Types of thinking

Thinking is the processing of information in the process of the flow of thoughts, images and sensations. This can happen in a variety of forms, in different styles and with different qualities: thinking can be of varying degrees of coherence, logicality and expediency, be both nonsense and a model of high wisdom↑, thinking can be effective↑ and empty.

Types of thinking that describe the characteristics of thinking itself

If we ignore personal characteristics, then the following types of thinking are traditionally distinguished (they can also be called structural features of thinking):

Visual-effective, visual-figurative, figurative-associative, scenario and conceptual thinking.

Productive thinking and thinking as internal chatter.

Productive thinking — finding a connection between objects and phenomena, solving a life problem. Inner chatter is relatively coherent, sometimes even logical, but inappropriate thinking fills the emptiness of the soul, creates the illusion that life is filled with something.

Rational and irrational thinking

Rational thinking is thinking that has a clear logic and goes to the goal. The opposite of irrational, and sometimes just incoherent thinking, the flow of thoughts outside of logic and purpose. See →

Primitive and advanced thinking

In the developed version, thinking is analysis, comparison, finding new connections and other operations with mental images in order to find productive, useful mental images.

Expanded (discursive) and folded thinking: intuition.

In an expanded form, inner speech, inner actions, images and sensations are heard, seen and felt, in an automatic and folded form they flicker and disappear from the field of consciousness. Expanded thinking is called in science discursive thinking, in life — reflection. Convoluted and instant comprehension is more often called intuition, grasping, vision of the essence. See →

Template and independent thinking

Template thinking is not thinking that does not use templates: this seems to be impossible in principle, templates are used everywhere. Template thinking does not use anything but templates, remains within the framework of templates only. Goes beyond patterns and ceases to be patterned thinking thinking is independent. Its main varieties are design and creative thinking. See →

Automatic and guided thinking

Automatic thinking occurs on its own, being implemented like a program, starting and ending on its own, without the will, knowledge and control of a person. It is more pleasant when a person still manages his own thinking. See →

Free and creative thinking

Free thinking is thinking that is not constrained by limiting patterns. A free-thinking person is not necessarily someone who has not been brought up — it can also be someone who was brought up in the format of internally free thinking. Creative thinking is thinking that generates a new, unknown and valuable result from known premises. See →

As a result, thinking is more or less effective.

See Properties of thinking, Thinking, Productive thinking, Stopping thinking

Types of thinking reflecting his personal character

Thinking is a very personal thing, and there are as many types of thinking as there are types of character and other personality traits: lazy and cheerful thinking, impulsive and reasonable, uncritical and critical, positive and negative, straightforward and flexible, process thinking and result thinking (see .→), masculine and feminine thinking… We will describe only the most striking options:

Male and female thinking

When “just thinking” is described, in fact, as a rule, male thinking is described. A man is more often ready to consider what is happening objectively, in a woman everything is saturated with feelings and subjectivity. A man often relies on logic, a woman — on her intuition, feelings and sensations. See →

Biased and objective thinking

It is well known that ordinary thinking is biased. Can thinking be objective? How to develop objectivity of thinking? See →

Positive and negative thinking

Negative thinking operates mainly with denials, is prone to objections, highlights the negative sides See → Positive, respectively, highlights the positive sides See →

Civilized and wild thinking

Civilized thinking respects the rules of thinking and aims at both problem solving and cooperative relationships. Wild thinking breaks the rules of thinking and is aimed at the participant’s personal victory.

Living thinking is thinking in which a person begins to think.