CHAPTER 8

THINKING
 Thinking is the base of all cognitive activities or processes and is unique to human beings.
 It involves manipulation and analysis of information received from the environment.
 Thinking, therefore, is a higher mental process through which we manipulate and analyse the
acquired or exist ing information.
 Such manipulation and analysis occur by means of abstracting, reasoning, imagining, problem
solving, judging, and decision-making.
 Thinking is mostly organised and goal directed.
 Thinking is an internal mental process, which can be inferred from overt behaviour. If you see a
chess player engrossed in thinking for several minutes before making a move, you cannot observe what
he is thinking. You can simply infer what he was thinking or what strategies he was trying to
evaluate, from his next move.

Building Blocks of Thought

 Mental Image: An image is a mental representation of a sensory experience; it can be used to
think about things, places, and events.
 Concepts: A concept thus, is a mental representation of a category. It refers to a class of objects, ideas
or events that share common properties.
 Concept formation helps us in organising our knowledge so that whenever we need to access our
knowledge, we can do it with less time and effort.
 A prototype is the best representative member of the category.

THE PROCESSES OF THINKING

i) Problem solving
ii) Reasoning
iii) Decision making

i) Problem solving

Obstacles to Solving Problems

Two major obstacles to solving a problem are mental set and lack of motivation.

Mental Set: it is a tendency of a person to solve problems by following already tried mental operations
or steps. Prior success with a particular strategy would sometimes help in solving a new problem. This
tendency also creates a mental rigidity that obstructs the problem solver to think of any new rules or
strategies. Thus, while in some situations mental set can enhance the quality and speed of problem solving,
in other situations it hinders problem solving.

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Functional fixedness: in problem solving occurs when people fail to solve a problem because they are
fixed on a thing’s usual function. If you have ever used a hardbound book to hammer a nail, then you
have overcome functional fixedness.

Lack of Motivation: People might be great at solving problems, but all their skills and talents are of no use
if they are not motivated. Sometimes people give up easily when they encounter a problem or failure in
implementing the first step. Therefore, there is a need to persist in their effort to find a solution.

REASONING

It is the realistic thinking process that draws a conclusion from a set of facts.

Types of reasoning

1. Deductive Reasoning
2. Inductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning: The kind of reasoning that begins with an assumption is called deductive reasoning.
Thus deductive reasoning begins with making a general assumption that you know or believe to be true and
then drawing specific conclusion based on this assumption. It is reasoning from general to
particular.
 Eg: All birds have feathers. All robins are birds. Therefore, robins have feathers. It's dangerous to
drive on icy streets. The streets are icy now, so it would be dangerous to drive on the streets.

Inductive Reasoning: it is a kind of reasoning that is based on specific facts and observation. Inductive
reasoning is drawing a general conclusion based on particular observation.
 Eg: Jennifer always leaves for school at 7:00 a.m. Jennifer is always on time. Jennifer assumes, then,
that if she leaves at 7:00 a.m. for school today, she will be on time. Every time you eat peanuts, you
start to cough. You are allergic to peanuts.
 Reasoning is the process of gathering and analysing information to arrive at conclusions. It is a form of
problem solving. The goal is to determine what conclusion can be drawn from certain given
information.
 Analogy is another form of reasoning which involves four parts, A is to B as C is to D with the
relation between the first two parts being the same as the relation between the last two. For example,
white is to snow as black is to coal. Analogies can be helpful in solving problems.

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DECISION-MAKING

 Inductive and deductive reasoning allow us to make judgments.

 In judgment we draw conclusions, form opinions, evaluate events, objects, based on knowledge and
available evidences.
 Sometimes judgments are automatic and require no conscious effort by the person and occur as a
matter of habit, for example, applying brakes on seeing the red light.
 Thus our judgments are not independent of our beliefs and attitudes. We also make changes in our
judgments based on newly acquired information. Consider this example. A new teacher joins the
school, students make on- the-spot judgment of the teacher as being very strict. However, in
subsequent classes, they closely interact with the teacher and make changes in their evaluation.
Now they judge the teacher to be extremely student- friendly.
 In decision- making the problem before us is to choose among alternatives by evaluating the cost
and benefit associated with each alternative. For example, when you have the option to choose
between psychology and economics as subjects in Class XI, your decision would be based upon
your interest, future prospects, availability of books, efficiency of teachers, etc.

NATURE AND PROCESS OF CREATIVE THINKING

Creativity is described as the ability to think in novel and unusual ways and to come up with unique
solutions to problems.

Nature of Creative Thinking

 Creative thinking is distinguished from other types of thinking by the fact that it involves the
production of novel and original ideas or solutions to problems.
 It is understood just as a new way of thinking or thinking differently. However, it is important to know
that, besides novelty, originality is also an important characteristic of creative thinking.
 Creative thinking thus refers to originality and uniqueness of ideas or solutions that did not
previously exist.
 Creative thinking is also generally characterised by what Bruner calls “effective surprise”. If the
product or idea is unusual, the response of most who experience it is one of instant surprise or of being
startled.
 Another important criterion that characterises creative thinking is its appropriateness in a particular
context.
 Researchers tend to agree that thinking is said to be creative when it is reality-oriented, appropriate,
constructive, and socially desirable.
 J.P. Guilford, a pioneer in creativity research, proposed two types of thinking: convergent and
divergent.
 Convergent thinking refers to thinking that is required to solve problems which have only one
correct answer. The mind converges to the correct solution.
 Eg: 3,6,9….. what will come next? Ans. 12.
 Divergent thinking is an open-ended thinking where the individual can think of different answers to
the questions or problems in terms of her/his experiences. Such kind of thinking helps in producing
novel and original ideas.
Divergent thinking abilities generally include fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.
 Fluency is the ability to produce many ideas for a given task or a problem. The more ideas a person
produces, the higher his fluency ability. For example, more the number of uses of a paper cup, more
would be the fluency.
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  Flexibility indicates variety in thinking. It may be thinking of different uses of an object, or different
interpretation of a picture, story or different ways of solving a problem. In case of uses of a paper cup,
for example, one may give an idea to use it as a container or to draw a circle, etc.
 Originality is the ability to produce ideas that are rare or unusual by seeing new relationships,
combining old ideas with new ones, looking at things from different perspectives etc. Research has
shown that fluency and flexibility are the necessary conditions for originality. The more and varied
ideas one produces, the greater the likelihood of original ideas.
 Elaboration is the ability that enables a person to go into details and workout implications of new
ideas.

 Divergent thinking abilities facilitate generation of a variety of ideas which may not seem to be
related. It is essential in generating a wide range of ideas.
 Convergent thinking is important to identify the most useful or appropriate idea. There is no one right
answer but many answers for convergent thinking.
 Eg: What are the various uses of cloth? What will happen if examinations are abolished in schools?

Process of Creative Thinking

 There are stages before and after the new ideas come. The starting point in creative process is the need
to think or bring out something new which initiates the effort. The need for search of new ideas and
solutions arises from sensing problems and gaps in information.

a) The process of creative thinking begins with the preparation stage that requires one to
understand the task or problem in hand, analyse the problem, and become aware of the
background facts and related information. The process evokes curiosity and excitement to think
more and more in different directions. The person tries to look at the task or problem from different
angles and viewpoints. Here, divergent thinking abilities discussed earlier play their role to help
one extend in new directions.
b) Coming back to the process, when the person is trying to generate alternative ideas and trying to
view the problem or task from an unusual perspective, there may be a feeling of getting stuck. One
may even get disgusted with failure and may leave the problem or the task for sometime. This is
the stage of incubation. Research shows that creative ideas may not occur immediately during
incubation when the individual is not consciously thinking about the problem but seeking
relaxation from conscious effort.
c) They may occur or strike when a person is doing something else, for example, going to sleep,
waking up, taking a bath or just walking along. Followed by incubation is the stage of illumination
- the ‘Aha’! or ‘I have found it’ experience, the moment we normally associate with emergence of
creative ideas. There usually is, a feeling of excitement, even satisfaction, of having found a creative
idea.
d) Last is the stage of verification when the worth or appropriateness of ideas or solutions are
tested and judged. Here, convergent thinking plays its role in selecting the appropriate idea or solution
that works.

DEVELOPING CREATIVE THINKING

 The expression of creative thinking may vary from individual to individual. Although hereditary
factors are important in determining the extent to which one can be creative, environmental factors
facilitate or hamper the development of creative thinking abilities.

 Research in different countries including India has shown a slump in the level of creative thinking of
school children at different stages due to environmental factors. On the other hand, research also
indicates that children from lower socio-economic groups, ethnic and minority groups have
substantial untapped creativity and that they are creative in many different ways.
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  Research has also shown that all of us can make better use of our abilities for creative thinking through
practice and training. We can become more imaginative, flexible, and original in solving day-to-day
problems creatively and effectively. Development of creative thinking is important for one’s personal
growth and fulfilment.
Barriers to Creative Thinking
 There are blocks to creative thinking which can be categorised as habitual, perceptual, motivational,
emotional, and cultural.
 Although much habitual learning is necessary for smooth and efficient functioning within the daily
routine, the tendency to be overpowered by habits particularly in one’s ways of thinking can be
detrimental to creative expression. We become so used to thinking and perceiving things in a familiar
way that it becomes difficult to think in novel ways. It may be related to our tendency to quickly jump
to conclusions, not to see problems from fresh perspectives, be satisfied with routine patterns of doing
things, or resist to overcome pre- conceived view points, and not to change immediate judgment, etc.
 The perceptual blocks prevent us from being open to novel and original ideas.
 Motivational and emotional blocks also interfere with creative thinking which show that creative
thinking is not merely a cognitive process. Lack of motivation, fear of failure, fear of being different,
fear of ridicule or rejection, poor self-concept, negativism, etc. may hamper creative thinking. For
example, some people may not be motivated enough to extend themselves and make extra efforts. A
person may find that s/he can not do it further, may leave the problem in between or may accept the
intermediate idea as the final idea. Further, some people, for example, have negative assumptions
about themselves. They feel that they are not capable of doing some tasks. You may be surprised to
know that Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the bulb, took years of experimentation with
hundreds of failures before he produced the first bulb.
 Cultural barriers are related to excessive adherence to traditions, expectations, conformity
pressures, and stereotypes. Conformity to some extent is essential for social existence but excessive
conformity to traditions, rituals, and procedures are likely to block creative thinking. Cultural blocks
arise due to the fear of being different, the tendency to maintain status quo, willingness to accept
mediocrity, preservation of personal security, social pressure, over dependence on others, etc.

Strategies for Creative Thinking (Pg: 161 - 162 )

THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE

Language as Determinant of Thought

 Benjamin Lee Whorf was of the view that language determines the contents of thought.
 This view is known as linguistic relativity hypothesis. In its strong version, this hypothesis holds
what and how individuals can possibly think is determined by the language and linguistic categories
they use (linguistic determinism).
 Experimental evidence, however, maintains that it is possible to have the same level or quality of
thoughts in all languages depending upon the availability of linguistic categories and structures. Some
thoughts may be easier in one language compared to another.

Thought as Determinant of Language

 Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget believed that thought not only determines language, but also precedes
it. Piaget argued that children form an internal representation of the world through thinking. For
example, when children see something and later copy it (a process called imitation), thinking does take
place, which does not involve language. A child’s observation of other’s behaviour and imitation of
the same behaviour, no doubt involves thinking but not language.
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  Language is just one of the vehicles of thinking. As actions become internalised, language may affect
children’s range of symbolic thinking but is not necessary for the origins of thought. Piaget believed
that though language can be taught to children, understanding of the words require knowledge of the
underlying concepts (i.e. thinking). Thus, thought is basic, and necessary if language is to be
understood.

Different Origins of Language and Thought

 The Russian psychologist, Lev Vyogotsky, argued that thoughts and language develop in a child
separately until about two years of age, when they merge. Before two years thought is preverbal and is
experienced more in action (Piaget’s sensory motor stage). The child’s utterances are more automatic
reflexes - crying when uncomfortable - than thought- based. Around two years of age, the child
expresses thought verbally and her/his speech reflects rationality. Now children are able to manipulate
thoughts using soundless speech. He believed that during this period the development of language and
thinking become interdependent; the development of conceptual thinking depends upon the quality of
inner speech and vice versa.
 Thought is used without language when the vehicle of thinking is non-verbal such as visual or
movement- related. Language is used without thought when expressing feelings or exchanging
pleasantries, for example “Good morning! How are you?” “Very well, I am fine”. When the two
functions overlap, they can be used together to produce verbal thought and rational speech.

DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE USE

Meaning and Nature of Language

 Language consists of a system of symbols organised by means of certain rules that we use to
communicate with each other.
 The language has three basic characteristics: (a) the presence of symbols, (b) a set of rules to organise
these symbols, and (c) communication.

a) The first characteristic of language is that it involves symbols. Symbols represent something or
someone else, for example, the place where you live is called ‘home’, the place where you study is
called ‘school’, the thing that you eat is called ‘food’. Words like home, school, food, and numerous
other words do not in themselves carry any meaning. When these words are associated with some
objects/ events they attain meaning and we begin recognising those objects/events, etc. with
particular words (symbols). We use symbols while thinking.
b) The second characteristic of language is that it involves rules. While combining two or more words
we usually follow a definite and accepted order of presenting these words. For example, one would
most likely say “I am going to school” and not “school am going I”.
c) The third characteristic of language is that it is used for communicating one’s thought, ideas,
intentions, and feelings to others. On many occasions we communicate through the use of our body
parts, called gestures or postures. This type of communication is called non-verbal communication.
Some people who cannot use oral speech, like the ones with severe hearing and speech problems,
communicate through signs. Sign language is also a form of language.

Development of Language

 Language is a complex system and unique to human beings. Human language is more complex,
creative, and spontaneous than the system of communication other animals can learn.
 Newborn babies and young infants make a variety of sounds, which gradually get modified to
resemble words.

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 The first sound produced by babies is crying. Initial crying is undifferentiated and similar across
various situations. Gradually, the pattern of crying varies in its pitch and intensity to signify different
states such as hunger, pain, and sleepiness, etc. These differentiated crying sounds gradually become
more meaningful cooing sounds (like ‘aaa’, ‘uuu’, etc.) usually to express happiness.
 At around six months of age children enter the babbling stage. Babbling involves prolonged
repetition of a variety of consonants and vowel sounds (for example, da—, aa—, ba—). By about nine
months of age these sounds get elaborated to strings of some sound combinations, such as
‘dadadadadada’ into repetitive patterns called echolalia. While the early babblings are random or
accidental in nature, the later babblings seem to be imitative of adult voices. Children show some
understanding of a few words by the time they are six months old.
 Around the first birthday (1 year) (the exact age varies from child to child) most children enter the
one-word-stage. Their first word usually contains one syllable – ma or da, for instance. Gradually they
move to one or more words which are combined to form whole sentences or phrases. So they are
called holophrases.
 When they are 18 to 20 months of age, children enter a two-word stage and begin to use two words
together. The two-word stage exemplifies telegraphic speech. Like telegrams (got admission, send
money) it contains mostly nouns and verbs. Close to their third birthday, i.e. beyond two-and-a- half
years, children’s language development gets focused on rules of the language they hear.
 How is language acquired? Most psychologists accept that both nature and nurture are important in
language acquisition.
 There is also evidence that children produce sounds that are appropriate to a language of the parent or
care-giver and are reinforced for having done so. The principle of shaping leads to successive
approximation of the desired responses so that the child eventually speaks as well as the adult.
Regional differences in pronunciation and phrasing illustrate how different patterns are reinforced in
different areas.
 Linguist Noam Chomsky put forth the innate proposition of development of language. For him the
rate at which children acquire words and grammar without being taught cannot be explained only by
learning principles. Children also create all sorts of sentences they have never heard and, therefore,
could not be imitating.
 Children throughout the world seem to have a critical period — a period when learning must occur if it
is to occur successfully — for learning language. Children across the world also go through the same
stages of language development. Chomsky believes language development is just like physical
maturation- given adequate care, it “just happens to the child”. Children are born with “universal
grammar”. They readily learn the grammar of whatever language they hear. Skinner’s emphasis on
learning explains why infants acquire the language they hear and how they add new words to their
vocabularies. Chomsky’s emphasis on our built-in readiness to learn grammar helps explain why
children acquire language so readily without direct teaching.

Language Use

 Language use involves knowing socially appropriate ways of communication. Knowledge of

vocabulary and syntax of a language does not ensure proper use of language to achieve the purpose of
communication in a variety of social situations.
 When we use language we have various pragmatic intentions such as requesting, asking, thanking,
demanding, etc. In order to effectively serve these social goals, language use must be pragmatically
correct or contextually appropriate besides being grammatical and meaningful.
 Children often have difficulty with choice of appropriate utterances for politeness or for requests and
their use of language conveys a demand or a command instead of a polite request. When children are
engaged in conversations, they also have difficulty in taking turns in speaking and listening like adults.