THINKING AND

LANGUAGE
Thinking is more than language , and language is more than thinking.

Philips S .Dale

DIKENDRA SANJYAL
RESIDENT
NMCTH , BIRGUNJ
CONTENT :
• Introduction
• Definition of thought
• Thinking process
• Types of thinking
• Concept
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• Creative thinking
INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS THOUGHT?
INTRODUCTION
• Thinking can be defined as the cognitive rearrangement or
manipulation of both information from the environment and the
symbols stored in long term memory.
INTRODUCTION

Thought can refer to the ideas or arrangement of ideas that result from
thinking.
Thinking represents the most complex form of human behavior , the
highest form of mental activity.
In other words , thinking is the set of cognitive processes that mediate ,
or go between , stimuli and responses.
All human achievements and progress are simply the products of
thought.
THE THINKING PROCESS

Thought
Words

Images Language
THE THINKING PROCESS

A ‘symbol’ represents ,or stand for some event or item in the world , as
we see images and language symbols are used in much of our thinking.

The thinking process is by the use of symbols in the form of words ,

language, and images.
IMAGES AND THINKING

Images are remarkably used in thinking along with words as symbols.

For Example, Many people make a visual road map to find and describe how they will go
from one place to another (in an known city or place).

When we use images to think , they are usually not complete , “picture in the head .”

• ( HUTTENLOCHER ,1973).

This incomplete images most of us use in thinking , seems to be constructed from

elements stored in long term memory.
Also this images constructed can be of any size or color or shape ,ETC.

The constructive process involved in imagery has been studied by means of

experiments in which people were asked to form images of various sizes.

E.G. An elephant can be imagined as the size of a mouse or a mouse

imagined as a size of an elephant.

Variations of this sort in the sizes of images indicate that images are
constructions.
Even more interesting , however , are studies indicating that the ease
with which information is found in an images depends in the size (&
other aspects) of the images constructed. ( Kosslyn ,1975 , 1983).
LANGUAGE AND THINKING
• We , think using language symbols as a tool of thinking process.

• In which symbols are words and rules of grammar.

The words, their meaning , and the rules for joining them together are stored in
our semantic long term memories.

• Some theorists take a more extreme view of the role of language in thinking
process.

• That language can actually determine the thoughts we are capable of thinking.
• This is called as the linguistic relatively hypothesis.

• Also deaf people whose verbal language abilities are minimal , seems to
have nonverbal language tool of thought ; they can think in signs.
(VERNON & KOH ,1971 ; STUCKLESS & BIRCH.)
 “Talking To Yourself Under Your Breath”

o Language is to much involved in thinking process that the idea arose in

psychology that thinking is actually a kind of inner speech or “ talking to
yourself under your breath”

o According to this idea people make small movements of vocal apparatus while
thinking number of experiments have indicated that movements of vocal
apparatus may accompany thoughts , but also have made it clear that such
movements are not necessary for thinking. (Smith ET Al, 1947)
CONCEPTS

WHAT IS CONCEPT ?
CONCEPTS
Concepts are important language symbols used in thinking.
A concept is a symbolic construction that represent some common
and general feature or features of many objects or events.
Example are “MAN”, “RED”, “TRIANGLE”, “MOTIVATION” ,
“ATOM”, “ANGER”, ETC.

In fact most of the nouns in our vocabulary are names of concepts ,
except proper nouns- names of specific things or person.
Ability to form concepts enables us to classify things into categories.
For E.G. With a concept of red we can sort objects into red and non red
with a concept of fruit we can sort objects into fruit or non fruit , concepts we
select – gives us base for classification.

When a classification has been made , we tend to behave towards and think
about , the members of the class.

Thus , concepts are the convenient tools to use in thinking and solving
problems.
HOW ARE CONCEPTS FORMED ?
• Basic / natural concept:
Some concepts are “basic” and “natural” which are acquired easily , and appear in
thinking very early in life.
E.G. Division of colors according to their spectrums like red, green, yellow.

• By discrimination learning:
Many of the concepts are acquired more slowly and with efforts , where
discrimination learning plays a role . This type of learning concepts occurs with
response to rewards or reinforcements.
E.G. Saying “RIGHT!” when a child says “APPLE” and points towards one, and
not at something else.
• By definition:
 Some concepts are acquired by learning “DEFINITIONS”.
Definitions help us acquired concepts by describing them in terms of
other words or concepts with which we are already familiar.
TYPES OF THINKING

Types

Non-
Freudian
freudian
FREUD’S DIVISION OF THOUGHT
PRIMARY PROCESS

 Features :
Disregards logic
Permits simultaneous contradiction
Dominated by wish and fantasy
Uses symbols , imagery condensation & concretization in its
organization
A jumbled & incoherent style of thinking
 Where found ?
Found in dreams
Young children
Psychotic states
 FREUD’S DIVISION OF THOUGHT
Secondary process:
• Features
1. Characterized by logic.
2. Ideas follow one another in sequence that is understable to the listener.

• Where found ?
1. Found in non dreamy state
2. Adults
3. Non psychotic states

E.G. The ability to think abstractly and to think in detail about future plan.
TYPES OF NON FREUDIAN

Non
Freudian

Imaginati Conceptu
Fantasy Abstract Autistic Concrete
ve al
• FANTASY THINKING
Thinking By Escaping From Or Denying Reality
Normal : Day Dreaming
Pathological : Dissociative and psychotic states

• Fantasy is usually understood to be the creation of images or ideas which

have no external reality. However , fantasy thinking may also reveal itself in
denial of external events.

• The observation on which the psychodynamic Explation of ego Defence

mechanism have been described are relevant in this context .
• The slips of the tongue , or the “FORGETTING” of the emotionally laden
words is not accident , it is a form of self- deception.

• The obvious , significant, but unpleasant , object of perception may be

“OVER – LOOKED” , and this often revels fantasy denial.
• ABSTRACT THINKING :

Thinking characterized by the ability to grasp the essentials of a whole or

break a whole into its parts , & to discern common properties.
• IMAGINATIVE THINKING

In this thinking fantasy and memory are used together, generates plans
for everyday life and utilize the succession of ideas that fills
consciousness.

Does not go beyond the rational or the possible.

• CONCEPTUAL THINKING

Uses logic to solve problems.

• CONCRETE THINKING

o Thinking characterized by actual things, events and immediate

experience rather than by abstraction

o Found in Schizophrenia & cognitive mental disorder

• AUTISTIC THINKING

Thinking in which the thought are narcissistic and egocentric ,with emphasis
on subjectivity rather than objectivity and without regard for reality.

It may be of short duration, or it may became an established way of life.

It also plays an important role in the way we all carry out our day to day
activities.

It allows a person to escape from , or deny , reality ; or alternatively convert

reality into something more tolerance.
Bleuler (1911) saw this isolation from the real world into autistic thinking as
a characteristic of schizophrenia.

This type of thinking is associated to:

• Pathological lying (psudologia fantastica)
• Hysterical conversions & dissociation .
• Delusion – like ideas occurring in affective psychoses.

Found in : Schizophrenia and autistic disorder.

 PROBLEM SOLVING
• What is problem ?
“Problem” is defined in general as it
is any conflict or difference between
one situation and another situation we
wish to produce our goal.

• “Thinking” that we do in problem

solving is goal directed, and
motivated.
• We use information available to us, from
long term memory and from the
perception of the problem situation.

• We process this information according

to rules, that tells us what we can do and
cannot do.

• In other words, many instances of

problem solving can be considered a
form of rule – guided motivated
information processing ( Newell &
Simon , 1972).
TOWER OF HANOI
ROLES IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Two major types of rules in problem solving are :

r i th ms
Algo

Heuristics
• ALGORITHMS :
Is a set of rules which , if followed correctly , will guarantee a solution to
a problem.
E.G. In solving mathematical calculations.

• HEURISTICS :
Strategies , usually based on our past experiences with problems , that are
likely to lead to a solution but do not guarantee success.
E.G. Common strategy of breaking the problem into smaller sub- problems,
which brings us little closer to end goal.
DECISION MAKING
• Decision making is a kind of
problem solving in which we are
presented with a number of
alternatives among which we must
choose.

• People make decisions that will

maximize subjectively expected
gain.
HEURISTIC IN DECISION MAKING
• Representativeness : We compare and see whether the current
situation is a representation of something we have already experienced.

• Availability : Because frequent events are easier to remember than

infrequent ones , easily remembered events are likely to be repeated in
decision making.

• Adjustment : We start with a certain subjective probability and raise it

or lower it depending on the circumstances.
CREATIVE THINKING
• Thinking something new,
providing to the problems some
new solutions which other people
have not thought of earlier.

• This sudden appearance of new

idea is called insight.
 STAGES IN CREATIVE THINKING
1.Preparation :Formulation 2.Incubation: Turning
of the problem &collection away from the problem, 3.Illumination: Sudden
of the facts & materials failing to solve it, but the emergence of an idea to
considered necessary for unconscious thought the problem.
its solution. processes are still at work.

5.Revision: Modification
4.Evaluation: The apparent
of the solution or solution
solution is tested to see if
of minor problems to
it satisfactorily solves the
create a “GOOD” new
problem.
idea.
 Reference

Introduction to psychology , seven edition , clifford . T.

Morgan Et all
THANK YOU