Thinking Class 11 Psychology Notes

NATURE OF 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 is a higher mental process through which we manipulate and analyse the acquired or existing
information.
Thinking is mostly organised and goal directed. All day-to-day activities, ranging from cooking to solving a math problem have a goal.
Thinking is an internal mental process, which can be inferred from overt behaviour.

Building Blocks of Thought

knowledge is represented either in the form of mental images or words.
People usually think by means of mental images or words.
thinking is based on words or concepts.

Mental Image

reading a map, remembering the different places and subsequently locating them in a physical map in your examination.
In doing this, you were mostly forming and using mental images.
An image is a mental representation of a sensory experience; it can be used to think about things, places,
and events.

Concepts

Whenever we come across an object or event familiar or unfamiliar, we try to identify the object or event by extracting its characteristics, matching it with the already existing category of objects and events.
When we see a new object, we try to look for its characteristics, match them with characteristics of an existing category, and if matching is perfect we give it the name of that category.
A concept is a mental representation of a category.
It refers to a class of objects, ideas or events that share common properties.

Why do we need to form concepts?

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.
It is something similar to what we do to organise our things at home.
for making our thought process quick and efficient, we form concepts and categorise objects and events.
Concepts usually fall into hierarchies or levels of understanding.
The levels are classified as superordinate, basic and subordinate
The subordinate is far too specific than is needed for conversation, while the superordinate is far too vague to convey the intended message.
the concepts people use in thinking are neither clear nor unambiguous. They are fuzzy.
They overlap one another and are often poorly defined
A prototype is the best representative member of the category.
Eleanor Rosch argues that in considering how people think about concepts, prototypes are often involved in real life.
In prototype matching, people decide whether an item is a member of a category by comparing it with
the most typical item(s) of the category.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem solving is thinking that is goal-directed. Almost all our day-today activities are directed towards a goal.
problems are not always in the form of obstacles or hurdles that one faces.

Obstacles to Solving Problems

Mental Set

Mental set 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.
in some situations mental set can enhance the quality and speed of problem solving, in other situations it hinders problem solving
Like mental set, 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.
there is a need to persist in their effort to find a solution.

REASONING

Deductive and Inductive 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 a reasoning from general to particular.
general assumption is that people run on the railway platform only when they are getting late for the train.
We assume but do not always know if the basic statement or assumption is true.
If the base information is not true your conclusion would be invalid or wrong.
Sometimes you would analyse other possible reasons and observe what the man is actually doing and then draw a conclusion about his behaviour.
Reasoning is based on specific facts and observation, is called inductive reasoning.
Inductive reasoning is drawing a general conclusion based on particular observation
reasoning is the process of gathering and analysing information to arrive at conclusions.
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
Analogies can be helpful in solving problems.
They help us in identifying and visualising the salient attributes of an object or event, which would otherwise go unnoticed.

DECISION-MAKING

In judgment we draw conclusions, form opinions, evaluate events, objects, based on knowledge and available
evidences.
Our judgment of this person is based on the specific characteristics of an expert salesperson.
Sometimes judgments are automatic and require no conscious effort by the person and occur as a matter of habit
We make changes in our judgments based on newly acquired information
In decision-making, we sometimes choose among options based on choices of personal significance.
Judgment and decision making are interrelated processes.
In decision making the problem before us is to choose among alternatives by evaluating the cost and benefit associated with each alternative
In decision making we already know the various solutions or choices and one has to be selected
people differ in their priorities and therefore their decisions will differ
In real life situations we take quick decisions and therefore, it is not possible always to evaluate every situation thoroughly and exhaustively.

NATURE AND PROCESS OF CREATIVE THINKING

creative thinking is not always expressed in extraordinary work.
One does not have to be a scientist or an artist to be a creative thinker.
Everyone has the potential to be creative.
Creative thinking can be applied in almost any area of human activity at different levels.
‘Everyday Creativity’, which is reflected in one’s way of perceiving thinking and problem solving, is different from the ‘special talent creativity’ seen in outstanding creative achievements.

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
creative thinking is understood just as a new way of thinking or thinking differently
Creative thinking 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”.
thinking of being different without any purpose, doing things in one’s own ways, being non-conformist, indulging in fantasy without any purpose or coming out with a bizarre idea, is at times mistaken for creative thinking.
Researchers tend to agree that thinking is said to be creative when it is reality-oriented, appropriate, constructive, and socially desirable.
Convergent thinking refers to thinking that is required to solve problems which have only one correct
answer.
The mind converges to the correct solution.
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
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.
Originality is the ability to produce ideas that are rare
Research has shown that fluency and flexibility are the necessary conditions for originality
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.
Divergent thinking is essential in generating a wide range of ideas.
Convergent thinking is important to identify the most useful or appropriate idea.

Process of Creative Thinking

Research has made it clear that thinking of new and unusual ideas involve more than a flash of insight.
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.
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.
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.
They may occur or strike when a person is doing something else,

DEVELOPING CREATIVE THINKING

creative thinking is not limited to a few talented artists or scientists or to a chosen few.
The expression of creative thinking may vary from individual to individual.
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 has shown that all of us can make better use of our abilities for creative thinking through practice and training.

Barriers to Creative Thinking

There are blocks to creative thinking which can be categorised as habitual, perceptual, motivational, emotional, and cultural.
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 thinkingcan be detrimental to creative expression.
We become used to thinking and perceiving things in a familiar way that it becomes difficult to think in novel ways.
It is 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 preconceived view points, and not to change immediate judgment, etc.
The perceptual blocks prevent us from being open to novel and original ideas
The solution to the problem lies in going beyond the boundaries.
We assume that boundaries exist whereas they did not
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
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 and others, etc.
The fact that everyone has the potential to be creative and that one can differ in one’s expression of creative thinking requires that we all tap our creative potential and remove the barriers as discussed above.

Strategies for Creative Thinking

Become more aware and sensitive to be able to notice and respond to feelings, sights, sounds, textures around you.
Generate as many ideas, responses, solutions or suggestions on a given task or situation to increase your flow of thoughts.
Osborn’s Brainstorming technique can be used to increase fluency and flexibility of ideas to open-ended situations.
Brainstorming is based on the principle that producing ideas should be kept separate from the evaluation of their worth.
The basic assumption is to let the minds think freely and the tendency to put judgment on the worth of ideas may be postponed, i.e. imagination should be given priority over judgment till all the ideas are exhausted.
This helps in increasing the fluency of ideas and piling up alternatives.
Brainstorming can be practised by playing brainstorming games with family members and friends keeping
its principles in mind.
Originality can be developed by practicing fluency, flexibility, habit of associative thinking, exploring linkages, and fusing distinct or remote ideas.
A creative thinker, it is said, may not evolve new ideas but evolve new combination of ideas.
It is the chain of thoughts and cross-fertilisation of ideas that may bring out something new.
Engage yourself more frequently in activities which require use of imagination and original thinking rather than routine work according to your interest and hobbies.
Never accept the first idea or solution.
Get a feedback on the solutions you decide on from others who are less personally involved in the task.
Try to think of what solutions someone else may offer for your problems.
Give your ideas the chance to incubate.
Sometimes ideas cluster like branches of a tree. It is useful to diagram your thinking so that you can follow each possible branch to its completion.
Resist the temptation for immediate reward and success and cope with the frustration and failure
Develop independent thinking in making judgments, figuring out things without any help or resources.
Visualise causes and consequences and think ahead, predicting things that have never happened,
Be aware of your own defenses concerning the problem
be self-confident and positive.
Never undermine your creative potential.
Experience the joy of your creation.

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.
this hypothesis holds what and how individuals can possibly think is determined by the language and linguistic categories they use
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

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
A child’s observation of other’s behaviour and imitation of the same behaviour, no doubt involves thinking but not language.
Language is just one of the vehicles of thinking
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
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
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.
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

DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE USE

Meaning and Nature of Language

The first characteristic of language is that it involves symbols.
Symbols represent something or someone else
We use symbols while thinking.
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.
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.
There is also a great deal of regularity with which children all over the world seem to be learning the language or languages to which they are exposed.
Newborn babies and young infants make a variety of sounds, which gradually get modified to resemble words.
The first sound produced by babies is crying.
Initial crying is undifferentiated and similar across various situations.
At around six months of age children enter the babbling stage.
Babbling involves prolonged repetition of a variety of consonants and vowel sounds
By about nine months of age these sounds get elaborated to strings of some sound combinations into repetitive patterns called echolalia.
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 most children enter the one-word-stage.
Their first word usually contains one syllable
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

How is language acquired

psychologists accept that both nature and nurture are important in language acquisition.
Behaviourist B.F. Skinner believed we learn language the same way as animals learn to pick keys or press bars
Language development, for the behaviourists follow the learning principles, such as association
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.
Linguist Noam Chomsky put forth the innate proposition of development of language.
The rate at which children acquire words and grammar without being taught can not be explained only by learning principles.

Language Use

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
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.

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