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In a day, we think countless times. We think about getting good grades, living a happy life, partying with friends on weekends, and much more. But do you know how the thinking process occurs and why we think? To answer all these questions, we have curated a blog that describes the nature of thinking and reasoning, demonstrates an understanding of some cognitive processes involved in problem-solving and decision-making, explains the nature and process of creative thinking and ways to enhance it, explores the relationship between language and thought, and describes the process of language development and its usage.
Contents
Explore Notes of Class 11 Psychology
Introduction
Thinking has a wide range of meanings that cover several psychological processes. In psychology, thinking is a core subject area with an independent existence and a distinct meaning of its own. It is a mental activity directed towards solving problems, making inferences, judging facts, and deciding or choosing between options. Thinking is considered the foundation of cognitive processes. This chapter also focuses on the nature and characteristics of creative thinking, what it involves, and how it can be developed.
Nature of Thinking
Thinking is the basis of all cognitive activities or processes and is unique to human beings. It involves the manipulation and analysis of information received from the environment. For example, while observing a painting, you do not merely focus on its colours or strokes, but interpret its meaning and relate it to your existing knowledge. Thinking is a higher mental process through which we manipulate and analyse acquired or existing information.
This manipulation and analysis take place through:
- Abstracting
- Reasoning
- Imagining
- Problem solving
- Judging
- Decision-making
Thinking is mostly organised and goal-directed. Day-to-day activities, such as cooking or solving a math problem, have a goal. Thinking is also an internal mental process that can be inferred from observable behaviour. For example, when a chess player spends several minutes thinking before making a move, we cannot observe the thinking itself but infer it from the move that follows.
Building Blocks of Thoughts
Thinking relies on knowledge that we already possess. This knowledge is represented in two main forms:
- Mental images: An image is a mental representation of a sensory experience. It can be used to think about things, places, and events.
- Words or concepts: A concept is a mental representation of a category. It refers to a class of objects, ideas, or events that share common properties.
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Process of Thinking
Below, we have discussed the process of thinking as brief pointers.
Problem Solving
Problem-solving is a goal-directed process. It applies to both simple and complex tasks, such as repairing a cycle or preparing a snack. Every problem has an initial state (the problem) and an end state (the goal), with steps in between. These steps involve mental operations aimed at reaching a solution.
- Problem-solving is not always about overcoming obstacles; it can include routine tasks.
- The process involves:
- Identifying the problem (initial state)
- Defining the goal (end state)
- Using strategies and steps to reach the goal
Obstacles in Problem Solving:
a. Mental Set
- The tendency to use familiar strategies that worked in the past.
- While it may help in similar problems, it can also cause rigidity.
- It can hinder thinking of new strategies when old ones fail.
- Example: In math problems, repeating known steps may block new approaches.
b. Functional Fixedness
- Inability to see objects as serving purposes other than their usual function.
- Overcoming it enables creative solutions.
- Example: Using a book to hammer a nail shows flexibility in problem-solving.
c. Lack of Motivation
- Skills and abilities are ineffective without the will to apply them.
- People may give up easily when facing initial failure.
- Persistence is essential in finding solutions.
Reasoning
Reasoning is the process of gathering and analysing information to arrive at conclusions. It is used in everyday inferences and scientific thinking. Two main types of reasoning are:
a. Deductive Reasoning
- Starts from a general assumption and draws specific conclusions.
- Reasoning moves from general to particular.
- Example: People run on the platform to catch trains
- Risk: If the general assumption is incorrect, the conclusion is invalid.
b. Inductive Reasoning
- Starts from specific observations to form a general conclusion.
- Based on facts, observations, and evidence.
- Example: Observing someone enter a train and return with a bag
- Risk: May lead to incorrect conclusions if based on incomplete facts.
Analogy
- A form of reasoning based on relational comparison.
- Structure: A is to B as C is to D.
- Example: Water is to fish as air is to humans.
- Helps in problem-solving by highlighting key attributes.
Decision Making
Inductive and deductive reasoning are essential in making judgments and decisions. Judgment involves evaluating options or people based on available knowledge and evidence.
- Judgments can be:
- Habitual and automatic
- Informed by knowledge and experiences
- Shaped by personal preferences
Judgments may evolve with new information, just as students may revise their views about a teacher after more interaction. Decision-making is about choosing one alternative from many by weighing their pros and cons. It differs from general problem-solving because the possible solutions are already known.
- Influencing factors:
- Interests and personal preferences
- Future goals and career prospects
- Resources and guidance are available
- Example: Choosing between subjects or between sports and academics requires evaluating the consequences of each choice.
- Judgment involves forming opinions, drawing conclusions, and evaluating based on knowledge and evidence.
- It can be automatic, based on prior knowledge, or influenced by personal preferences.
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Nature and Process of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking refers to the ability to produce original, novel, and appropriate ideas or solutions. It is not limited to exceptional achievements in science or art but is present in everyday activities across different fields. It involves divergent thinking, where multiple solutions are considered, as well as convergent thinking, which helps identify the most suitable idea. Creative thinking is reality-oriented, purposeful, and socially valued. It includes essential qualities like fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.
Key Features of Creative Thinking:
- Involves novelty, originality, and uniqueness.
- Includes “effective surprise” or unexpected ideas.
- Is appropriate and useful in a particular context.
- Combines divergent (many ideas) and convergent (choosing best idea) thinking.
- Divergent thinking abilities include:
- Fluency: Generating many ideas.
- Flexibility: Thinking in varied directions.
- Originality: Producing rare or unusual ideas.
- Elaboration: Adding details to expand ideas.
Process of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking unfolds through several stages that begin with identifying the need for a new idea or solution. The process includes preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. These stages involve both conscious and unconscious efforts in exploring and evaluating ideas.
Stages of the Creative Process:
- Preparation: Understanding and analysing the task or problem.
- Incubation: Taking a break from conscious thought to allow ideas to develop.
- Illumination: Sudden insight or emergence of the creative idea.
- Verification: Evaluating the usefulness and appropriateness of the idea.
Strategies to Enhance Creative Thinking
The following are the key strategies to enhance creative thinking.
- Be more observant and sensitive to surroundings and problems.
- Generate multiple ideas and explore various perspectives.
- Practise brainstorming to encourage fluency and delay judgment.
- Use checklists and questions to spark alternative thinking.
Thoughts and Language
Thinking involves the use of images and concepts, and several mental processes. A key question arises: Is language necessary for thinking? This section explores three major viewpoints about the relationship between language and thought
- Language determines thought
- Thought determines language
- Thought and language have different origins
Language as Determinant of Thought
- Indian languages have multiple terms for kinship relations (e.g., mama, chacha), while English uses a single word: uncle.
- English has many colour terms; some tribal languages have only 2–4.
- These linguistic differences may influence how people think and differentiate concepts.
Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis:- Language influences the content and structure of thought.
- Strong version: Linguistic determinism — what and how we think is determined by language and its categories.
- Experimental findings show:
- Thought is not completely restricted by language.
- The same thought can exist in multiple languages, though it may be easier to express in some languages than others.
Thoughts as Determinants of Language
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, believed that thought not only determines language but also comes before it in development. According to Piaget, children create internal representations of the world through thinking, even before they learn to use language. For example, a child’s act of observing and later imitating an action involves thinking, but not necessarily language. This indicates that language is just one tool for expressing thought.
Different Origins of Language and Thought
Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, suggested that thought and language initially develop independently in children and merge around the age of two. Before this age, thought is preverbal and experienced mainly through action, as seen in Piaget’s sensory-motor stage. A child’s early speech, such as crying when uncomfortable, is more a reflex than an expression of thought.
Around the age of two, children begin to express their thoughts verbally, and their speech becomes more rational. At this stage, they also develop the ability to manipulate thoughts through silent or inner speech. Vygotsky proposed that at this point, the development of language and thinking becomes interdependent. The growth of conceptual thinking depends on the quality of inner speech, and vice versa.
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Meaning and Nature of Language
Language is essential for communication of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. It allows us to understand others and express ourselves. Children begin with simple utterances like “ma..ma” which bring joy and motivation to continue speaking.
Over time, children:
- Learn words suitable for different situations.
- Learn the rules of sentence formation.
- Acquire home language (mother tongue).
- Learn a formal language at school, sometimes different from the mother tongue.
- Learn additional languages at later stages.
Characteristics of Language
The following are the characteristics of language
- Presence of Symbols
- Language uses symbols (e.g., words) that stand for objects, events, or ideas.
- Words themselves don’t have meaning; they gain meaning when associated with specific referents.
- Example: “home”, “school”, “food”.
- Rules for Organizing Symbols
- Language follows specific rules for word order and structure (syntax).
- Example: “I am going to school” is correct; “school am going I” is incorrect.
- Means of Communication
- Language communicates thoughts, emotions, and intentions.
- Non-verbal forms include gestures and postures.
- People with speech/hearing impairments use sign language, which is also a valid language form.
Development of Language
The development of language is briefly discussed as below.
- Language is unique to humans, more complex, creative, and spontaneous than animal communication systems.
- Efforts to teach symbols/signs to animals have shown limited success compared to human language development.
- Despite individual differences in language development, children follow a predictable pattern of acquisition worldwide.
Stages of Language Development
The stages of language development is discussed as follows.
- Crying (Newborns)
- First sound produced.
- Initially undifferentiated; later varies in pitch and intensity (e.g., for hunger, pain).
- Cooing (2–3 months)
- Vowel-like sounds (e.g., “aaa”, “uuu”) often express happiness.
- Vowel-like sounds (e.g., “aaa”, “uuu”) often express happiness.
- Babbling (6 months onwards)
- Repetition of consonant-vowel sounds (e.g., “da”, “ba”).
- Later develops into echolalia — repetitive sound strings (e.g., “dadadada”).
- Moves from random to imitative babbling.
- One-Word Stage (around 1 year)
- First words are typically monosyllabic (e.g., “ma”, “da”).
- Words used as holophrases, one word expresses a whole idea or sentence.
- Two-Word Stage (18–20 months)
- Two-word combinations begin.
- Telegraphic speech emerges — mostly nouns and verbs, omitting smaller words (e.g., “want toy”, “go school”).
- Rule-Based Language (2.5 years onward)
- Children begin using grammatical rules of the language.
- Language use becomes increasingly sophisticated and structured.
Important Definition in NCERT Notes Class 11 Psychology Chapter 7: Thinking
In this section, you will find the important definitions covered in this chapter.
- Bilingualism: Bilingualism refers to attaining proficiency in communicating through any two languages.
- Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a technique used to increase fluency and flexibility of ideas by separating idea generation from evaluation, allowing free and imaginative thinking.
- Concepts: A concept is a mental representation of a category; it refers to a class of objects, ideas, or events that share common properties.
- Convergent Thinking: Convergent thinking refers to problem-solving that aims at finding a single correct solution, where the mind converges to one right answer.
- Creativity: Creativity involves the production of novel, original, and appropriate ideas or solutions to problems that are both reality-oriented and socially desirable.
- Decision-making: Decision-making is the process of choosing among alternatives by evaluating the costs and benefits associated with each option.
- Deductive Reasoning: Deductive reasoning begins with a general assumption and leads to a specific conclusion based on that assumption; it moves from general to particular.
- Divergent Thinking: Divergent thinking is open-ended thinking that generates multiple answers to a question or problem based on one’s experiences, encouraging fluency, flexibility, and originality.
- Functional Fixedness: Functional fixedness is the tendency to see objects as functioning only in their usual way, which can hinder problem-solving.
- Illumination: Illumination is the stage in the creative thinking process where a new idea or solution suddenly emerges, often experienced as an “Aha!” moment
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FAQs
Ans. Creative thinking involves the generation of novel, original, and useful ideas or solutions. It is characterised by attributes like fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration, and is often marked by “effective surprise” in response to unexpected solutions.
Ans. Language development in children typically follows predictable stages: crying, cooing, babbling, one-word stage, two-word stage, and the use of rule-governed language, usually developing significantly by age three.
Ans. Convergent thinking focuses on arriving at a single correct answer, often used in structured problem-solving. Divergent thinking is open-ended and generates multiple possible solutions or ideas, essential for creativity.
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