INST 354 Lecture 2: INST354 Lecture 2: Thinking-Automatic and Controlled
10 Feb 2019
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Document Summary
Briefly, it is the creation of mental representations of what is not in the immediate environment. Seeing a green wall is not thinking; however, imagining what that wall would be like if it were repainted blue is. Noting that a patient is jaundiced is not thinking; hypothesizing that the patient may suffer from liver damage is. Noticing that a stock"s price has dropped is not thinking, but inferring the causes of that drop and deciding to sell the stock is. Sir frederick bartlett, whose work 50 years ago helped create much of what is now termed cognitive psychology, defined thinking as the skill of filling gaps in evidence (1958). To simplify, there are basically two types of thought processes: automatic and controlled. Pure association is the simplest type of automatic thinking. Something in the environment brings an idea to mind, or one idea suggests another, or a memory.
