Unit 3: THOUGHT

Lesson 1: READING
READING 1
The development of thought
1 Our bodies grow and develop as we age, so it should come as no surprise that our thoughts do too.
Understanding the development of thought can help us understand our interactions with people of different
ages, especially children and young adults.
2 The pioneer of the study of cognitive development is Jean Piaget (1896–1980), a French psychologist. Piaget
formed his theories by both observing and talking to children, including his own, and by setting conventional
intelligence tests. Piaget’s method was innovative because rather than observing his subjects in a laboratory,
he observed them in a natural setting, such as at play or in their homes.
3 Piaget’s fascination with this subject grew from watching his nephew Gerard playing with a ball. He noted
that when the ball rolled away from Gerard, but was still in sight, such as under a table, the child was able to
find it and pick it up. However, when the ball rolled under a sofa, and Gerard could no longer see it, he tried
to find it in the place he had seen it last. From this, Piaget hypothesized that young children lacked the ability
to see objects as separate from themselves.
4 To test this, Piaget began carefully observing his own baby daughter, Jacqueline, as she grew up. As a baby,
she apparently believed that objects did not exist if she could not see them. At nearly 12 months of age, she
would search for missing objects she could no longer see—thus indicating that she knew they still existed.
However, like Gerard in the prior example, she sometimes looked in the wrong place. At around 21 months,
she seemed to clearly understand that objects existed whether she was looking at them or not.
5 Piaget concluded that adults not only think faster than children, but differently. Eventually, he categorized
cognitive development into four stages:
THE SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (from birth to two years old): Infants and toddlers use input from their
senses—seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, hearing—to understand their world. That’s one reason toddlers
are constantly putting non-edible objects into their mouths. They’re not trying to eat; they’re trying to learn.
A principle goal of this stage is for children to learn “object permanence”; that is, to understand that an object
exists even when they can’t see it. This leads to their being able to name objects with words.
THE PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (from two to six years old): Children use play as a method of learning.
They are egocentric, meaning that they have trouble understanding the point of view of other people, and are
not good at logical thinking. Children have a more mature use of language than infants and toddlers, and can
use symbols, memory, and imagination.
THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (from six or seven to 11 years old): Children have improved
use of logic, and can reason mathematically. They can divide and sort items into categories, and think about
two dimensions, such as length and width, at the same time. However, their logic applies mostly to concrete
objects and not abstract or hypothetical ideas. At this stage, they become less egocentric and begin to consider
the viewpoint and feelings of other people.
THE FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE (from age 11 or 12 on up): Adolescents can think logically
about abstract and hypothetical ideas, such as what might happen in the future. They can understand complex
mathematical formulas, and relationships such as cause and effect. At the beginning of this stage, there is a
return to egocentric thought. It is estimated that only about 35% of high school graduates in industrialized
countries reach this stage, and that many adults, in fact, never do.

6 Modern child psychologists have made adjustments to Piaget’s theories. For example, it is now accepted that
the ages of the four stages are approximate, and that there is some variation in the rate of children’s
development. However, the stages and their characteristics are still accepted and studied today.
C. Global reading
Scan The development of thought to learn who these people are:
Jean Piaget: _______________________________________________________
Jacqueline: _______________________________________________________
Gerard: __________________________________________________________

D. Close reading
Reread these sentences from The development of thought. Choose what the underlined ellipsis is referring to.
1 Our bodies grow and develop as we age, so it should come as no surprise that our thoughts do too—that is, the
very way in which we think.
a age b thin c grow and develop
2 Piaget formed his theories by both by observing and talking to children, including his own, and by setting
conventional intelligence tests.
a children b theories c field
3 At the beginning of this stage, there is a return to egocentric thought. It is estimated that only about 35% of high
school graduates in industrialized countries reach this stage, and that many adults, in fact, never do.
a think logically b return to egocentric thought
c reach this stage

READING 2
Emotional thinking
1 Is it better to think with your head or your heart? The real question may be—do you have a choice?
Even people who pride themselves on being logical, rational thinkers may be more influenced by their
emotions than they realize.

2 The reason for that is simple: Emotions are designed to influence behavior. Emotions evaluate a situation and
then tell us how to react. When your brain experiences an emotion, it sends a signal to your nervous system,
which in turn sends signals to the rest of your body. This is why people refer to a “gut feeling.” Emotions
give you this type of information more quickly and with a stronger impact than using your reasoning. They’re
designed to help you make decisions quickly, especially in “high stakes” situations, those that are very
important or carry some element of risk.

3 Emotional responses are often built on past experiences. Have you ever had an unpleasant experience with a
bully in school, for example? If you later encounter someone in a business meeting who reminds you of that
person, perhaps because he looks similar or exhibits some of the same behavior, you might feel the same
emotions you felt as a child, such as fear and anxiety, and be reluctant to interact with that person.

4 Popular articles encourage people to “Listen to your gut” and to “Trust your instincts.” The problem is that
these emotions won’t always be correct. The person in the business meeting might not be a bully at all, but
only share the same hair and eye color or tone of voice. Even though your emotions are telling you the two
people are similar, it might not be true.

5 Emotional thinking has an important impact on the workplace because it influences how people decide what
to do. Researchers have found that emotions carry out four key functions in decision-making:
● They provide information. Emotions tell you whether an experience or encounter is likely to be positive
or negative. Pleasure and displeasure are two emotions that serve this function.
 ● They improve speed. Because emotions are felt more immediately than logical thought, they result in
decisions being made faster. Fear, anger, and hunger are good examples of emotions that produce a
rapid response.
● They assess relevance. Emotions such as regret and disappointment that are based on someone’s
personal history will influence how that person evaluates an event in the present.
● They strengthen commitment to others. Community and personal connection are important in social
groups, and emotions such as guilt, love, and empathy guide people to help others in their group.

6 All of these functions are important on the job; but how good are emotions at carrying them out?

7 Studies conducted about the implication of emotional thinking in the workplace have found some interesting
—and sobering—results. For example, when people feel angry, they are more likely to assume a situation is
less risky than it really is, and also to be less willing to admit they have made a mistake. An angry manager
might continue to support a failing project because he doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong.

8 When people experience fear, on the other hand, they tend to give up on projects too easily. While anger
gives people too much confidence, fear takes too much confidence away. People feeling sad or depressed
were found to be more likely to set low prices for items they were asked to sell. However, they were also
more generous towards others.

9 People who feel happy are less likely to take risks. But even happiness is not all good news. More than one
study has found that happy people put more emphasis on the appearance of something than quality. There’s a
reason why job interviews, when both people laugh and feel relaxed, are more likely to result in the candidate
being offered the job.

10 If even positive feelings can lead to inappropriate decisions, what should a person do? While emotional
thinking is inevitable, steps can be taken to add rational thinking as well. As emotional thoughts come more
quickly, and yet might not be accurate, build extra time into your decision-making process. Give yourself
enough time and opportunity to logically evaluate the situation. You can also force your brain to react
impartially, for example, by making a list of advantages and disadvantages of a decision.

11 Understanding emotional thinking will help you better understand the way other people behave. If you can
tell who is approaching a task with anger or fear, you will be better able to predict how they will act.

12 Nonetheless, the same event or circumstance can cause different emotions in different people. Almost
everyone, for instance, feels anxiety or stress while working on projects with a deadline. But for some people,
that anxiety begins as soon as the project is assigned. Other people only feel anxious when the deadline is
very close. The first person will start working right away, in order to get rid of or lessen the sense of anxiety.
But the second won’t begin until the deadline is near because the anxiety hasn’t been triggered yet. For
managers, knowing which type of person each of their employees is will help with time management and
choosing which people could work together on a team.

13 Ideally, you will never have to choose between emotional thinking and rational thinking. To maximize your
ability to make good decisions, use both. Give your brain time to interpret the signals your emotions are
giving you instead of relying solely on one type of input. Use every resource your body provides, in other
words, instead of just some. It’s the logical thing to do, and it feels right too.
C. Global reading
Read Emotional thinking and answer the questions.
1 Who is the audience for this text, and what is the tone?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2 What does the writer use bullets (●) to show? And why?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

D. Close reading
1. Read Emotional thinking again. What is the purpose of these questions? Write Interest or Importance.
1. Is it better to think with your head or your heart? ________________
2. The real question may be—do you have a choice? ________________
3. Have you ever had an unpleasant experience with a bully in school, for example? ________________
4. All of these functions are important on the job; but how good are emotions at carrying them out?
________________
5. If even positive feelings can lead to inappropriate decisions, what should a person do? ________________

2. For the questions in Exercise 1 that you marked as Importance, write the answers to the questions or
discuss them with a partner.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________