Thought

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For other uses, see Thought (disambiguation).

"Think" redirects here. For other uses, see Think (disambiguation).

Neuropsychology
Topics
Brain-computer interfaces • Traumatic Brain Injury Brain regions • Clinical neuropsychology Cognitive neuroscience • Human brain Neuroanatomy • Neurophysiology Phrenology • Common misconceptions
Brain functions
arousal • attention consciousness • decision making executive functions • language learning • memory motor coordination • sensory perception planning • problem solving thought
People
Arthur L. Benton • David Bohm António Damásio • Phineas Gage Norman Geschwind • Elkhonon Goldberg Donald O. Hebb • Kenneth Heilman Muriel D. Lezak • Benjamin Libet Rodolfo Llinás • Alexander Luria Brenda Milner • Karl Pribram Oliver Sacks • Roger Sperry • H.M. • K.C.
Tests
Bender-Gestalt Test Benton Visual Retention Test Clinical Dementia Rating Continuous Performance Task Glasgow Coma Scale Hayling and Brixton tests Lexical decision task Mini-mental state examination Stroop effect Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Wisconsin card sorting task
Tools
Johari Window
Mind and Brain Portal
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Personification of thought (Greek Εννοια) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey

Thought and thinking are mental forms and processes, respectively ("thought" is both.) Thinking allows beings to model the world and to deal with it effectively according to their objectives, plans, ends and desires. Words referring to similar concepts and processes include cognition, sentience, consciousness, idea, and imagination.

Thinking involves the cerebral manipulation of information, as when we form concepts, engage in problem solving, reason and make decisions.

Thinking is a higher cognitive function and the analysis of thinking processes is part of cognitive psychology.

1 Basic process
2 Aids to thinking
3 Pitfalls
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Basic process

The basic mechanics of the human brain cells reflect a process of pattern matching or rather recognition (see rational and harmony). In a "moment of reflection", new situations and new experiences are judged against recalled ones and judgements are made. In order to make these judgements, the intellect maintains present experience and sorts relevant past experience. It does this while keeping present and past experience distinct and separate. The intellect can mix, match, merge, sift, and sort concepts, perceptions, and experience. This process is called reasoning. Logic is the science of reasoning. The awareness of this process of reasoning is access consciousness (see philosopher Ned Block).

[edit] Aids to thinking

Use of models, symbols, diagrams and pictures.
Use of abstraction to simplify the effort of thinking.
Use of metasyntactic variables to simplify the effort of naming.
Use of iteration and recursion to converge on a concept.
Limitation of attention to aid concentration and focus on a concept. Use of peace and quiet to aid concentration.
Goal setting and goal revision. Simply letting the concept percolate in the subconscious, and waiting for the concept to re-surface.
Talking with like-minded people. Resorting to communication with others, if this is allowed.
Working backward from the goal.
Desire for learning.
Always be objective.