Thinking About Thinking: Clear Thinking & Positive Thinking

2009
Thinking About Thinking
Clear Thinking & Positive Thinking
Associate Professor Deborah Graham
Department of Psychology
1
Thinking About Thinking
For information to be useful there are two

important components: comprehension and
evaluation.
Comprehension

An ability to understand material being
provided in verbal and/or written statements

This can be difficult if terminology is
unfamiliar, technical or idiosyncratic

An aid to this problem - Identify what is being
communicated; paraphrase information;
explain the material to a "naive" person
Example (1) : "Watching a violent movie after

my brother's violent death was cathartic. This
helps to demonstrate the construct validity of
Breuer's hypothesis. On testing, however, no
changes in circulating serotonin had occurred
due to the movie. Thus, the ability of
reconstruction to effect real change may be
questioned".
What is being said in this sentence?
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Evaluation

Presupposes comprehension

Involves seeing the significance and
implications of material
Evaluate the statement made in example (1).
A Further Distinction: Inductive and

Deductive Thinking
Inductive Thinking: From limited

observation people form a theory to explain
facts - eg: someone that knows nothing about
Cairns is shown a film of people walking
along the Esplanade; they may conclude that
there is a high percentage of Japanese people
resident in the city being viewed.
Inductive arguments have premises that
purport to support the conclusion, however,
there is no guarantee of the accuracy of the
conclusion.
Example (2): Provide explanations for the

following:
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a) A married women goes to a single mans
place 2 nights of every week for 3 hours.
b) Two police officers visit your next door

neighbour's house
c) A person smelling of stale liquor is buying

panadol at 6 am
How different are the responses within the

group? What dangers are inherent in
inductive thinking?
Examine the following inductive conclusions:
- Thirty six people walked through the door of

the methadone clinic during the four hour
observation period. Clearly, heroin problems
in this city are widespread.
- The streets of Manunda are full of young

people after dark. Residents do not feel safe
leaving their homes at night.
When Australians see politicians opposing

issues for the sake of it, they know them for
what they are: politically amoral opportunists
(John Spender, 2008). Parliamentarians are all
rogues out to rort the system.
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WARNING: BE CAREFUL OF
GENERALISATIONS THAT OFTEN RESULT
FROM INDUCTIVE THINKING.
Phrases that recognise (and thus legitimise!)

the inductive nature of your argument
include: ..it may be contended, ........it is
reasonable to conclude,.........on the basis of the
evidence it may be argued, etc.
Deductive Thinking (a definition) - Refers to

the use of scientific processes by people (in
everyday life as well as scientific
investigation!). The conclusion is related to
the premise in such a way that if the latter is
true, so must the conclusion be true.
Example (3):
All yellow bananas are ripe
This banana is yellow., therefore this banana
is ripe
General rules arise from deduction (eg: a
formula to work out the surface area of a cube
can be applied to any cube; one doesn't need a
new formula each time a cube needs to be
measured).
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Example (4):
A The most difficult part of any diet is the

need to exercise continual willpower.
Therefore those people with continual
willpower will find dieting easier.
B "The neuroses are invariably the result of

infantile sexual trauma, no matter how
apparently non-sexual their symptoms.
Necessarily, therefore, persons suffering from
agoraphobia (a form of neurosis) must have
suffered some emotional upset related to
sexual experience" (Bell and Staines, 1979, p.
28).
In both of these examples if the premise is

true, the conclusion is guaranteed to be true.
Deductive thinking also has many pitfalls for

the unwary (and the wary!). Refer to the
definition given above. What if the premise of
a statement or argument is untrue?
To argue effectively it is critical to make clear

whether one is arguing inductively or
deductively.
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So far we have explored what is sometimes
referred to as vertical thinking. So what of
lateral thinking (de Bono, 1970)? While de
Bono (1970) recognises the importance of
vertical thinking, he argues that people
become "locked into" rigid thinking patterns,
thus engendering the loss of creative problem
solving.
Lateral Thinking
"The most basic principle of lateral thinking is

that any particular way of looking at things is
only one from among many other possible
ways" (de Bono, 1970, p.58). Many different
approaches are desired rather than the best
approach.
Six Thinking Hats*

A method for thinking about an issue from
different perspectives is described by DeBono
(1985) in Six Thinking Hats. DeBono describes
six hats; each is a different colour. Each colour
represents a different way of thinking.
The white hat -- neutral, objective, fact-

oriented thinking;
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the black hat -- negative and points out every
reason an idea might not work;
the red hat focuses on emotions, feeling,

hunches, and intuition;
the yellow hat symbolises optimism and

points out good things about an idea;
the green hat is creative and thinks of novel
approaches;
the blue hat represents metacognition

(thinking about the process of thinking itself).
People are encouraged to "put on each hat"

when thinking about a situation. This exercise
is helpful in making people aware of which
modes of thinking are habitually practiced
and comfortable, and which may not be used
as often.
*NB: DeBono is popularist rather than

scientific
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Example (5):
How would you describe this figure?
Example (6):
Why are eggs sold by the dozen?
Lateral thinking attempts to break a rigid

pattern of thinking. Searching for alternative
arguments and explanations helps to achieve
this.
Example (7)
Below is an essay topic, find three different

ways of approaching the question.
Topic: Universities will ultimately be obsolete

with the advent of the virtual classroom.
Critically evaluate this claim.
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Positive Thinking
How well you cope with university life has a

lot to do with your attitude. Unfortunately,
we have been encouraged since we were
children to engage in a lot of negative self-talk
that can be very destructive personally and
professionally. The technique for changing the
way we think is referred to by psychologists as
cognitive restructuring.
Example (8):
The first piece of written work you receive
back at university has been failed. You
believed the work was good enough to at least
pass. How do you feel?
People have been conditioned to treat failure

as a personal judgement. It should never be
viewed this way.
Example (9):
Destructive Constructive
I am a failure I didn't do very

well this
time. I will find
out where
I went wrong.
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I haven't got the ability This is somewhat
different to what I'm
used to. I will aim to do
better next time.
I'm bound to fail again I will try harder next

time and if I fail again
perhaps I should
look at a course more
suited to me.
Failure is not bad. Only those people willing

to take risks are placed in a position that
allows failure. Risk taking is a form of very
positive growth. Unless we take risks, we
limit our potential (and we'll never fail!).
When we fail we should congratulate
ourselves for trying and re-evaluate our true
interests. Areas that we find satisfying and
enjoyable generally reflect our strengths.
Positive thinking is related to much more than

situations of failure. How we view ourselves
and how we believe other people see us helps
to determine who we are. Always think about
what you are thinking and how you are
thinking.
11
Thought restructuring takes practise but is
effective. Thought sampling and assessment is
very important.
Albert Ellis
Ellis saw cognition and emotion as being closely

linked. If a person can control their thoughts,
they can exert control over their emotions.
Ellis (1977) used the "ABC" method to

demonstrate the cognitive nature of his
therapeutic approach.
A
(an activating event - eg: you get rejected for 6
jobs in a row)

C
(emotional and behavioural consequences -eg:
you feel depressed and worthless)
Did A cause C?
Ellis argues that B causes C. What is B? Your

belief about A.
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A
(an activating event - eg: you get rejected for 6
jobs in a row)

B
your beliefs about A

C
(emotional and behavioural consequences -
depend on B)
It is contended that beliefs are the important

elements that create irrational views that
people have of themselves and situations
encountered. This can be personal torture!.
Remember to always THINK ABOUT
THINKING.
Dont let negative/depressing thoughts get in

the way of action. The tiniest step toward
facing and resolving a perceived problem can
be a gigantic move toward control, resolution
and peace of mind.
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Selected References
(theyre oldies but theyre pretty good)
Bell, P.B. and Staines, P.J. (1979) Reasoning

and Argument. Macarthur press; Parramatta.
Chatfield, H.J. and Russell, N. (1974) Try

Thinking The Macmillan Company of
Australia Pty Ltd; Sydney.
DeBono, E. (1985). Six thinking hats. Boston:

Little
De Bono, E. (1970) Lateral Thinking. Penguin

Books; London.
Ellis, A. and Harper, R.A. (1975) A New

Guide to Rational Living. Prentice hall:
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
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2009

Thinking About Thinking

Clear Thinking & Positive Thinking

Associate Professor Deborah Graham

For information to be useful there are two

Example (1) : "Watching a violent movie after

What is being said in this sentence?

Evaluate the statement made in example (1).

A Further Distinction: Inductive and

Inductive Thinking: From limited

Example (2): Provide explanations for the

b) Two police officers visit your next door

c) A person smelling of stale liquor is buying

How different are the responses within the

Examine the following inductive conclusions:

- Thirty six people walked through the door of

- The streets of Manunda are full of young

When Australians see politicians opposing

Phrases that recognise (and thus legitimise!)

Deductive Thinking (a definition) - Refers to

A The most difficult part of any diet is the

B "The neuroses are invariably the result of

In both of these examples if the premise is

Deductive thinking also has many pitfalls for

To argue effectively it is critical to make clear

"The most basic principle of lateral thinking is

Six Thinking Hats*

The white hat -- neutral, objective, fact-

the red hat focuses on emotions, feeling,

the yellow hat symbolises optimism and

the blue hat represents metacognition

People are encouraged to "put on each hat"

*NB: DeBono is popularist rather than

How would you describe this figure?

Lateral thinking attempts to break a rigid

Below is an essay topic, find three different

Topic: Universities will ultimately be obsolete

How well you cope with university life has a

People have been conditioned to treat failure

I am a failure I didn't do very

I'm bound to fail again I will try harder next

Failure is not bad. Only those people willing

Positive thinking is related to much more than

Ellis saw cognition and emotion as being closely

Ellis (1977) used the "ABC" method to

Ellis argues that B causes C. What is B? Your

It is contended that beliefs are the important

Dont let negative/depressing thoughts get in

(theyre oldies but theyre pretty good)

Bell, P.B. and Staines, P.J. (1979) Reasoning

Chatfield, H.J. and Russell, N. (1974) Try

DeBono, E. (1985). Six thinking hats. Boston:

De Bono, E. (1970) Lateral Thinking. Penguin

Ellis, A. and Harper, R.A. (1975) A New

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