Thinking as a Tool for

problem Solving

Ms. RITUPARNA DAS

Assistant Professor AIBAS
 Thinking
• According to Ross Ross:
“Thinking is a mental activity in its cognitive aspect or mental activity with
regard to psychological aspects”.
• According to Garret:
“Thinking is a behavior which is often implicit and hidden and in which
symbols are ordinarily employed”.
• According to Gilmer:
“Thinking is a problem-solving process in which we use ideas or symbols in
place of overt activity”

• Thinking involves the entire process of learning. Remembering and

organizing mentally to understand the information better and recall it later.
 Types Of Thinking

1. Perceptual or Concrete Thinking:

• This is the simplest form of thinking the basis of this type is perception, i.e.
interpretation of sensation according to one’s experience. It is also called
concrete thinking as it is carried out on the perception of actual or concrete
objects and events.
• Example- Seeing Relationships- Perceptual thinking can help you see
relationships between things that you might not otherwise notice. For
example, when looking at a map, you can see how far apart countries are,
what kind of terrain they have, and which countries are allies or enemies
2. Conceptual or Abstract Thinking
• Abstract thinking is the ability to think about concepts that are not tied to
concrete experiences, objects, people, or situations. It's a type of higher-order
thinking that's essential for problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking,

Example-
• Solving a math problem: Using prior knowledge and logic to strategize a
solution
• Analyzing a situation: Developing a creative solution to a problem
• Considering another point of view: Thinking about a problem from someone
else's perspective
• Using metaphors, similes, or analogies: Describing something figuratively.
3. Creative Thinking:
This type of thinking is associated with one’s ability to create or construct
something new, novel or unusual. It looks for new relationships and
associations to describe and interpret the nature of things, events and situations.
Here the individual himself usually formulates the evidences and tools for its
solution. For example; scientists, artists or inventors.

4. Critical Thinking:
It is a type of thinking that helps a person in stepping aside from his own
personal beliefs, prejudices and opinions to sort out the faiths and discover the
truth, even at the expense of his basic belief system.
5. Non-directed or Associative Thinking-
There are times when we find ourselves engaged in a unique
type of thinking which is non-directed and without goal. It is
reflected through dreaming and other free-flowing uncontrolled
activities. Psychologically these forms of thought are termed as
associative thinking.
Example- day-dreaming, fantasy and delusions

6. Realistic Thinking-
It is based on real facts, always find out the solutions of a given problem. It is
controlled, constructive, directive, realistic & factual based thinking.
 Types of Realistic Thinking

Realistic
Thinking

Convergent Divergent Critical

7. Convergent thinking (attempting to find one correct answer)- is linked
to conventional, non-creative thinking.
It is the process of finding a single best solution to a problem that you are
trying to solve. Many tests that are used in schools, such as multiple choice
tests, spelling tests, math quizzes, and standardized tests, are measures of
convergent thinking. The process of convergent thinking is systematic and
logical.

8. Divergent thinking (ability to produce many alternatives or ideas) is

linked to creativity.
It is the process of creating many unique solutions in order to solve a
problem. Whenever we use divergent thinking, we search for options
instead of just choosing among predetermined options.
 Mind/Brain/Behaviour

• Mind- The mind is where we create our thoughts and beliefs and understanding
of the world where Our behavior is how we act in the world.

• Brain- is a thinking organ that learns and grows by interacting with the world
through perception and action.

• The most popular interpretation of the mind-brain relationship was some

version of dualism. It claims that mind is essentially non-physical. The brain is
the place where this nonphysical reality interacts with physical reality.

• According to (philosophical) behaviorism the mind is simply the behavior, or

dispositions for behavior, that an organism exhibits.
 Stages of Thinking-

1. Perception- Initial sensory input & its interpretation

2. Conception- Formation of ideas and concept

3. Judgement- Evaluating & making decision

4. Reasoning- Logical thinking & problem solving

 Critical Thinking
Some of the skills involved in critical thinking include:
• Analytical thinking- Aanalytical thinking allows people to reject cognitive
biases and strive to gather and analyze intricate subject matter while solving
complex problems.
• Open-mindedness- Open-mindedness is the willingness to consider new
ideas, arguments, and information without prejudice.
• Problem-solving
• Reasoned judgment- It involves making thoughtful decisions based on
logical analysis of evidence and thorough consideration of alternatives.
• Curiosity: The desire to learn new information and be open to new ideas
• Skepticism: Questioning new information instead of blindly believing it.
• Humility: The ability to change your ideas when logically proven that you
are wrong.
• Reflective thinking- Reflective thinking is the process of analyzing one's
own thought processes, actions, and outcomes to gain deeper understanding
and improve future performance.
• Communication- Strong communication skills help critical thinkers
articulate ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Research- Critical thinkers with strong research skills gather, evaluate, and
synthesize information from various sources of information
• Decision-making- Effective decision making is the culmination of various
critical thinking skills that allow an individual to draw logical conclusions
and generalizations
 Steps of Critical Thinking
• 1. Identify the problem or question

• 2. Gather relevant information

• 3. Analyze and evaluate data

• 4. Consider alternative points of view

• 5. Draw logical conclusions

• 6. Develop and communication solutions

• 7. Reflect and learn from the process

 Learning

• The brain retains information and facilitates the process of learning. This is an
experience acquisition process and can be a very strategic approach to build
retention of information and modification of experience.

Types of Learning
1.Motor Learning: Our day to day activities like walking, running, driving,
etc, must be learnt for ensuring a good life.
2.Verbal Learning: It is related with the language which we use to
communicate and various other forms of verbal communication such as
symbols, words, languages, sounds, figures and signs.
Concept Learning: Concept learning involves the processes of abstraction and
generalization, which is very useful for identifying or recognizing things.
Discrimination Learning: Learning which distinguishes between various
stimuli with its appropriate and different responses is regarded as
discrimination stimuli.
Learning of Principles: Learning which is based on principles helps in
managing the work most effectively. Principles based learning explains the
relationship between various concepts.
Attitude Learning: Attitude shapes our behavior to a very great extent, as our
positive or negative behavior is based on our attitudinal predisposition.
• Classical Conditioning: In case of Classical Conditioning, the process of
learning is described as a Stimulus-Response connection or association. By
establishing an association between the natural stimulus and the neutral
stimuli (sound of the desired response can be elicited.
• Operant Conditioning: Propounded by Edward Thorndike firstly and later
by B.F. Skinner, this theory stresses on the fact that the consequences of
actions shape the behavior. The theory explains that the intensity of a
response is either increased or decreased as a result of punishment or
reinforcement.
• Observational Learning: The Observational Learning process was
propounded by Albert Bandura in his Social Learning Theory, which focused
on learning by imitation or observing people’s behaviour.
 •Inductivereasoning:
•Analogical reasoning:Compares
Uses theories and
two or assumptions
more objects totofind
validate observations.
shared properties.
•Analogical
•Abductive reasoning: Compares two or more objects to find shared
reasoning: Reaches a logical conclusion based on observations.properties.
•Abductive reasoning: Reaches a logical conclusion based on observations.
Predictions and reasoning
• Reasoning is the process of using logic to make conclusions from evidence and
principles to solve problems and make decisions.
• Deductive reasoning- A type of reasoning that uses formal logic and
observations to prove a theory or hypothesis. For example, if a car’s trunk is
large and a bike does not fit into it, you may assume the bike must also be large.
We know this because we were already provided with the information we
believe is accurate—the trunk is large.
• Inductive reasoning- Inductive reasoning uses theories and assumptions to
validate observations. In some ways it's the opposite of deductive reasoning, as
it involves reasoning from a specific case or cases to derive a general
rule. Example: Joe consistently gets a stomachache after eating pears. He
doesn't get a stomachache consistently after eating any other type of fruit.
Eating the pears might cause Joe's stomachache.
 Memory
• In psychology, memory is defined as when we absorb information from the
world, process and store that information, and then retrieve that information at
a later date. Thus, there are three major components to memory - encoding,
storage, and retrieval.

• Encoding- Information we take in from our senses is encoded so that

the brain can store that information.
• Storage - after the information is encoded, it is stored in the brain. There are
different types of memory storage, such as short-term and long-term.
• Retrieval - information that is stored in the brain is retrieved at a later date.
 Types Of Memory
• Sensory memory- The senses detect information from the world around us
and first enter the sensory memory, which stores a brief impression of the
detected stimuli. The duration of the sensory memory is concise, ¼ to ½ of a
second. Sensory memory has different sensory stores for each of the senses to
encode the incoming information, so a taste is stored as a taste, a touch is
stored as a touch etc.

• Short-term memory (STM)- Short-term memory is the storage of memory

available for a short time only (around 30 seconds). Short-term memory can
store seven items +/- 2 (so someone's STM might be able to store nine items
while another person can store five items).
• Long-Term Memory (LTM)- The duration and capacity (how much the LTM
can store) are unlimited. There are three types of LTM -- episodic,
semantic and procedural memory.

• Episodic memory is the memory of events in your life. For example, what you
did for your sweet 16th, everything you did on holiday in Italy. Episodic
memory contains information on what, when and where an event happened.
• Semantic memory is the collection of knowledge you have gained throughout
your life. For example, the capital of France is Paris.
• Procedural memory: procedural memory is your memory of how to do things,
such as ride a bike or play the piano.
 Emotions
• Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to events or
situations. The type of emotion a person experiences is determined by
the circumstance that triggers the emotion.
Positive Emotions and Critical Thinking
• Positive emotions can help us think more creatively, focus our attention, and
broaden our perspectives.
• They enable us to see more possibilities and consider alternative solutions.
• When we experience positive emotions, we are more likely to approach problems
with an open mind and think more critically about potential solutions.
• For example, when we feel happy, we are more likely to engage in creative
problem-solving and generate more novel ideas. This is because positive emotions
broaden our attention and enable us to see things we may have missed otherwise.
Negative Emotions and Critical Thinking

• On the other hand, negative emotions such as fear, anger, and frustration can
negatively impact our critical thinking abilities.
• When we are overwhelmed by negative emotions, it can be challenging to
think rationally and objectively.
• We may become fixated on one solution or see things in black-and-white
terms, leading us to make decisions that are not in our best interest.
• For example, if we are feeling anxious, we may be more likely to jump to
conclusions or make assumptions without fully considering all the available
information. This can lead to poor decision-making and negative outcomes.
Thinking Skills
THANK YOU