The document discusses the nature of thinking and thought processes. It defines thinking as the manipulation and analysis of existing information through higher mental processes like abstracting, reasoning, problem solving and decision making. Thoughts are made up of mental images and concepts. Different types of thinking are discussed, including creative thinking, problem solving, reasoning, judgment and decision making. Strategies to enhance creative thinking are also provided.

1. THINKING
CHAPTER 8

2. WHAT IS THINKING?
• A HIGHER MENTAL PROCESS THROUGH WHICH WE MANIPULATE AND ANALYSE THE
ACQUIRED OR EXISTING INFORMATION.
• INVOLVES:
o ABSTRACTING
o REASONING
o IMAGINING
o PROBLEM SOLVING
o JUDGING
o DECISION-MAKING

3. WHAT ARE THOUGHTS MADE OF?
I. MENTAL IMAGES
• AN IMAGE IS A MENTAL REPRESENTATION OF A SENSORY EXPERIENCE; IT CAN BE USED TO THINK
ABOUT THINGS, PLACES, AND EVENTS.
• MAPS, VISULAIZATIONS, GUIDED IMAGERY….
II. 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.

4. CONCEPT FORMATION
• CONCEPTS USUALLY FALL INTO HIERARCHIES OR LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING. THE LEVELS ARE
CLASSIFIED AS
 SUPERORDINATE (THE HIGHEST LEVEL)- TOO VAGUE
 BASIC (AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)- USED MOST WIDELY
 SUBORDINATE (THE LOWEST LEVEL)- TOO SPECIFIC
• PROTOTYPES: A PROTOTYPE IS THE BEST REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER OF THE CATEGORY.
• 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.

5. THE PROCESSES OF THINKING
• PROBLEM SOLVING
• REASONING
• DECISION-MAKING

6. PROBLEM SOLVING
• PROBLEM SOLVING IS THINKING THAT IS GOAL-DIRECTED.

7. OBSTACLES TO SOLVING PROBLEMS
• MENTAL SET- TENDENCY OF A PERSON TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BY FOLLOWING ALREADY TRIED
MENTAL OPERATIONS OR STEPS.
• FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS- OPPOSITE OF JUGAAD.
• LACK OF MOTIVATION

8. REASONING
• REASONING IS THE PROCESS OF GATHERING AND ANALYZING INFORMATION TO ARRIVE AT CONCLUSIONS.
• DEDUCTIVE REASONING
• BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS
• GENERAL TO SPECIFIC
• BUT WHAT IF ASSUMPTION IS WRONG???
• INDUCTIVE REASONING
• BASED ON PARTICULAR OBSERVATION
• SPECIFIC TO GENERAL
• BUT WHAT IF OBSERVATION IS BIASED???
ANALOGY: A IS TO B, AS C IS TO D………….

9. JUDGMENT & DECISION-MAKING
• IN JUDGMENT WE DRAW CONCLUSIONS, FORM OPINIONS, EVALUATE EVENTS, OBJECTS, BASED ON
KNOWLEDGE AND AVAILABLE EVIDENCES.
• TO MAKE A DECISION- CHOOSE AMONG OPTIONS BASED ON CHOICES OF PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE.
• CHOOSE AMONG ALTERNATIVES BY EVALUATING THE COST AND BENEFIT ASSOCIATED WITH EACH
ALTERNATIVE.
• CHOCOALTE CAKE OR ICE-CREAM?
• TEA OR COFFEE?
• MOVIE OR DINNER?
• THIS GUY OR THAT GIRL???

11. CREATIVE THINKING
• PRODUCTION OF NOVEL AND ORIGINAL IDEAS OR SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS
• THINKING DIFFERENTLY
• ORIGINAL
• NOVEL
• OUT OF THE BOX
• IMPROVIZATION
• UNIQUENESS

13. CAUTION IN CREATIVE THINKING!!
• APPROPRIATENESS IN A PARTICULAR CONTEXT
• REALITY-ORIENTED, APPROPRIATE, CONSTRUCTIVE, AND SOCIALLY DESIRABLE
• CREATIVE THINKING IS NOT
• BEING DIFFERENT WITHOUT ANY PURPOSE
• DOING THINGS IN ONE’S OWN WAYS
• BEING NON-CONFORMIST
• INDULGING IN FANTASY WITHOUT ANY PURPOSE
• COMING OUT WITH A BIZARRE IDEA

14. TYPES OF CREATIVE THINKING
• GUILFORD GAVE:
• CONVERGENT THINKING- ONLY ONE CORRECT ANSWER
• DIVERGENT THINKING- MANY POSSIBLE ANSWERS

15. DIVERGENT THINKING REQUIRES:
• FLUENCY IS THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE MANY IDEAS FOR A GIVEN TASK OR A
PROBLEM
• FLEXIBILITY INDICATES VARIETY IN THINKING (JUGAAD AGAIN!!)
• ORIGINALITY IS THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE IDEAS THAT ARE RARE OR UNUSUAL
• ELABORATION IS THE ABILITY THAT ENABLES A PERSON TO GO INTO DETAILS AND
WORKOUT IMPLICATIONS OF NEW IDEAS

16. PROCESS OF CREATIVE THINKING
• PREPARATION
• INCUBATION
• ILLUMINATION- EUREKA
• VERIFICATION

17. BARRIERS TO CREATIVE THINKING
• HABITUAL
• PERCEPTUAL
• MOTIVATIONAL
• EMOTIONAL
• CULTURAL

18. STRATEGIES FOR CREATIVE THINKING
• BECOME MORE AWARE
• RESPOND TO FEELINGS, SIGHTS, SOUNDS, TEXTURES
• SPOT PROBLEMS, MISSING INFORMATION, ANOMALIES, GAPS, DEFICIENCIES
• WIDER READING
• DEVELOP THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS
• PONDERING OVER THE MYSTERIES OF SITUATIONS AND OBJECTS
• GENERATE AS MANY IDEAS, RESPONSES, SOLUTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS ON A GIVEN TASK OR
SITUATION TO INCREASE YOUR FLOW OF THOUGHTS.
• IMAGINATION SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY OVER JUDGMENT
• UNUSUAL AND UNEXPECTED ASSOCIATIONS USING ANALOGIES

19. STRATEGIES FOR CREATIVE THINKING
• ENGAGE YOURSELF MORE FREQUENTLY IN ACTIVITIES WHICH REQUIRE USE OF IMAGINATION AND
ORIGINAL THINKING
• IMPROVISING OR REDESIGNING OF OLD OBJECTS, MAKING USE OF WASTE PRODUCTS IN MULTIPLE
WAYS
• COMPLETING INCOMPLETE IDEAS IN UNIQUE WAYS
• GIVING NEW TWIST TO STORIES OR POEMS, DEVELOPING RIDDLES, PUZZLES, SOLVING MYSTERIES
• NEVER ACCEPT THE FIRST IDEA OR SOLUTION
• GET AN OBJECTIVE FEEDBACK
• GIVE YOUR IDEAS THE CHANCE TO INCUBATE
• BE SELF-CONFIDENT AND POSITIVE
• NEVER UNDERMINE YOUR CREATIVE POTENTIAL
• EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF YOUR CREATION

21. THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE
• ARE THEY RELATED?
• IN WHAT LANGUAGE DO YOU THINK?