Thinking, Problem Solving, and Creativity PDF

Unit – 7 Thinking, Problem Solving, and Creativity Cognition: the mental activities associated with thoughts, decision-making, language, and other higher mental functions. Thinking includes reasoning—mental activities through which we transform available information in order to create conclusions...

Unit – 7 Thinking, Problem Solving, and Creativity Cognition: the mental activities associated with thoughts, decision-making, language, and other higher mental functions. Thinking includes reasoning—mental activities through which we transform available information in order to create conclusions. Next, we turn to decision-making, the process of making choices due to some alternatives or the information present about them. We then explore different factors that influence the decision-making process. Finally, we examine an aspect of problem-solving, various ways in order to move toward desired goals. Finally, we examine an aspect of cognition that involves the basis of much of the activity occurring in each of the processes visited so far: language. Conclusion for thinking But perhaps you are also thinking about your dog, the movie you saw last night, the argument you had with a friend this morning—the list could be endless. At any given moment in time, consciousness contains a rapidly shifting pattern of diverse thoughts, impressions, and feelings. The basic elements of thought: Our thoughts consist largely of these basic concept components: 1. Concepts 2. Proposition 3. Images Concepts are mental categories for objects, events, experiences, or ideas that are similar to one another in one or more respects. They allow us to represent a great deal of information about diverse objects, events, or ideas in a more efficient manner. 1. Concepts simplify the complex world of our experiences in which we fail to see similarities and avoid meaningless variations. 2. Logical concepts: concepts that can be clearly defined on the basis of rules (e.g., hypotheses).  3. Natural concepts: concepts that are not based on precise sets of attributes or properties, do not always have clear-cut boundaries, and are often defined by prototypes. 4. Individual concepts more accurately reflect the diversity of broad and vast, clearly defined rules. Prototypes emerge from experience with the external environment, categories that might potentially fit within their category are then compared with them. The more attributes new items share with an existing prototype, the more likely they are to be included within the concept. For example, consider the following natural concepts: Fruit and Art. For Fruit, most people think of apples, oranges, or pears. You are far less likely to mention bananas, tomatoes, or olives. Similarly, for Art, most people think of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Importance of concepts Concepts are closely related to schemas, cognitive frameworks that represent our knowledge of and assumptions about the world based on our experience. In contrast, natural concepts are acquired through experience and also represent information about the world in an efficient summary form. ii. Visual Images: Mental pictures as representations of objects or events. Mental pictures of objects or events in the external world. If asked whether two letters of the alphabet are the same, you conjure up an image of two figures bending in specific ways. Are they the same? Or if you can readily draw upon visual images to replace actual objects in the representation of natural concepts. We'll share more about the role of mental images in thought later in this section. Mental manipulation: Performing visual images of objects is very similar to those that would be performed on the actual objects. For example, if asked to conjure up a mental image of a winter scene in Kanha or Kaziranga National Park, it would probably take you longer to think about whether it contains animals or whether it’s about snow. People report using images for understanding verbal instruction by converting words into mental pictures of action and for enhancing their own moods by visualizing positive events or scenes. iii. Propositions: Sentences that relate one concept to another and can stand as separate assertions. E.g.: "Ramesh greeted Sohan." Types of concepts: Simple concepts Complex concepts Artificial concepts Natural concepts Simple concepts: They are found in animals and children. Simple concepts are developed by learning, observing the common elements, and figuring out differences. E.g.: Concept of circle or triangle. Complex concepts: A complex concept is a process that represents the similarity/dissimilarity within two variables. Complex concepts grow at a later stage and suit the proper development of reasoning and intelligence. E.g.: Broader concepts of geometry. Natural concepts: Natural concepts grow and develop from our day-to-day experiences, particularly in childhood, and these concepts are used in everyday thinking. E.g.: The concept of mother, feeding bottle, dog, man, etc. These are not only simple concepts but are also natural. Artificial concepts: They develop out of abstract and complex situations. They are more used for test experiments or purposes. E.g.: Artificial concepts were used in order to understand the concept of conditioning (dog is conditioned to salivate and go into the food tent to the bell in the case of the development of artificial response). Prototypes: Prototypes are typically highly representative examples of a concept that correspond to our image as built up of the concept or when we consider more ambiguous concepts, we usually think of prototypes. E.g.: a robin and an ostrich are both examples of birds, but robin is an example that comes to mind first, instead of an ostrich. Consequently, robin is the prototype. In the nutshell, concepts enable us to think about and understand more broadly and completely situations in which we live. Concepts and prototypes facilitate our efforts to draw some conclusions through the cognitive process, which we call as reasoning. Reasoning: Cognitive activity in which we transform information in order to reach specific conclusions. Reasoning is used to make cognitive transformation of information appropriately to draw the desired conclusions. Formal reasoning Everyday reasoning Goal-oriented: Thinking is usually defined as a goal-oriented behavior. Thinking starts with a problem and ends with its goal/solution. Just as without a problem, thinking cannot proceed in the right direction, and without a goal achieved, thinking is not complete. E.g.: You have lost your key somewhere; you need to open the cupboard and search for the key because you need it. The goal is to find the key and you need to think and explore different places where you might have kept the key. Aimless Thinking: Stimulus thinking may be better called as imagination. Fantasy even in imagination, some goal is observed, i.e., to get pleasure or satisfaction. Types of Reasoning: Formal or Deductive Reasoning: Formal reasoning: In formal reasoning, all the required information is supplied. The problem to be solved is straightforward, even if it typically involves some correct answer, and the reasoning we apply focuses on specific methods. A conclusion that follows logically from two or more statements is a type of logical thinking that starts with a general idea and reaches a specific conclusion. So, it is sometimes referred to as “top-down thinking.” E.g.: All men are mortal. Joe is a man. → Joe is mortal. Bachelors are unmarried men. Will is unmarried. → Will is a bachelor. Everyday or Inductive Reasoning: Everyday reasoning involves the kind of thinking we do in our daily lives: planning, making commitments, evaluating arguments. Everyday reasoning, then, is far more complex and far less definite than formal reasoning. Reasoning: Cognitive activity in which we transform information in order to reach specific conclusions. Reasoning: Drawing conclusions from available information. More formally, in reasoning, we make cognitive transformation of information in order to reach specific conclusions. How do we perform this task? To what extent are we successful at it? In other words, how likely are the conclusions we reach to be accurate or valid? Some Basic Sources of Errors: The Role of Mood States The Role of Beliefs The Confirmation Bias: Searching for Positive Evidence Hindsight: The “I knew it all along” Effect Revisited Making Decisions: The process of choosing among various courses of action or alternatives. Throughout our waking hours, life presents a continuous series of choices: what to wear, what to eat, whether to attend a class meeting, and so on—the list of everyday decisions is endless. 1. The utility or value to you of the outcomes each alternative might yield. 2. The probability that such results would actually occur. As you know from your own life, though, people don’t usually reason in such a systematic manner. Heuristics: Heuristics are extracted from past experience & serve as simple guidelines for making reasonable good choices quickly & efficiently. TYPES: o Availability Heuristic o Representativeness Heuristic Problem Solving: Problem solving involves efforts to develop or choose among various responses in order to attain desired goals. The first step is problem identification: We must recognize that a problem exists & then figure out just what the problem is. Goals can interfere—for example, suppose your car won’t start. Why? Is it a dead battery? Bad ignition? Lack of fuel? If you identify the problem & understand the cause incorrectly, it is difficult to move ahead with a solution. Second, we must formulate potential solutions. Solutions do not arise out of a cognitive vacuum. They require thinking critically relevant to problems & they depend heavily on the information at hand. Adequate information, advice & ideas from others represent invaluable resources in developing solutions. The more information available, the greater the number & the wider the scope of potential solutions we can generate. Third, we must evaluate each alternative & the outcomes it will produce: Will it generate a solution that works—brings us closer to the goal we want? These are considerations that must be taken into account. Finally, we must try potential solutions & evaluate them on the basis of the effects they produce. All too often, a potential solution is only partially effective. It brings us closer to where we want to be but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Methods for Solving Problems: From Trial & Error to Heuristics 1. Trial & Error: A method of solving problems in which possible solutions are tried until one works. 2. Algorithm: A rule that guarantees a solution to a specific type of problem. o Example: Imagine that you were supposed to meet a friend at a restaurant but forgot its name. If you can’t remember the name of the place, you can try calling all the restaurants listed or ask if your friend was planning on reservation (which you know). If following this algorithm: "Call every restaurant on the list" will eventually work—but it is time-consuming & inefficient. One effective way of solving many problems is to use an appropriate heuristic. 3. Analogy: A strategy for solving problems based on applying solutions that were previously successful with other problems similar in underlying structure. For example: Imagine that while driving through an unfamiliar town, you are suddenly seized by an uncontrollable desire for a McDonald’s burger. You don’t know your way around this town, but you know from past experience that many McDonald’s restaurants are located near busy interstate highways. Applying this knowledge, you follow signs showing the way to the nearest interstate. If you can then catch sight of the famous golden arches, you have solved the problem through analogy. Concept Formation Helps in organizing your knowledge so that whenever we need to retrieve such knowledge, we can do it with less time & effort. It is something similar to what we do to organize things at home. Children who are very systematic & organized, put their things like books, compass, socks, etc., in their cupboard so that in the morning they don’t have to struggle to find a particular book in the geometry class. Thinking: Convergent and Divergent Convergent Thinking: Refers to thinking that is required to solve problems which have only one correct answer. The mind converges to the correct solution. Divergent Thinking: Abilities generally include fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Mental Operations Involved in Solving a Problem Mental Operation Nature of Problem 1. Identify the Of what is left for teachers’ day & you are given the task of organizing a Problem play. 2. Represent the Organizing a play would involve identification of an appropriate theme, Problem screening of actors, actresses, arranging money, etc. 3. Plan the Activities Search & survey various available themes for a play, & consult teachers Set Out Goals & friends who have the experience. The plan should include ideas based on such considerations as cost, duration. 4. Evaluate All Collect all the information/stage rehearsal. Solutions (Plays) 5. Select One Compare & verify the various options to get the best solution (the play). Solution & Execute It 6. Evaluate the If the play (sol.) is appreciated, think about the steps you have followed Outcome for future reference for yourself as well as for your friends. 7. Rethink & After this special occasion, you can still think about ways to plan a Redefine Problems better play in the future. & Solutions