Process of Thinking || Problem Solving || Reasoning || Decision Making and Judgement

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In previous article, we have already discussed what we mean by thinking and what is the nature of thinking. We also learnt that thinking uses mental images and concepts as the base. Now we will discuss how thinking proceeds in a particular area: problem solving.

Read this article here: Thinking || Building Blocks of Thought || Culture and Thinking

Problem Solving:

How do we proceed while repairing a broken cycle, or planning a summer tour or patching up a broken friendship? In some cases the solution is reached quickly as in repair of a bicycle based on immediately available cues whereas others are more complex and require time and effort.

Problem solving is thinking that is goal-directed.

Almost all our day-today activities are directed towards a goal. Here it is important to know that problems are not always in the form of obstacles or hurdles that one faces. It could be any simple activity that you perform to reach a defined goal, for example, preparing a quick snack for your friend who has just arrived at your place

In problem solving there is an initial state (i.e. the problem) and there is an end state (the goal). These two anchors are connected by means of several steps or mental operations.

Obstacles to Solving a problem:

Two major obstacles to solving a problem are mental set and lack of motivation .

Mental Set:

Mental set is a tendency of a person to solve problems by following already tried mental operations or steps.

Prior success with a particular strategy would sometimes help in solving a new problem. However, this tendency also creates a mental rigidity that obstructs the problem solver to think of any new rules or strategies. Thus, while in some situations mental set can enhance the quality and speed of problem solving, in other situations it hinders problem solving.

Like mental set, functional fixedness in problem solving occurs when people fail to solve a problem because they are fixed on a thing’s usual function.

Lack of Motivation:

People might be great at solving problems, but all their skills and talents are of no use if they are not motivated. Sometimes people give up easily when they encounter a problem or failure in implementing the first step. Therefore, there is a need to persist in their effort to find a solution.

Reasoning:

Reasoning, like problem solving, is goal directed, involves inference and can be either deductive or inductive.

If you find a person desperately running on the railway platform, you could infer a number of things such as: he is running to catch the train which is about to leave, he wants to see off his friend sitting in the train which is about to leave, he has left his bag in the train and wants to get in before the train leaves the station. To figure out why this person is running, you could use different kinds of reasoning, deductive or inductive.

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning:

Since your previous experience indicates that people run on the platform to catch a train, you would conclude that this person is getting late and is running to catch the train.

The kind of reasoning that begins with an assumption is called deductive reasoning . Thus deductive reasoning begins with making a general assumption that you know or believe to be true and then drawing specific conclusion based on this assumption. In other words, it is reasoning from general to particular.

Another way to figure out why the man is running on the platform is to use inductive reasoning. Sometimes you would analyse other possible reasons and observe what the man is actually doing and then draw a conclusion about his behaviour.

Reasoning, that is based on specific facts and observation, is called inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is drawing a general conclusion based on particular observation.

Most cases of scientific reasoning are inductive in nature. Scientists and even lay persons consider a number of instances and try to determine what general rule covers them all.

Thus we can conclude that reasoning is the process of gathering and analysing information to arrive at conclusions. In this sense, reasoning is also a form of problem solving. The goal is to determine what conclusion can be drawn from certain given information.

Analogy : Another Form of Reasoning

Analogy is another form of reasoning which involves four parts, A is to B as C is to D with the relation between the first two parts being the same as the relation between the last two. For example, water is to fish as air is to human; white is to snow as black is to coal.

Analogies can be helpful in solving problems. They help us in identifying and visualising the salient attributes of an object or event, which would otherwise go unnoticed.

Decision Making and Judgment:

Inductive and deductive reasonings allow us to make judgments. In judgment we draw conclusions, form opinions, evaluate events, objects, based on knowledge and available evidences.

Consider this example, the man is very talkative, likes to mix with people, can convince others with ease — he would be most suitable for a salesperson’s job. Our judgment of this person is based on the specific characteristics of an expert salesperson.

Sometimes judgments are automatic and require no conscious effort by the person and occur as a matter of habit, for example, applying brakes on seeing the red light. Judging the beauty of a painting would involve your personal references. Thus our judgments are not independent of our beliefs and attitudes. We also make changes in our judgments based on newly acquired information.

Many of the problems you solve each day require you to make decisions. What to wear for the party? What to eat for dinner? What to say to your friend? The answer to all these lies in picking or choosing one of several choices. In decision-making, we sometimes choose among options based on choices of personal significance.

Judgment and decision making are interrelated processes. In decision making the problem before us is to choose among alternatives by evaluating the cost and benefit associated with each alternative.