ISC

SUBJECT: PSYCHOLOGY Class: XI

CHAPTER 7: - THINKING, PROBLEM SOLVING AND CREATIVITY 2020-2021

OUTLINE
i. What is meant by thinking?
Definition and basic elements of thought. Nature and elements of thinking: images,
visual image, concepts and language. Different kinds of thinking: convergent,
divergent, creative, goal-oriented and aimless thinking.
ii. Concept and how they are formed.
Definition - importance of concepts in thinking - artificial, natural, simple and
complex concepts.
iii. Reasoning- how it is carried out; how reasoning can be made more effective.
Decision making and problem solving- heuristic and algorithms.
Reaching specific conclusions from available information - deductive and inductive
reasoning; Decision Making and Problem Solving - steps involved, optimum
expected utility, means-end-analysis, analogy.
iv. Creative thinking- what is meant by convergent and divergent thinking: stages in
creative thinking, how creativity can be fostered.
Use of divergent thinking in creativity - stages in creative thinking, preparation,
incubation, illumination, verification/validation. How creativity may be encouraged:
enrich knowledge and experience, encourage independence, curiosity and promote
positive mood.

I. WHAT IS MEANT BY THINKING (Baron, pgs. 214-217; Morgan, Pgs. 228-

232; Mangal, pgs. 355-361)
A. DEFINITION:
“A pattern of behaviour in which we make use of internal representation (symbol, sign etc.)
of things and events for the solution of some specific purposeful problem.”
“Thinking consists of the cognitive rearrangement or manipulation of both information
from the environment and the symbols stored in long term memory.” (Morgan)

B. BASIC ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT.

1. Purpose:
• What am I trying to accomplish?
• What is my central aim? My purpose?
2. Information:
• What information am I using in coming to that conclusion?
• What experience have I had to support this claim?

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 3. Inferences and conclusions
• How did I reach this conclusion?
• Is there another way to interpret the information?
4. Concepts
• What is the main idea here?
• Could I explain this idea?
5. Assumptions
• What am I taking for granted?
• What assumption has lead me to that conclusion?
6. Implications and consequences
• If someone accepted my position, what would be the implications? What am I
implying?
7. Points of view
• From what point of view am I looking at this issue?
• Is there another point of view I should consider?
8. Questions
• What question am I raising?
• What question am I addressing?
In General:
• Thinking involves the cognitive rearrangement or manipulation of both information
from the environment and symbols (any event or item) stored in long term memory.
• Thinking is a form of information processing that goes on during the period between the
stimulus event and the response to it.
• It is a set of complex cognitive process that mediates between stimuli and responses.
• The symbols used in the process of thinking are often words and language.
• Thinking and language are closely related and often interdependent. As language makes
available to a person thousands of potential symbols and rules for using thinking
processes.
• The process and product of thinking are both actually assessed by what is obtained by
the result. (The internal representation of external factors). E.g., What and how one
thinks are usually inferred from the way they behave.

C. NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF THINKING:

NATURE OF THINKING:
• Thinking is essentially a cognitive activity.
• Thinking is purposeful and is always directed towards achieving some objective.
• Thinking is described as a problem solving behaviour. The entire exercise of thinking
usually is centered around a problem which thinking is aimed at resolving.
• Thinking is a symbolic activity. That is a mental solution to a problem is carried out
through some signs, symbols and mental images.

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 ELEMENTS OF THINKING
• Images:
In general Images are abstractions of certain features from previous experience.
Images are the mental pictures or representations of objects or events. When we use
images to think, they are not usually complete “pictures in the head”. They are usually
incomplete.
• Visual image:
Visual Images are the Mental pictures or representations of objects or events. If
asked whether chess is a sport, we conjure up an image of two players bending intently
over the board while an audience looks on. Visual image may play a role in the
representation of natural concepts.
• Concepts:
Concepts are mental categories for objects, events, experiences, or ideas that are
similar to one another in one or more respects. They allow us to represent a great
deal of information about diverse objects, events or ideas in a highly efficient manner.
Concepts simplify the complex world of our experience which is full of diversities and
wide range variations.
• Language:
A system of symbols, plus rules for combining them, used to communicate
information. The symbols that we use in thinking are often words and language, and
therefore thinking and language are closely related. A language makes available
hundreds of thousands of potential symbols and gives us rules for using them. To a large
degree, the availability of language symbols is what makes human thinking so much
more sophisticated than the thinking of other animals. Also the process of reading and
writing and hearing words, phrases or sentences in any language tends to stimulate and
promote the process of human thinking.
• Symbols and Signs:
Symbols and signs represent substitutes for the actual objects, experiences and
activities.
In this sense, they are not confined to words, mathematical, numerals and terms.
E.g. 1: Traffic lights, railway signals, school bells, badges, songs and slogans are all
forms of symbolic expressions. These symbols also stimulate and economize thinking.
They tell us at once what to do and how to act.
E.g. 2: The multiplication sign (x) immediately tells the student the process he needs to
apply.

D. DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINKING:

• Convergent Thinking:
Convergent thinking is a term coined by Joy Paul Guilford.
It generally means the ability to give the "correct" answer to standard questions
that do not require significant creativity.
It generally means the ability to think from general to specific, for instance in most tasks
in school and on standardized multiple-choice tests for intelligence. Convergent is a
form of the word “converging” and so it means “coming together.” Convergent thinking
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 is what you engage in when you answer a multiple choice question (although, in real
life, we often only see two choices). In convergent thinking, you begin by focusing on
a limited number of choices as possibilities. Then you choose the “right” answer or
course of action from among those choices.
• Divergent Thinking:
Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas
by exploring many possible solutions.
Divergent means “developing in different directions” and so divergent thinking opens
your mind in all directions. This opens possibilities in your life because it leads you to
look for options that are not necessarily apparent at first. The figure on the right side of
the above diagram illustrates divergent thinking.
• Creative thinking:
Creative thinking way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective
that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative
thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and
by a structured process such as lateral thinking. In Creative thinking sometimes new is
sought. Some new ideas seem to come suddenly after little progress has been made over
a long period of time; this sudden appearance of new ideas is called insight. It is not
restricted by pre-established rules.
The individual himself usually formulates the problem and is also free to collect the
evidence and to fashion the tools for its solution.
E g: The thinking of scientists, artists or inventors provides ideal examples for such type
of thinking.
Insights are sometimes triggered by lucky, or fortuitous, environmental circumstances
which, after creative thinkers have immersed themselves in a problem, direct their
thoughts in a new direction.
• Goal-oriented thinking:
Goal-oriented thinking is a skill that enables us to improve our circumstances by
setting goals, measuring progress and evaluating outcomes. This is a type of thinking
that is so deeply ingrained within Western culture that it seems the only way to think.
In science-based education we are taught to advance towards defined outcomes by
means of goal- oriented thinking.
• Aimless thinking:
It can be called as fantasy. In imagination also some amount of goal is observed.
E.g. getting pleasure of eating an ice cream in imagination when ice cream is not
available. Aimless thinking is erratic and serves no purpose or goal. No problem and no
solution. E.g. day dreaming.
The thoughts of people who are just relaxing or engaged in an activity not requiring
much conscious input, as well as people who have disordered minds, do not go in any
particular direction. The structure their thoughts build is haphazard and architecturally
unsound. Yet, in an important way, it still has direction, because it builds upon the
edifice of who they will be in the next moment, simply by having had a specific thought
and remembering having had it. Ultimately, even thoughts that seem to be aimless carry

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 us along our journey towards the completion of our lives. The order of our physical
brains again requires it.

II. CONCEPTS AND HOW THEY ARE FORMED (Baron, pgs. 214-215; Morgan,
pgs. 232-234)

A. DEFINITION: Concepts are mental categories for objects, events, experiences, or

ideas that are similar to one another in one or more respects.
They allow us to represent a great deal of information about diverse objects, events, or ideas
in a highly efficient manner. Concepts simplify the complex world of our experience which
is full of diversities and wide-ranging variations. They can be tangible like a bird or an
animal or abstract like justice, tolerance, beauty etc.

B. IMPORTANCE OF CONCEPTS IN THINKING

Concepts may be represented in mind in several ways- features or attributes; visual images;
and schemas, and they play an important role in thinking and in our efforts to make sense
out of a complex and ever changing external world:
1. Learning and remembering becomes easy with the help of concepts,
2. Thinking also becomes economical.
3. Solution to a problem comes as quickly as possible with the use of concepts.
4. Human beings not only acquire concepts by observing common elements and figuring
out relationships, but they learn them by asking questions and getting the answers in
return. Our concepts give us an advantage which would be lost if we were compelled to
speak and think about particulars only.
5. Concepts provide us with a lot of information about the world in an efficient summary
form.
6. Concepts allow us to organize our experience into coherent patterns and to draw
inferences in situations in which we lack direct experience.
7. Concepts also save us mental effort, by allowing us to apply previous knowledge to
new situations

C. TYPES/KINDS OF CONCEPTS:
a. Artificial Concepts:
Concepts that have a unique set of traits and features. These concepts are easy to
define and elaborate.
E.g. A rectangle has two opposite sides equal, if it is not the case, then it is not a rectangle.
An artificial concept is defined by a specific set of characteristics. Various properties of
geometric shapes, like squares and triangles, serve as useful examples of artificial concepts.
E.g.: A triangle always has three angles and three sides. A square always has four equal
sides and four right angles. Mathematical formulas, like the equation for area (length ×
width) are artificial concepts. defined by specific sets of characteristics that are always the
same. Artificial concepts can enhance the understanding of a topic by building on one
another. For example, before learning the concept of “area of a square” (and the formula to
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 find it), you must understand what a square is. Once the concept of “area of a square” is
understood, an understanding of area for other geometric shapes can be built upon the
original understanding of area. The use of artificial concepts to define an idea is crucial to
communicating with others and engaging in complex thought.

b. Natural Concepts:
Known, familiar and relatively simple concepts that have rather loose features to
define and explain them.
Concepts grow and develop from our day to day experiences and particularly during
childhood. E.g. Tree, woman, feeding bottle are learnt naturally by our day to day
experiences during our childhood.
The examples of natural concepts are formed not as a result of the application of a strict set
of rules, but rather as the result of their experiences with these concepts in the real world.
Natural concepts are created “naturally” through your experiences and can be developed
from either direct or indirect experiences. Our concept of snow is an example of a natural
concept- one that we understand through direct observation and experience.

c. Simple concepts:
Some concepts are simple in the sense that they are clearly defined. When a concept
is clearly defined, it is easy to distinguish an example from a non-example.
E.g. the concept of a square, or an equilateral triangle.
In the initial stage simple concepts are found. It is developed by observing its common
elements and figuring out relationships. If a child sees a dog of different kinds and colours,
he first has to have a basic concept of dog where he can then associate the term dog with
different sizes and colours. simple concepts are represented as lists of features or as
schemata of some kind.

d. Complex concepts:
Some concepts are rather difficult to define. These are defined in a variety of ways,
and marked by a set of complex features. These may be ambiguous, overlapping, and
even abstract. E.g. a bird, or a chair.
A concept is a process which represents the similarities in otherwise diverse objects.
Concepts are product of thinking and once developed play a major role in further thinking.
Complex concepts develop at a late stage with the proper development of reasoning and
intelligence. Abstract concepts are usually complex ones found in adults and intelligent
people. Deriving a principle from varied experiences and then generalize it with the help of
reasoning and intelligence help in development of complex concepts. Complex concepts
are used in abstract thinking.

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 D. HOW ARE CONCEPTS FORMED?
There are different stages for formation of concepts:
1. Observation:
The first stage in the formation of concepts is the observation of an event, object or an
experience. This can also be called the stage of becoming aware. This can be either direct
or indirect. The child can directly see a dog and become aware of it. On the other hand, he
also hears stories about devils and giants from his parents and grandparents; here the
awareness is indirect. Thus, all of us have some knowledge or awareness of primitive
people (or at least we believe we have) even though most of us have not seen them.
Generally repeated experiences provide the basis for the development of concepts.

2. Generalization:
Repeated experiences or observations of different objects result in a tendency to form a
general idea. Thus, a child first sees one dog, then another dog, then a third and so on and
begins to form the general idea of a dog. This is called the process of generalization. The
process of generalization explains how the child acquires many concepts like the concepts
of gender, shape, number, etc.

3. Discrimination or Differentiation:
Along with generalization and the observation and organization of similarities among
things and objects, the child also becomes aware of the differences between them. Thus, all
dogs are alike and all cows are alike. Dogs run on four legs and cows also do the same.
At the same time dogs and cows are different from each other and big dogs are different
from small dogs, and bulls are different from cows. It is this type of sequential operation of
generalization and differentiation in interaction that leads to the formation of concepts.

4. Abstraction:
From the description of the above processes the operation of abstraction becomes evident.
The child has seen dogs and he happens to see a cow on a different occasion. He does not
observe them at the same time but inwardly he compares his experiences on the two
occasions.
The perceptions and the experiences are now inwardly analyzed and re-experienced in the
absence of the objects. This results in an appreciation of similarities and differences. This
process by which the experience is analyzed in the absence of actual situations is known as
abstraction. It is abstraction which actually transforms comparable and contrasting
experiences into concepts.

III. REASONING (Baron, pgs. 219-222; Mangal, pgs. 367-369)

A. REACHING SPECIFIC CONCLUSIONS FROM AVAILABLE
INFORMATION-
DEFINITION:
Reasoning is the cognitive activity in which we transform information in order to
reach specific Conclusions.

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 Reasoning is also one of the key aspects of thinking. It is a process that involves inference.
Reasoning is used in logical thinking and problem solving. It is goal directed, and the
conclusions or judgments are drawn from a set of facts. In reasoning, information from the
environment and the stored information in the mind are used following certain rules.

B. STEPS IN REASONING:
• Identification of the goal or purpose to which the reasoning is to be directed.
• Mental exploration or search for the various possibilities, cause-and-effect
relationships or solutions for realizing the set goal or purposes based on the previous
learning or experiences and present observations or attempts.
• Selection of the most appropriate possibility or solution by careful mental analysis
of all he available alternatives.
• Testing the validity of the selected possibility or solution, purely through mental
exercise and thus finally accepting or rejecting it for the actual solution of the problem.

C. TYPES OF REASONING
There are two types of reasoning: deductive and inductive.
1. Deductive reasoning:
It is the ability to draw logical conclusion from known statements or evidences. Here
we follow the principle of “From general to the specific.” E.g.: All human beings are
mortal; you are a human being; therefore, you are mortal.

2. Inductive reasoning:
It is the ability to formulate generalized principles and conclusions on the basis of certain
facts and specific examples. Here we follow the principle of “From specific to general.”
E.g.: Mohan is mortal, Radha is mortal, Karim is mortal, and Edward is mortal.
Therefore, all human beings are mortal.

D. IMPROVING REASONING

1. Avoiding Errors:
Good readers analyze the quality of written and spoken evidence and can spot fallacious
reasoning. Thinking and reading critically will allow you to debunk faulty reasoning
and improve your ability to argue effectively.
2. Examining Premises and Ambiguities:
Vagueness: A vague claim has a meaning that is indistinct or imprecise.
Ambiguity: An ambiguous claim has two or more possible meanings, and the context
does not make clear which meaning is intended. Unsupported claims which are vague,
ambiguous, or overly general cannot be accepted. Premises which are vague or
ambiguous or general must be rejected.

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 3. Guarding Against Emotion:
The way we feel can reduce our ability to reason effectively. Even positive moods can
also reduce our ability to reason effectively as they make more and more diffuse,
memories available to us.

E. DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING (Baron, pgs. 223-232;

Morgan, pgs. 234-244; Mangal, pgs. 369-379)

a. DECISION MAKING
It is a kind of problem solving in which we are presented with several alternatives,
among them which we must choose.
The process of choosing among various courses of action or alternatives. (Baron).
In decision making we take in to consideration:
1. The utility or value to you of the outcomes each alternative might yield and
2. The probability that such results would actually occur.
In reality though, people don’t usually reason in such a systematic manner. Instead, we
make decisions informally, on the basis of hunches, intuition, the information stored in
our memories, and the opinions of others.
STEPS: 7 Steps of the Decision-Making Process
1. Identify the decision.
2. Gather relevant information.
3. Identify the alternatives.
4. Weigh the evidence.
5. Choose among the alternatives.
6. Take action.
7. Review your decision.

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 Heuristics:
Where cognition is concerned, human beings often follow the path of least resistance.
Making decisions is hard work, so it is only reasonable to expect people to take shortcuts
in performing this activity. One group of cognitive shortcuts is known as heuristics-
rules of thumb that reduces the effort required, though they may not necessarily enhance
the quality or accuracy of the decisions reached. Heuristics are extracted from past
experience and serve as simple guidelines for making reasonably good choices quickly
and efficiently. Heuristics are mental rules of thumb that permits us to make
decisions and judgments in a rapid and efficient manner.

Algorithm:
A rule that guarantees a solution to a specific type of problem. These are rules for
a particular kind of problem that will, if followed, yield a solution.
E.g. Imagine that you are supposed to meet a friend at a restaurant. Try as you may, you
cannot remember the name of the place. One approach is getting out the yellow pages
and see if this refreshes your memory. If this does not, you can try calling all the
restaurants listed to ask if your friend made a reservation. Following this algorithm
method- ‘calling every restaurant in the book’ will eventually work out, but it is time
consuming and inefficient.

b. PROBLEM SOLVING:
Problem Solving is ‘an effort to develop or choose among various responses in
order to attain desire goals.’

METHODS OF SOLVING PROBLEMS:

• Optimum Expected Utility
It is perceived benefit or psychological value in making decisions. In considering
the decisions that people make, we must remember that different people assign
different utilities to the same event; the psychological worth of an outcome varies
among people.
E.g., Given a choice between receiving $10 now or $ 100 a year from now, a rich man
might decide to wait for the $100, but a poor person would probably take the immediate
$10. The utility of the $10 is different for the two people.

• Mean-End Analysis:
While solving a problem, it is always better to have a proper analysis of the nature
of the problem in perfect coordination with the means, materials and resources in
hand.
Where we have to reach? What needs to be done? What type of solution the problem
needs? – All these issues should be carefully analyzed in relation to the means available
for coping with these issues. The means-end analysis strategy stands for:
a. The identification of the difference between the current state and the one that is
desired in relation to the nature of the problem and then.
b. Taking action to reduce this difference for arriving at the solution.
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 • Analogy:
The application of techniques that worked in similar situations in the past.
It is a strategy for solving problems based on applying solutions that were previously
successful with other problems similar in underlying structure. In this strategy a person
makes use of his own experiences, training and practice work carried out to find a
solution for the similar problem. Here while solving a particular problem, one
formulates or hypothesis another problem, similar to that in hand, but with a known
solution; and this solution is then used to devise a solution for the current problem.
E.g. imagine that while driving through an unfamiliar town, you are suddenly seized
by an uncontrollable desire for McDonald’ burger. You don’t know your way around
this town, but you know from the past experiences that McDonald’s are located near
busy interstate highways. Applying this knowledge, you follow signs showing the way
to the nearest interstate.

STEPS FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

a. Problem identification:
We must recognize that a problem exists and then figure out just what issues, obstacles
and goals are involved.

b. Formulate a potential solution:

Solutions do not arise out of cognitive vacuum; they require thinking critically about a
problem and they depend heavily on the information at our disposal- information stored
in long term memory that can be retrieved. The more information available, the greater
the number and wider the scope of potential solutions we can generate. Formulating a
wide range of possible solutions is an extremely important step in effective problem
solving.

c. Evaluate each alternative and the outcome it will produce:

Will a given solution work- bring us closer to the goal we want? Are there any serious
obstacles to its use? Are there hidden costs that will make a potential solution less useful
than it seems at first?

d. Try potential solutions:

Try potential solutions and evaluate them on the basis of the effects they produce. The
careful assessment of the effects of various solutions is another key step in the problem-
solving process.

IV. CREATIVE THINKING (Morgan, pgs. 244-247; Mangal, pgs. 333-353)

A. DEFINITION:
Creative thinking is trying to create something ‘new under the Sun’. Some new ideas
seem to come suddenly after little progress has been made over a long period of time;
this sudden appearance of new ideas is called insight. Insights are sometimes triggered
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 by lucky, or fortuitous, environmental circumstances which, after creative thinkers have
immersed themselves in a problem, direct their thoughts in a new direction.

B. NATURE OF CREATIVE THINKING

Several attempts have been made to develop tests that will measure creativity in people. In
one elaborate study (Guilford, 1967), a battery of tests was constructed and carefully
analyzed. Out of this work came concepts of ‘convergent’ and ‘divergent’ thinking.

• Convergent Thinking:
Convergent thinking is concerned with a particular end result. The thinker gathers
information relevant to the problem and then proceeds, by using problem-solving rules, to
work out the right solution. The result of convergent thinking is usually a solution that has
been previously arrived at by someone else. Convergent thinking is not the type of thinking
people primarily use when they think creatively.

• Divergent Thinking:
The characteristic of divergent thinking is the variety of thoughts involved. When thinking
creatively, people tend to think in a divergent manner, thus having many varied thoughts
about a problem. Divergent thinking includes autistic thinking (highly private use of
symbols for very personal meaning) and some convergent thinking. The creative thinker
may use convergent thinking to gather information and thoughts as building materials for
the ultimate creative solution. At times, the person may drift into autistic thinking, or free
association, in which the symbols of thought have private meanings. In the process of this
autistic thinking, some useful ideas would have been missed by concentrating strictly on
the problem that may occur.

C. CHARACTERISTIC OF CREATIVE THINKERS:

Creative thinkers/people tend to have the following traits:
1. They prefer complexity and some degree of apparent imbalance in phenomena.
2. They are more complex pychodynamically and have greater personal scope.
3. They are more independent in their judgments.
4. They are more self-assertive and dominant.
5. They reject suppression as a mechanism for the control of impulse.

D. STAGES OF CREATIVE THINKING:

Many years ago, through interviews, questionnaires, and the reminiscence of outstanding
creative thinkers, Graham Wallas studied the steps involved in their thinking. He found that
through there were individual differences in the ways these creative people though, there

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 was a recurring pattern. One way of looking at creative thinking is that it proceeds in five
stages:

1. Preparation:
In this stage, the thinker formulates the problem and collects the facts and materials
considered necessary for the new solution.

2. Incubation:
During this period, some of the ideas that were interfering with the solution tend to fade.
In addition, the creative thinkers may have experiences that (although the thinker does
not realize it at the time) provide clues to the solution. The unconscious thought
processes involved in creative thinking are also at work during the period of incubation.

3. Illumination:
If the thinker is lucky, illumination occurs with its “aha!” insight experience; an idea for
the solution suddenly wells up into consciousness.

4. Verification/ Validation (Evaluation):

In this stage, the apparent solution is tested to see if it satisfactorily solves the problem.
Frequently, the insight turns out to be unsatisfactory, and the thinker is back at the
beginning of the creative process. In other cases, the insight is generally satisfactory but
needs some modification or the solution of minor problems to be really “good” new
idea.

E. HOW CREATIVITY MAY BE ENCOURAGED:

1. By Enriching knowledge and experience:
By developing a broad and rich knowledge base, by integration and combination of
knowledge of the person who wants to create or solve a problem. This can be achieved
by good preparation.

2. By Fostering Independence:
People engaged in creative research or creative pursuits must be given the freedom and
independence to carry on their work. They should not only be tolerated but also
encouraged. A music director who spends 20 hours in composing music should be
tolerated as well as encouraged by his wife and children in particular and by the society
in general.

3. By Encouraging the use of Analogies:

Creating can be improved by recognizing the similarity between an old problem and a
new one. For development of this skill opportunity should be given to the interest of
individuals. Hence creativity can be fostered by teaching in school the use of analogies.

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 4. By Encouraging Curiosity:
Without curiosity, creativity cannot improve. It is often found that creative people have
high level of curiosity. So, it is said that curiosity is the master of invention. From the
early childhood, interest and curiosity should be encouraged. Knowledge increases
creativity and curiosity helps increasing knowledge.

5. By Enhancing Positive Affect on Mood:

Several studies indicate that when people are in a positive mood, they become more
creative than when they are in neutral or negative mood. Study of Isen, Daubman and
Nowicki (1987) indicate the above. So, a good mood can enhance creativity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Baron, R. Misra, G. (2002) Psychology Indian Subcontinent Edition, 5th Edition, Dorling
Kindersley (India).
• Morgan, C. King, R. (2015) Introduction to Psychology, 7 th Edition, McGraw Hill
Education (India) Private Limited.
• Mangal, S.K. (2012), Advanced Educational Psychology, 2nd Edition, PHI Learning
Private Limited, New Delhi.
• Mohanty, Girishbala (2012) Text Book of Psychology, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_the_single_cause
• skepdic.com/singlecause.htm
• https://public.wsu.edu/~hughesc/Paul-elements-of-thought.html
• http://www.psychologydiscussion.net/thinking/formation-of-concepts-4-main-steps-
concepts-thinking-psychology/3131
• http://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/psychology/chapter/what-is-cognition/

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE CHAPTER

• You are required to refer to your three textbooks (Morgan and King, Baron and
Mangal) while preparing for this chapter, in order to gain a deeper understanding and
prepare for your examination.
• These notes are guidelines and are by no means ‘ideal answers.’ You must
supplement your answers with relevant examples wherever required as per the marks
allotted in the question paper.

QUESTION BANK
1. What is meant by thinking? Explain its elements.
2. What are the different kinds of thinking?
3. Define Concepts and explain its importance in thinking.
4. Explain the different kinds of concepts.

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 5. Briefly explain the term Reasoning.
6. What are the different types of reasoning?
7. How would you improve reasoning?
8. What is meant by Decision making?
9. Explain the factors that influence decision making.
10.Define problem solving and elucidate the steps of problem solving with an example.
11.What is meant by Heuristics and Algorithm in problem solving?
12.What are the different methods of Problem solving?
13.What is Creative Thinking? Discuss the stages of Creative Thinking.
14.How can creativity be encouraged?
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Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu. Dept. Of Psychology.