Thinking: Concepts

• Thinking is an internal mental process, which can be

inferred from overt behavior.
• Involved in the
• Understanding
• Processing and
• Communicating of information.
• An image is a mental representation of a sensory experience;
it can be used to think about things, places, and events.
 Thinking: Concepts

• A concept is a category that is used to refer to a

number of objects and events, with reference to a
set of features or attributes connected by some rule.
– Artificial concepts are those that are well defined and rules
connecting the features are precise and rigid.
• In a well-defined concept the features that represent the concept
are both singly necessary and jointly sufficient.
– Natural concepts or categories are usually ill-defined.
• Numerous features are found in the instances of a natural
category.
• Propositions are sentences that relate one concept to another
and can stand as separate assertions.
• Mental models are the knowledge structures that guide our
interactions with objects and events in the world around us.
Thinking Images Concepts Propositions
 The Nine-dot Problem

Use four
straight lines to
connect the
nine dots. If you
already know
the solution, let
others figure it
out.
 The Nine-dot Problem: Solution

Solving this
requires escaping
fixation by
thinking outside
the box. Literally.
 The Nine-dot Problem
Can you use only THREE straight lines to
connect these nine dots?

Process of Thinking includes..

 Problem solving
1. Trial and Error: a process of trying out all
possible options
2. algorithms: a specific procedure that, when
used properly and in the right circumstances,
will always lead to the solution of a problem. Ex:
formulas.
3. heuristics: rules of thumb that often, but not
always, help us find the solution to a problem.
They are shortcuts. Ex: C_ _ FF (cliff)