Types of thinking and their characteristics

To think, think, learn, create - in each of us, nature has laid down this amazing ability. From the moment a human brain begins to read information from the outside world, a complex and multifaceted process of thinking is launched. What is thinking? Its types and their characteristics will be considered in this article.

Since ancient times, people have been trying to understand what thinking is, how it originated, how it works, how this mysterious mechanism works. Scientists, philosophers tried to uncover the secrets of human consciousness and study this invisible imperceptible matter. Many treatises, books, scientific papers and articles have been written on this subject. The mental abilities of man have been studied and are still being studied by various scientific disciplines, but remain completely unknown.. Of course, we, too, will not be able to perform a miracle and uncover as such a phenomenon of the human mind. But let's take a look at this concept from the perspective of psychological science and try to understand the many types of thinking and their characteristics.

In psychology, there are many definitions of thinking. Discussions on this issue are ongoing. There is no need to give all the examples and analyze each of them in detail.

At the very beginning of an individual’s life, the process of cognition seems simple and primitive (of course, only at first glance), but as it develops and grows older, it becomes more complicated. The information accumulated over time makes it possible to share and generalize, invent and reason, design and produce, create and create, create an infinite number of variations and combinations of what is happening in the world. But at the heart of all these actions lies the ability to think given to man by nature. And in psychology there is such a thing as a typology of thinking, in which it is divided into types and types, classified into various groups according to certain criteria.

A separate subject of study in psychology is the classification and characterization of types of thinking. There are many visual tables that are full of a variety of information on this topic. In their abundance it is difficult to understand and understand the whole essence of this complex system. Nevertheless, let us try to single out several main groups to which researchers pay special attention. The main types of thinking:

This group includes:

• clearly effective;
• visual-figurative;
• substantive action;
• abstract logical thinking.

Thinking can be:

• theoretical;
• practical.

There are such varieties:

• analytical;
• intuitive;
• realistic;
• autistic
• egocentric.

May be:

• productive;
• reproductive, sometimes referred to as introvert.

There are such types:

• arbitrary;
• involuntary.

Varieties:

• male
• female
• positive
• negative;
• strategic;
• idealistic;
• irrational;
• rational;
• analytical;
• right hemisphere and left hemisphere;
• synthetic.

Each of these species deserves personal attention and is considered separately in psychology, but we will consider only those indicated above.

One of the varieties of rich choice, highlighted by psychologists, is classified by content. This group includes visual-effective, figurative, object-effective and abstract-logical thinking.

• Vivid thinking. The individual, faced with immediate reality, activates this type of understanding. He focuses on the specific perception of objects. Such mental activity is characteristic of early childhood and begins to develop from infancy. A child who still does not know how to think, speak and do something as an adult, explores the world with the help of touching objects and various experiments with them. He tries the world with his teeth literally, gnaws them, knocks them against each other, and sometimes breaks them. Thus, by observing, making certain manipulations with things, a small person studies the world and draws his first conclusions from his impressions. In the adult state, visual-active consciousness is characteristic of workers in the production sphere.
• Visual thinking. It is based on visual images. It begins to develop in children from the middle of preschool age, is dominant until the end of early school age. An adult also constantly engages in visual-figurative perception throughout his life. The emphasis in this case is on the presentation of various objects, phenomena, situations, as well as their various transformations and transformations in the human imagination.
• Abstract logical thinking. In the course of thoughts of a similar nature, a person operates with abstract, abstract, non-specific concepts.This process occurs along the following chain: perception, understanding, comprehension, generalization. That is, a person, comprehending for himself the essence, meaning and significance of something, as a result creates his own individual generalized and abstract opinion on objects, phenomena, situations, independent of other members of society.
• Substantive thinking it is characteristic of people who have built for centuries and continue to build the entire objective world surrounding us. They come up with ideas, translating them into reality.

Psychologists separately describe the types of mental abilities based on the nature of the goals and tasks performed.

• Theoretical thinking. Existing laws, rules, norms, theories, concepts, teachings - all this and much more is the product of a theoretical thought process that allows you to analyze accumulated knowledge and ideas, compare them, classify and shape new ones.
• Empirical thinking - a kind of theoretical thinking. The same features are characteristic of him, but under him the main role will be played by testing hypotheses in practice, and not just in theory.
• Practical thinking. Everything is relatively simple here: the fruits of the theory are used in practice, tested in action. All kinds of projects, plans, schemes, goals transform theoretical concepts into real practical reality. As a result of this type of thinking, incorporeal thought through action takes on a tangible form.

Reflection is a look at oneself, inside oneself, deep into one’s consciousness, as well as at the result of one’s own actions and their rethinking.

Based on this concept, psychologists have identified another group of types of thinking.

• Analytical thinking. It is able to divide objects, phenomena, situations and problems into parts, highlighting and studying the most important of them. We observe, compare, find cause-effect relationships, draw conclusions, find the main thing and structure large volumes of information thanks to analytical abilities. The process of such work takes a long time and consistently.
• Intuitive thinking To some extent, it is the antipode of the analytic, as it passes quickly and unconsciously. There is neither logic, nor analysis, nor at least any reasonable explanation for what conclusions the human consciousness makes at the moment of triggering of intuition.
• Realistic thinking. No evidence - no faith in anything. A realistic perception of reality enables a person to think sensibly, soberly, adequately and logically. In the course of such a thought process, a person does not rely on his personal expectations and desires; he evaluates the world around him only from the standpoint of reality, truth, and fair criticism.
• Autistic thinkingon the contrary, it focuses on illusory desires, which seem quite correct and feasible, even if they run counter to logic. There is no critical assessment of reality in this type of perception. People of this mindset are often found in the artistic direction of activity and in art.
• Egocentric thinking developed in children and adults with excessive self-esteem, excessive self-confidence, bordering on pathological narcissism. In children, this is quite normal, as they think that the world around them revolves only around them. The childish ego is in the center of the Universe, and everything that happens is perceived only from the position of the “I” reflector.

According to the degree of novelty and originality, a separate place is given to a creative (productive) and reproductive image of consciousness.

• Productive thinking defines a person as a creator. Here the main role is played by human imagination, imagination. It is creative people who are capable of creating completely new ideas and previously unprecedented projects. They generate an absolutely unique and original vision of the future material and spiritual objects of their work. New concepts and images, incomparable conclusions and conclusions are all the fruits of the work of creative consciousness.
• Reproductive thinking - the opposite of the productive. This type of knowledge is based solely on ready-made solutions, images, sources and templates that already exist in the world. The complete lack of creative imagination and focus only on the reproduction of previously acquired knowledge characterizes this type of mind. It is worth noting that people with a reproductive type of comprehension often have introverted features.

A group of types of thinking is distinguished according to the degree of randomness.

Everything is explained here quite simply.

• Arbitrary Thinking man is controlled by consciousness and will, the thought process is completely under his control.
• Involuntary thinkingon the contrary, exists in itself, does not obey the efforts of the will of man. Everyone knows the expressions “do on the machine”, “involuntarily do”, “do without realizing”, and this is the situation when involuntary thinking carries out its functions. Involuntary consciousness is associated with the affective components of a person’s attitude to objects and phenomena, various situations and problems, that is, with feelings and emotional reactions to objects of the world around him.

A large group of types of thinking is distinguished, depending on the personal characteristics of each person, which affect the predominance of one or another type of cognition and perception of the world.

• Male thinking. It is generally accepted that men think logically and in a straightforward manner, perfectly operate with iconic models and systems, as a rule, this process is always aimed at action and result. Men clearly distinguish between mind and emotion. In their opinion, feelings are extremely negatively reflected in the transformation of thoughts into a business result. According to one version, this happens because the left hemisphere type of perception and processing of information prevails in the men's brain. The left hemisphere is responsible for speech, logic, analysis, operations with numbers, sequences, etc. In women, while working with information, the right hemisphere dominates. Hemispheric cognition gives women imagination, daydreaming, emotionality, and excellent spatial orientation.
• Female thinking resembles intuitive thinking. The fair sex is always in the first place, so often many conclusions and conclusions are based on feelings and forebodings. Sometimes a woman controls her mood, and her train of thought can change along with changes in her mood. This is only a description of the tendency that often manifests itself, but psychologists do not claim that women have neither logic nor rationality. On the contrary, in certain situations, women show no less than men’s ability to analyze, generalize, plan, and miscalculate the situation.
• Positive thinking. This is about optimism. People with such traits of mind tend to, even despite obstacles, see opportunities to achieve their goals. Such personalities always succeed in soberly, realistically, and most importantly, constructively, to assess the situation and tune in to success.
• Negative thinking typical of pessimists. They are constantly dissatisfied with life, constantly complaining about it, they see insurmountable obstacles everywhere and in everything, thereby causing pity and sympathy for those around them.
• Strategic thinking. If you are inclined to create far-reaching plans and at the same time give clear forecasts, then you are a strategist.Strictly adhere to the goal, effectively assess the path to achieving it and never turn off people capable of having a strategic vision of the world - as a rule, these are successful businessmen and leaders.
• Idealistic thinking. An idealized view of the world is inherent in idealists. Creating in their imagination an ideal version of the world, they project it onto reality. As a rule, a mismatch occurs, and a person is very disappointed, refusing to accept the world as it is, imperfect and imperfect.
• Irrational thinking. Irrational people think illogically, give an incorrect assessment of phenomena and situations, cannot explain why they act one way or another, but at the same time they believe that they are doing everything right and are able to captivate others with their incomprehensible faith. Often it is characteristic of schizoid disorders.
• Rational thinking. Arguments, facts, knowledge, skills, logic, reason - these are the foundations on which a person with a rational intelligence relies. Emotions, feelings, experiences for such individuals do not matter. They always think sensibly and soberly, clearly and quickly solve assigned tasks and find a constructive approach to everything.
• Analytical thinking. The human analyst studies everything that happens around him slowly, pondering everything in detail, thoroughly, always establishing the causes of what is happening, since no phenomenon and no situation in his understanding and perception of the world can be causeless.
• Synthesizing thinking. Certain facts, scattered data, pieces of information are not a problem for a person with a similar mind. He will certainly recreate a complete and clear picture, collecting it in pieces. And such complex operations absolutely do not scare him.

Special in psychology is such a thing as unconscious thinking. It involves the process of knowing the world around us by an unconscious segment of the mind. The unconscious is absolutely not subject to its owner, it is not controlled and exists as if by itself. It collects and stores absolutely all the information read from the outside throughout the life of a person. You can compare this process with the collection of designer parts, only this happens automatically, regardless of our desire and concentration.

Information collected in the subconscious mind is used when it becomes necessary.. The result of unconscious thinking is these are unknowingly human decisions. We think that we are acting one way or another, because we have long and hard searched for a logical solution in a given situation, but we don’t even suspect the influence of the unconscious on the adoption of this decision. Like the far side of the moon, unconscious thinking is the most unexplored and most mysterious area of ​​the human mind.

In psychology, there are several ways to determine the type of thinking, individual style. The most commonly used test method for this purpose. Tests are developed by experienced psychologists based on long research, collection and systematization of information about the features of each type of intelligence. One of these tests was created by the method of the famous American psychologist, the largest researcher of cognitive processes Jerome Bruner.