THINKING

1
THINKING

• BY
• DR . MANAL ELATTAR
• M.D PSYCHAITRY

2
Introduction

• Thinking is included in all our
• activities . I t is the language of
• the mind

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Definition

• It is a mental activity which does not depend
  directly upon sensory or motor contact with the
  present circumstances .

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Anatomical sites concerned with thinking

• 1) Cerebral cortex .
• 2) Limbic system .
• 3) Reticular activating system .

5
Tools of thinking

• - Concepts
• -Combinations of concepts rules ,laws and
  principles
• - Language symbols vocal and written
  expressions
• - Diagrams
• -Images a mental representation of visual
  information
• - Cognitive maps a mental representation of
  familiar parts of the environment
• - Theories

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What is concept ?

• A concept is a mental event used to represent a
  category ,class or group of actions or objects ,
  not just individual cases .
• It is to know the common properties and the
  rule that relate them.
• It is one of the higher cognitive functions

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Why do we need concepts ?

• - Knowledge of the common properties has great
  impact on how we deal with the objects around us.

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• - Concepts enable us to go beyond the information
  we perceive . Having some visible properties of
  an object allow us to infer properties that r not
  visible . This ability is fundamental to thought .

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• Concepts allow us to apply the common properties
  that we already know to objects or people we
  encounter for the first time .

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• Concepts of widely used activities such as eating
  , abstract things such as truth or justice or
  states as being old allow us to communicate
  quickly about things that occur frequently.

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• - If we had no way to organize or classify our
  experiences , our impressions of our environment
  and of ourselves would be chaotic .

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Phases of concept formation

• 1. Generalization .
• 2. Differentiation .
• 3. Abstraction .

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• Generalization
• Inability to differentiate
• between familiar and non familiar objects .
• Differentiation
• Distinction between different items.
• Abstraction
• Inability to grasp the essentials of a whole
• It is tested by proverbs

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Combination of concepts

• Combined concepts guide thoughts and actions .
  Rules , laws, and principles combine so many
  concepts in certain relationships .
• Although our concepts , principles and beliefs
  may guide our thinking , personal feelings and
  prejudices may falsify our ideas and lead to
  erroneous conclusions .
• practicing good observations and straight
  thinking decrease such errors .

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Factors playing a role in concept formation

• Your own concept of a certain thing may not agree
  in all respects with the standard definition as
  your own concept consists of what you know or
  believe about this thing and its interaction with
  your personality .

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Types of concepts

• 1) Inborn
• 2) Acquired
• or
• 1) Formal ( classical )
• All the members have all attributes
• 2) Natural ( real )
• Often cant be easily defined (fuzzy ) , with ill
  defined attributes and rules

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• - Prototype
• it is the member of a concept that best typifies
  or represents that concept or properties to
  describe the best examples
• It is a way to help us better define natural
  concepts
• - Core
• The properties that are the most essential for
  being a member of the concept

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Types of thinking

• 1. Autistic thinking ..
• 2 . Purposive thinking.
• a) Problem solving.
• b) Logical thinking.
• 3. Creative thinking .
• 4.Concrete and abstract thinking .

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Autistic thinking

• - Does not go with the real world or its facts.
• - Not directed towards any purpose.
• - Passive , does not need any attention.
• - does not lead to any mental exhaustion .
• - Forms imaginative play in children and
  daydreams
• - Beneficial if it is moderate ( escape or
  gratification of certain desires .
• -Pathological if the whole thinking is directed
  through this unrealistic way as in schizophrenia.
• It leads to withdrawal from reality and social
  isolation

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Purposive thinking

• - Controlled and goal directed
• - Uses concepts and its combinations of rules and
  principles
• - Uses vocal and written language symbols

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Problem solving

• It is the process of seeking and finding the ways
  and means to solve a problem .
• It is an active process
• It is a higher cognitive function .
• problems are usually solved by a mixture of
• Trial and error
• Insight learning
• we may solve the problem by trial and error then
  gain insight retrospectively how it was solved

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Steps of problem solving

• - -Initiation phase
• Recognition of the problem and definition of the
  goal
• - -Information gathering
• Gathering relevant information to the problem
• - -Solving state
• .Using tools of thinking
• .Putting alternative solutions
• .Elimination of the irrelevant solution
• .Revising previously solved similar problems
• - -Evaluation state
• .Assessment of the result
• .Self criticism

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Problem solving strategies

• Definition
• Strategy is a systematic plan for generating
  possible solutions that can be tested to see if
  they are correct.
• Types of strategies
• 1)Algorithms evaluating all possible solutions
• 2)Heuristics evaluating probabilities that you
  think to be more reasonable .
• 3)Reduction dividing the problem into small sub
  -problems more easier to manage
• 4)Finding analogue finding the similarities
  between the current problems and previous
  problems .

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Barriers for effective problem solving

• 1) Indefinite goal
• 2) Insufficient or irrelevant data
• 3) Mental set tendency to perceive or respond
  in a particular way
• .distractibility
• .Lack of motivation
• . Failure to retrieve memory
• . Inability to control emotional factors
• 4) Attitude inflexibility
• 5) Using incorrect strategies
• 6) Insufficient tools of thinking or unclear
  concepts

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Trial and error

• A rat in a maze

• maze

• After many trials of exploration , the rat
  reaches the food box .
• The rat learned the direction of the goal in a
  situation with which it has become familiar

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Insight learning

• A chimpanzees and a bunch of banana .
• Insight means planning the solution on a mental
  level beforehand .
• insight is affected by past experience and full
  information about the problem

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Logical thinking

• It is to reach an accepted or probable conclusion
  by using relevant data .
• The opposite is illogical or loose thinking
  using irrelevant data to reach unaccepted
  conclusion

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Creative thinking

• Controlled
• Goal directed
• Happens in arts and inventive productions
• Has 4 phases

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Phases of creative thinking

• 1.Preparation phase
• Data collection and understanding all about the
  problem.
• 2.Incubation phase
• It is a waiting period . Work is neglected
  consciously but unconscious work is done .
• 3.Inspiration or illumination phase
• The solution comes suddenly out of the blue .
• 4.Verification phase
• Testing the solution
• Experimental work to verify scientific hypothesis

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Concrete and abstract thinking

• Concrete thinking
• inability to understand the meaning behind a word
  or statement .
• Abstract thinking
• Ability to understand the essentials and hidden
  meaning behind a word or a statement

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Disorders of thinking

• 1) Disorders of the stream
• 2) Disorders of the control
• 3) Disorders of the content
• 4) Disorders of the form

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Disorders of stream

• Rapid thinking and flight of ideas mania
• Slow retarded thinking depression
• Thought block schizophrenia

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Disorders of control

• Thought reading
• Thought insertion
• Thought broadcasting
• Thought withdrawal

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Disorders of content

• Preoccupation with obsessions , fears ,and
  suicidal thoughts .
• Overvalued ideas
• Delusions
• In schizophrenia
• Bizarre
• Persecutory
• Delusions of reference
• Delusions of infidelity
• In depression
• Delusions of nihilism
• Delusions of hypochondraisis
• Somatic delusions
• In mania
• Delusions of grandiosity