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Thinking – Class 11 Psychology notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 11 Psychology, chapter 8. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Thinking is a higher mental process that involves manipulating and analysing information from the environment and memory. It uses mental representations such as concepts and images, and includes problem solving, reasoning, decision-making and creative thinking. Language and thought are closely related, and thinking can be improved by developing creative and critical skills.

Nature, problem solving and reasoning

The building blocks of thought are mental images and concepts; concepts group objects or events with common features, often organised around a prototype.
Problem solving is goal-directed thinking; strategies include algorithms (step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution) and heuristics (rules of thumb such as means-end analysis). Obstacles include mental set and functional fixedness, and lack of motivation.
Reasoning may be deductive (from general to specific) or inductive (from specific to general); decision-making involves choosing between alternatives and can be biased.

Creative thinking and language

Creative thinking is novel and useful; it involves divergent thinking (many possible answers, with fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration), unlike convergent thinking (one correct answer).
Stages of creative thinking (Wallas): preparation, incubation, illumination and verification; barriers include habits, fear of failure and conformity, and strategies include brainstorming.
Views on language and thought: Benjamin Whorf's linguistic relativity hypothesis says language shapes thought; Jean Piaget held that thought comes first; Lev Vygotsky held that they develop separately and merge around age two.

Key terms

Concept: a mental category grouping things with common features
Algorithm: a step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution
Heuristic: a rule of thumb that often but not always leads to a solution
Functional fixedness: inability to see a new use for a familiar object
Divergent thinking: thinking that generates many varied answers

Important questions with answers

What is functional fixedness?2 marks

Functional fixedness is a barrier to problem solving in which a person can think of an object only in terms of its usual function and fails to see other possible uses, for example not using a book as a doorstop.

Distinguish between convergent and divergent thinking.3 marks

Convergent thinking moves towards a single correct answer, as in solving an arithmetic problem or an MCQ. Divergent thinking produces many varied and original answers, as in listing uses of a brick, and is marked by fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration.

Describe the process of creative thinking and how it can be developed.5 marks

Creative thinking produces ideas or products that are novel and useful. Graham Wallas proposed that creative thinking goes through four stages. In preparation, the person understands the problem and gathers information. In incubation, the person stops working consciously on the problem, while ideas are processed unconsciously; taking a break often helps. In illumination, a sudden insight or 'aha' experience occurs and the solution appears. In verification, the idea is tested, evaluated and refined to see whether it works. Creative thinking relies on divergent thinking, which involves fluency (producing many ideas), flexibility (producing different kinds of ideas), originality (producing unusual ideas) and elaboration (adding details), along with convergent thinking to evaluate ideas. Barriers to creative thinking include habitual thinking and mental sets, fear of failure or criticism, a need to conform, lack of motivation, and cultural pressures that discourage questioning. Creative thinking can be developed by becoming more aware of problems and asking questions, using brainstorming in which ideas are listed without judging them, using checklists and attribute listing, encouraging curiosity and open-mindedness, giving time for incubation, seeking multiple perspectives, accepting mistakes as part of learning, and practising tasks such as finding unusual uses of objects. An environment that rewards new ideas also supports creativity.

Quick revision

Concepts, images, prototypes.
Problem solving strategies and obstacles.
Reasoning and decision-making.
Creative thinking; language and thought.

Exam tips

Remember Wallas's four stages: preparation, incubation, illumination, verification.
Compare convergent and divergent thinking with examples.

Practice MCQs

A step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution is
1. a heuristic
2. an insight
3. an algorithm
4. a mental set
Show answer
Answer: (c) an algorithm. It may take longer.
Thinking that generates many possible answers is
1. convergent thinking
2. deductive reasoning
3. divergent thinking
4. concrete thinking
Show answer
Answer: (c) divergent thinking. It is linked to creativity.
A mental category grouping things with common features is a
1. symbol
2. concept
3. reflex
4. drive
Show answer
Answer: (b) concept. Fruit is a concept.
Not seeing that a coin can be used as a screwdriver shows
1. insight
2. incubation
3. functional fixedness
4. divergent thinking
Show answer
Answer: (c) functional fixedness. Objects are seen only in usual roles.
Reasoning from general principles to a specific conclusion is
1. inductive reasoning
2. deductive reasoning
3. analogical reasoning
4. heuristic thinking
Show answer
Answer: (b) deductive reasoning. All men are mortal; Ram is a man; so Ram is mortal.
The linguistic relativity hypothesis was proposed by
1. Piaget
2. Chomsky
3. Vygotsky
4. Benjamin Whorf
Show answer
Answer: (d) Benjamin Whorf. It says language shapes thought.
In Wallas's model, the stage when a person stops working consciously on a problem and the idea develops unconsciously is
1. preparation
2. verification
3. illumination
4. incubation
Show answer
Answer: (d) incubation. The 'aha' moment comes later.
Why can a mental set hinder problem solving
1. it improves flexibility
2. it makes people repeat a strategy that worked before even when a better one exists
3. it removes all habits
4. it always guarantees success
Show answer
Answer: (b) it makes people repeat a strategy that worked before even when a better one exists. Past success creates rigidity.

All chapters of Class 11 Psychology

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.