Thinking

Thinking is manipulating the world internally with the aid of symbolic processes. It makes use of
memory, imagination, and reasoning of problem-solving. Thinking is ideational activity which is
deliberately controlled by a purpose. It is mental exploration of data in order to deal with the
environment effectively.
Nature of Thinking:

(i) Thinking is a Series of Symbolic Process:

C. T. Morgan regards thinking as “a sequence of symbolic processes”. It makes use of symbols,
percept, images, and concepts. Images are either sensory or verbal. The symbols represent or
stand for objects or events in the environment. Therefore, thinking involves representative
processes. Munn also regards thinking as “a sequential arousal of symbols.” We think of one
thing; that makes us think of another; that of still another, and so on. In this way we manipulate
the world internally with the help of symbolic processes. Woodworth regards thinking as mental
exploration of the data to deal with the environment effectively.

(ii) Steps in Thinking:

Woodworth mentions the following steps in thinking:
(a) Orientation towards a goal;
(b) Seeking this way and that for realizing the goal;
(c) Recall of previously observed facts;
(d) Grouping these recalled facts into new patterns;
(e) Inner speech movements and gestures.

All these activities may not be present in every act of thinking. In idle thinking there may not be
any particular goal. But in purposive thinking there is always a goal. Sometimes thinking may be
carried on without inner speech. But generally when we think in order to solve a theoretical or
practical problem, the first four elements are present in thinking. The solution of a problem is the
goal of thinking. Thinking is generally oriented towards a goal. We think of this means or that
means to solve the problem. We recall facts of past experience bearing on the problem.

We group them together into new patterns to solve the particular problem. We may give partial
expression to our thinking by inaudible speech movements; or we may assume a particular
gesture to facilitate thinking. At last, we may succeed in reaching the solution of the problem.
Memory and imagination are involved in thinking.

(iii) Purpose of Thinking: Discovery or Invention:

Thinking has two main goals, discovery of a new truth and invention of a new device. Purposive
thinking is oriented towards a goal. It seeks to solve a theoretical or practical problem. It seeks to
find out a new truth. It tries to discover a new relationship among the data observed or recalled by
grouping them together into new patterns.

It recalls relevant facts observed at different times and places, groups them into new patterns, and
discovers something new truth in them. Thus thinking involves memory and imagination. It
involves analysis and synthesis. It involves analysis of facts observed or recalled into their
component elements. It involves synthesis of the elements selected into a new pattern to suit the
occasion.

(iv) Hindsight and Foresight in Thinking:

Thinking involves hindsight and foresight in the language of Woodworth. It looks back to the
past and recalls the relevant data of past experience. This is hindsight. Thinking involves
foresight also. It sees the implications of the combination of the data and draws a new
[Link] reasoning, the relevant data observed or recalled are combined and examined to
see what new conclusion can be drawn from the combined date. Thus thinking involves
hindsight and foresight. Sometimes thinking involves transfer. A principle, rule or maxim,
acquired from past experience, or learned from wiser people, is applied to a new problem. This is
called transfer.

(v) Thinking Involves Abstraction:

It proceeds from the concrete to the abstract. It leaves out the concrete details of sense-perception
and fixes on the general features of objects. Thus it rises from the particular facts perceived to
imageless concepts. Thinking is at first tied to sense-perception. Then it rises to the level of
imaginative thinking which is carried on through the medium of concrete or verbal images. At
last, it rises to the level of imageless thinking. Thinking may be carried on without sensory
images. Imageless thinking pervades our rational life.

Sensory images, verbal images, or abstract or schematic images generally accompany the process
thinking. But it is wrong to hold that it must always be accompanied by sensory or at least verbal
images. Sensory imagination is not indispensable for thinking. It is not even useful for higher
abstract thinking.

Processes of Thinking:
(i) Judgement:
Judgement is the mental process by which the mind compares two or more ideas or concepts with
one another. It is the apprehension of the relation between two things or qualities, or between a
thing and a quality. Judgement is the process of consciously combining-two or more distinct
notions, percept, ideas or concepts into a more complex idea. ‘The sky is blue’. This is
judgement. Here the mind consciously puts together the percept of the sky with the percept of the
blue, and combines them into the complex idea of the blue sky and believes in its reality.

(ii) Rationalization:
Rationalization is a process of thinking which provides acceptable reasons for a wrong action
done by a person while concealing the secret motive in order to escape from self-reproach and
reproach of others.

Sometimes we reason in order to justify a wrong action which has already been done, which
conflicts with the standard generally accepted by the society, and which meets with criticism
from ourselves and other people. So we reason to find out a reasonable motive of our action. We
try to find out some acceptable general principle which will explain our action. This kind of
reasoning is called rationalization. A Prime Minister appoints his ill-qualified son a minister of
state under
him, and justifies his action by stating that he wants a reliable person to work under him, and that
reliability is a better qualification than academic distinction. Thus he rationalizes his action.

Philosophers and psychologists alike have long realized that thinking is not of a “single
piece.” There are many different kinds of thinking, and there are various means of categorizing
them into a “taxonomy” of thinking skills, but there is no single universally accepted taxonomy.
One common approach divides the types of thinking into problem solving and reasoning, but
other kinds of thinking, such as judgment and decision making, have been suggested as well.

Problem solving

Problem solving is a systematic search through a range of possible actions in order to reach a
predefined goal. It involves two main types of thinking: divergent, in which one tries to generate
a diverse assortment of possible alternative solutions to a problem, and convergent, in which one
tries to narrow down multiple possibilities to find a single, best answer to a problem. Multiple
choice tests, for example, tend to involve convergent thinking, whereas essay tests typically
engage divergent thinking.

The problem-solving cycle in thinking

Many researchers regard the thinking that is done in problem solving as cyclical, in the sense that
the output of one set of processes—the solution to a problem—often serves as the input of
another—a new problem to be solved. The American psychologist Robert J. Sternberg identified
seven steps in problem solving, each of which may be illustrated in the simple example of
choosing a restaurant:

1. Problem identification. In this step, the individual recognizes the existence of a problem to
be solved: he recognizes that he is hungry, that it is dinnertime, and hence that he will need
to take some sort of action.
2. Problem definition. In this step, the individual determines the nature of the problem that
confronts him. He may define the problem as that of preparing food, of finding a friend to
prepare food, of ordering food to be delivered, or of choosing a restaurant.
3. Resource allocation. Having defined the problem as that of choosing a restaurant, the
individual determines the kind and extent of resources to devote to the choice. He may
consider how much time to spend in choosing a restaurant, whether to seek suggestions
from friends, and whether to consult a restaurant guide.
4. Problem representation. In this step, the individual mentally organizes the information
needed to solve the problem. He may decide that he wants a restaurant that meets certain
criteria, such as close proximity, reasonable price, a certain cuisine, and good service.
5. Strategy construction. Having decided what criteria to use, the individual must now decide
how to combine or prioritize them. If his funds are limited, he might decide that reasonable
price is a more important criterion than close proximity, a certain cuisine, or good service.
6. Monitoring. In this step, the individual assesses whether the problem solving is proceeding
according to his intentions. If the possible solutions produced by his criteria do not appeal
 to him, he may decide that the criteria or their relative importance needs to be changed.
7. Evaluation. In this step, the individual evaluates whether the problem solving was
successful. Having chosen a restaurant, he may decide after eating whether the meal was
acceptable.
Problem Solving Strategies
A problem-solving strategy is a plan of action used to find a solution. Different strategies have
different action plans associated with them (table below). For example, a well-known strategy is
trial and error. The old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” describes trial and
error. In terms of your broken printer, you could try checking the ink levels, and if that doesn’t
work, you could check to make sure the paper tray isn’t jammed. Or maybe the printer isn’t
actually connected to your laptop. When using trial and error, you would continue to try different
solutions until you solved your problem. Although trial and error is not typically one of the most
time-efficient strategies, it is a commonly used one.

Psychologists often distinguish between “well-structured” and “ill-structured” problems. Well

structured problems (also called well-defined problems) have clear solution paths: the problem
solver is usually able to specify, with relative ease, all the steps that must be taken to reach a
solution. The difficulty in such cases, if any, has to do with executing the steps. Most
mathematics problems, for example, are well-structured, in the sense that determining what
needs to be done is easy, though carrying out the computations needed to reach the solution may
be difficult.
Ill-structured problems (also called ill-defined problems) do not have clear solution paths, and in
such cases the problem solver usually cannot specify the steps needed to reach a solution.
It is hard to know precisely (or, perhaps, even imprecisely) what steps one would take to solve
this problem. No single formula seems to work for everyone. Indeed, if there were such a
formula, and if it became widely known, it probably would cease to work (because the efficacy
of the formula would be destroyed by its widespread use).
The solution of ill-structured problems often requires Insight, which is a distinctive and
seemingly sudden understanding of a problem or strategy that contributes toward a solution.
Often an insight involves conceptualizing a problem or a strategy in a totally new way. Although
insights sometimes seem to arise suddenly, they are usually the necessary result of much prior
thought and hard work. Sometimes, when one is attempting to gain an insight but is
unsuccessful, the most effective approach is that of “incubation”—laying the problem aside for a
while and processing it unconsciously. Psychologists have found that unconscious incubation
often facilitates solutions to problems.
Algorithms and heuristics
Other means of solving problems incorporate procedures associated with mathematics, such as
algorithms and heuristics, for both well- and ill-structured problems. Research in problem
solving commonly distinguishes between algorithms and heuristics, because each approach solves
problems in different ways and with different assurances of success.

A problem-solving algorithm is a procedure that is guaranteed to produce a solution if it is

followed strictly. In a well-known example, the “British Museum technique,” a person wishes to
find an object on display among the vast collections of the British Museum but does not know
where the object is located. By pursuing a sequential examination of every object displayed in
every room of the museum, the person will eventually find the object, but the approach is likely
to consume a considerable amount of time. Thus, the algorithmic approach, though certain to
succeed, is often slow.

A problem-solving heuristic is an informal, intuitive, speculative procedure that leads to a

solution in some cases but not in others. The fact that the outcome of applying a heuristic is
unpredictable means that the strategy can be either more or less effective than using an
algorithm. Thus, if one had an idea of where to look for the sought-after object in the British
Museum, a great deal of time could be saved by searching heuristically rather than
algorithmically. But if one happened to be wrong about the location of the object, one would
have to try another heuristic or resort to an algorithm.

Although there are several problem-solving heuristics, a small number tend to be used frequently.
They are known as means-ends analysis, working forward, working backward, and generate-and
test.

In means-ends analysis, the problem solver begins by envisioning the end, or ultimate goal, and
then determines the best strategy for attaining the goal in his current situation. In the working
forward approach, as the name implies, the problem solver tries to solve the problem from
beginning to end.
A trip from Islamabad to Murree might be planned simply by consulting a map and establishing
the shortest route that originates in Islamabad and ends in Murree. In the working-backward
approach, the problem solver starts at the end and works toward the beginning. For example,
suppose one is planning a trip from New York City to Paris. One wishes to arrive at one’s
Parisian hotel. To arrive, one needs to take a taxi from Orly Airport. To arrive at the airport, one
needs to fly on an airplane; and so on, back to one’s point of origin.

Often the least systematic of the problem-solving heuristics, the generate-and-test method
involves generating alternative courses of action, often in a random fashion, and then
determining for each course whether it will solve the problem.
Obstacles to effective thinking

A better understanding of the processes of thought and problem solving can be gained by
identifying factors that tend to prevent effective thinking. Some of the more common obstacles,
or blocks, are mental set, functional fixedness, stereotypes, and negative transfer.
A mental set, or “entrenchment,” is a frame of mind involving a model that represents a problem,
a problem context, or a procedure for problem solving. When problem solvers have an entrenched
mental set, they fixate on a strategy that normally works well but does not provide an effective
solution to the particular problem at hand. A person can become so used to doing things in a
certain way that, when the approach stops working, it is difficult for him to switch to a more
effective way of doing things.

Functional fixedness is the inability to realize that something known to have a particular use may
also be used to perform other functions. When one is faced with a new problem, functional
fixedness blocks one’s ability to use old tools in novel ways. Overcoming functional fixedness
first allowed people to use reshaped coat hangers to get into locked cars, and it is what first
allowed thieves to pick simple spring door locks with credit cards.

Another block involves stereotypes. The most common kinds of stereotypes are rationally
unsupported generalizations about the putative characteristics of all, or nearly all, members of a
given social group. Most people learn many stereotypes during childhood. Once they become
accustomed to stereotypical thinking, they may not be able to see individuals or situations for
what they are.

Negative transfer occurs when the process of solving an earlier problem makes later problems
harder to solve. It is contrasted with positive transfer, which occurs when solving an earlier
problem makes it easier to solve a later problem. Learning a foreign language, for example, can
either hinder or help the subsequent learning of another language.