Thinking involves mental processes such as cognition, problem solving, reasoning, and decision making. It can involve different units like images, concepts, and language. Concepts allow us to categorize objects and ideas, while images are mental representations that resemble our perceptions. Language facilitates thinking through inner speech. There are two main types of thinking: unrealistic thinking like dreaming and daydreaming that lacks connection to reality, and realistic thinking like deductive, inductive, and evaluative reasoning. Problem solving is goal-directed and may use methods like trial and error or insight.

1. ThinkingThinking
Intro. To Psychology

2. Thinking
• “All the mental activities associated
with processing , understanding
and communicating information”.

3. – Also called Cognition.
– Cognitive Psychologists study mental
activities , including the logical and some
illogical ways in which we create
concepts, solve problems, make
decisions, and form judgments.

4. • Our thoughts may take forms, including
Daydreaming, Problem solving, and Reasoning.
Units of Thought:
• Images
• Concepts
• Language (symbols)
Thinking often involves all three units.

5. Image
• “A mental representation that has
picture like qualities; an icon”
• A mental image is significantly resembles
the experience of perceiving some object,
event, or scene, but that occurs when the
relevant object, event, or scene is not
actually present to the senses.

6. • Image formation is actually “Reverse
Vision”
• Normal Vision: Information from Eyes→
brain’s primary visual area (Visual Cortex) → image
creation
• Other brain areas help to recognize this image by
relating it to stored knowledge.

7. Reverse Vision
• Information from Memory storage area →
Visual cortex → image creation
• Less gifted person and children often use
visual images to think
• Most people seem to have stronger visual
imagery, some have auditory, whereas small
number are strong in images of touch, taste,
smell and muscle movement

8. • When we imagine about things they are
not usually complete picture rather
incomplete idea of certain features of an
experience
• The incomplete images are constructed
from the elements stored in LTM

9. Concept
• “A mental grouping of similar objects, events,
ideas or people”.
• Without concepts we’ll need a different name for
every object and idea.
• It enable us to organize complex phenomena into
simpler and more usable form
• Animals are also capable of forming concept.

10. Types of Concepts
• Simple concepts are defined by the presence of a
single property, feature or attribute as RED is the
simple concept
• Conjunctive concepts are defined by the joint
presence of two or more features of objects or
events-having two or more features in common
• Disjunctive concept: A concept defined by the
presence of at least one of several possible
features.

11. • Relationship concepts are formed on the
basis of relationships among features e.g.
foul ball in football
• Abstract concepts are the one that have
no physical reality as love, hate, religion,
and feelings
• A concrete concept is one that refers to
something that can be pointed out.
Blackboard, chair and glasses
• Formal concepts have clear rules e.g.
male dog

12. Prototype
• A mental image or best example of a
category, matching new items to the
prototype provides a quick and easy
method for including items in a category
• E.g. comparing feathered creatures to a
prototypical bird, such as a Sparrow.

13. Meaning
• Denotative Meaning: The exact
,dictionary definition of a word or
concept; its objective meaning.
• Connotative Meaning: The
subjective, personal, or emotional
meaning of a word or concept.

14. Language
• “Words or symbols, and rules for combing
them, that are used for thinking and
communication”.
– can be either written or spoken
– Speaking and writing vocabulary are not exactly
the same and our speaking and writing grammar
differ

15. • Rules for language are stored in LTM
• So thinking is a kind of inner speech or
talking to yourself
• According to this idea people make small
movements of the vocal apparatus during
thinking
• Words are not necessary to think but it
facilitate the solutions of the problems as
direct manipulation of the object is difficult

16. Types of Thinking
• Unrealistic/Autistic thinking
• Realistic Thinking

17. Types Of ThinkingTypes Of Thinking
Intro. To Psychology
PSY 201

18. Types of Thinking
• Unrealistic/Autistic thinking
• Realistic Thinking

19. Unrealistic/Autistic thinking
“Preoccupation with inner thoughts, daydreams,
fantasies, subjective thinking lacking
objectivity and connection with external
reality”.
– Dreaming
– Day dreaming

20. Dreaming
• It is an abnormal phenomena of mind that does not
occur in waking life
• According to Freud it is the royal road to
unconscious
• Main features are
– Disjointed/ disorganized/ lacking continuity
– Admit impossibilities/ nonsense having no head and tail
– No critical ability/ no means of testing its correctness

21. • Show an accelerated flow of ideas, a
shift in the depiction of scenes
• Wish fulfillment i.e., gratification of
unfulfilled wishes/ disguise our desires
• Symbolic in nature

22. Day Dreaming
• It is an altered state of mind / consciousness that
occurs without effort and involve a brief escape
from reality into fantasy
• Can occur anywhere any time
• It source are fantasies that are construct while one
is awake
• It is more controlled so it is closely related to
immediate event in the environment

23. • Normal part of waking consciousness
• But frequent day dreaming could lead
to psychological difficulties as when
one is unable to distinguish between
fantasy and reality

24. Realistic Thinking
• Also know as reasoning
• Help us to adjust to real world
• motivated to reach solutions to problems involving
individual livelihood
• Three processes involve in reasoning
– Deductive
– Inductive
– Evaluative

25. Problem Solving
• “Any goal directed activity that must overcome
some type of barrier to accomplish the task”
• Involves development of some mode of responses
to eliminate these barriers
• Depends on previous learning experience and
higher mental processes
• May also lead to the development of new concepts

26. Methods of P.S
• Trial and error
– It is the process of succeeding in an attempt by
repeating it after learning from failures
– Problem is either so difficult to have any clue or
involves illogical relationships that cannot be
discover by thought
– Overt trial and error; i.e. getting solution by
visualizing it

27. Insight
– It is the sudden awareness of the relationship
among various elements that had no connection
before
– It is period of no apparent progress followed by
sudden solution
– Psychologist do not know how insight operates
but the know it is a useful approach to problem
solving

28. Steps of P.S
• Problem; one should show a concern to the
problem i.e. identification of problem
• Data; assembling the material with which to
work
• Hypothesis; driving a number of possible
solutions. While dealing with the above
mentions steps one may develop different
hypotheses

29. • Evaluation; evaluating the suggested
solutions
• Verification; objectively testing and
revising the solution