Thought

Neuropsychology
Topics

Brain-computer interface
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 • natural 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
Edith Kaplan • Muriel Lezak
Benjamin Libet • Rodolfo Llinás
Alexander Luria • Brenda Milner
Karl H. Pribram • Oliver Sacks
Roger W. 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
Johari window • Lexical decision task
Mini-mental state examination
Stroop effect
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Wisconsin card sorting
Mind and Brain Portal
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 mental 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.

Contents

Basic process

The basic mechanics of the human brain cells reflect a process of pattern matching or rather recognition. 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).

Aids to thinking

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

Pitfalls

  1. Self-delusions: inability to confront relevant issues (roadblocks).
  2. Prejudice can lead to flawed thinking

See also

References

External links