1 Running head: TYPES OF THINKING

Types of Thinking

and the Critical Thinking Process

Full Name

Name of Institution 2TYPES OF THINKING

While critical thinking is sometimes included in lists of types of thinking, all types of thinking can be incorporated into critical thinking and the critical thinking process, bringing out different strengths and weaknesses. Some common types of thinking include creative thinking, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, inductive thinking and deductive thinking. Some lists of types of thinking include even more varieties that encompass not just the way of thinking, but also the purpose or consequence of thinking, such as uncovering, wondering, believing, grasping, persuading, abstracting, condensing, theorizing, etc. (Montano, 2007). Most of these types, however, pertain to one of the types given in the first list. An analysis of three types of thinking, such as creative, convergent and deductive thinking, can be used to illustrate the manner in which different types of thinking can be applied to the critical thinking process, which is essential in decision making and business.

Types of thinking and the Critical Thinking Process

Creative thinking refers to a form of divergent thinking that leads to a new or unique idea

(Different Types of Thinking, 2009). Ideally, creative thinking should lead to ideas that are innovative and better than previous ideas. Convergent thinking implies having a certain starting point, a central idea that everything else revolves around. In convergent thinking, thoughts of all different types and areas should lead to a common conclusion. Deductive thinking is a form of logical, analytical thinking that begins with an idea and proceeds to break it down into parts, analyzing the different parts and concepts that formulate the initial generalization (Different

Types of Thinking, 2009).

The critical thinking process begins with knowledge, and proceeds to move through comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation (The Critical Thinking Process,

2010). The three types of thinking described above can all be used in the critical thinking 3TYPES OF THINKING process. All three types require knowledge and comprehension. They differ in terms of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Creative thinking, for example, will make applications that are more imaginative, innovative, and less directly related to the topic, at least on the surface level. This is one way of thinking outside the box that will help come up with new, untried ideas in the analysis step. The synthesis of creative thinking will be different to the extent that the application and analysis were different. The synthesis will focus more on the new idea than on the original idea. The evaluation, furthermore, will be based on the success of innovation; creativity and success will be valued more highly than standards, expectations, or logic. Convergent thinking and deductive thinking are fairly similar, and differ greatly from creative thinking. While creative thinking focuses on innovation, success, newness and creativity, convergent thinking and deductive thinking both analyze and evaluate in terms of logic, reason and relation. They focus on logical reasoning and logical conclusions rather than on new ideas. They trust tried and true logic more than innovation. The applications they make will be less imaginative and more directly related to the initial idea. In spite of these similarities, convergent thinking and deductive thinking also differ between each other, particularly in the steps of analysis and synthesis. Convergent thinking analyzes by taking in many different ideas and centralizing them into one united idea and conclusion. The synthesis thus focuses on one idea that unites them all. Deductive thinking, on the other hand analyzes by taking one idea and breaking it down into many different concepts and ideas that relate to it. As a result, the synthesis step in deductive thinking focuses more on the parts and relations between the parts that comprise the whole.

Applications to the Workplace 4TYPES OF THINKING

All of these types of thinking can be applied in decision making processes in the workplace. At times, creative thinking is essential for success, especially when the status quo is failing, or when a company wants to advance. The invention of cell phones and the internet are examples of creative thinking, when different people thought of new, innovative ideas and implemented them, leading to technological advance. The invention of cars that run on hydro power rather than gas is an example of creative thinking looking for a new solution that will work better than the previous standards. Convergent and deductive thinking are also very important, especially in terms of uncovering causes and consequences, or determining cost effective solutions. Convergent thinking is often used by the justice system, for example. When several crimes take place in a short period of time, investigators gather large amounts of information and data, and then look to see what unites them and what they have in common, in order to determine who could be behind the crimes. Deductive thinking is often used by businesses when evaluating options. A bank, for example, that has the opportunity to merge with another bank, will have a committee use deductive thinking to take the idea of the merge and break it down into all its parts and concepts to see what impact it will have on the bank.

Conclusion

In conclusion, all types of thinking can be used in the critical thinking process. All types of thinking are valuable in the workplace. As a result, people should strive to understand the different types of thinking and develop all of them, so they can select the type of thinking most appropriate in different moments and effectively combine several types of thinking to reach the most thorough and effective conclusions possible. 5TYPES OF THINKING

References

Different Types of Thinking. (2009). Retrieved from

http://www.ves.wpsb.org/focus/typesofthinking.html

Montano, Daniel. (2007). Types of thinking. Framework 21. Retrieved from

http://multispective.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/types-of-thinking-diagram/

The Critical Thinking Process. (2010). Oracle Education Foundation. Retrieved from

http://library.thinkquest.org/29248/ctproc.html