apparently he meant it as a compliment. New York Magazine. Retrieved from https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/j-d-vance-vice-president-called-donald-trump-americas-hitler.html
Hollings, D. (2024, May 30). Behavioral health care. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/behavioral-health-care
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