Thinking Creativity Intlligence UNIT 6

UNIT-6 THINKING, INTELLIGENCE
AND CREATIVITY
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UNIT-6 THINKING, INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY
What is Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Information processing, Feature integration model Concept formation: Rules,
Types, and Strategies; Role of concepts in thinking Types of Reasoning Language
and thought?
Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Information processing, Feature integration model Concept formation: Rules,
Types, and Strategies; Role of concepts in thinking Types of Reasoning
Language and thought
Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Information processing, Feature
Associationism
Associationism is a theory that connects learning to thought based on principles of the

organism’s causal history. Since its early roots, associationists have sought to use the
history of an organism’s experience as the main sculptor of cognitive architecture. In its
most basic form, associationism has claimed that pairs of thoughts become associated
based on the organism’s past experience.
So, for example, a basic form of associationism (such as Hume’s) might claim that the
frequency with which an organism has come into contact with Xs and Ys in one’s
environment determines the frequency with which thoughts about Xs and thoughts
about Ys will arise together in the organism’s future.
Associationism’s popularity is in part due to how many different masters it can serve. In
particular, associationism can be used as a theory of learning (e.g., as in behaviorist
theorizing), a theory of thinking (as in Jamesian “streams of thought”), a theory of
mental structures (e.g., as in concept pairs), and a theory of the implementation of
thought (e.g., as in connectionism).
All these theories are separable, but share a related, empiricist-friendly core. As used
here, a “pure associationist” will refer to one who holds associationist theories of
learning, thinking, mental structure, and implementation. The “pure associationist” is a
somewhat idealized position, one that no particular theorist may have ever held, but
many have approximated to differing degrees (e.g.,
Locke 1690/1975; Hume 1738/1975; Thorndike 1911; Skinner 1953; Hull 1943;
Churchland 1986, 1989; Churchland and Sejnowski 1990; Smolensky 1988; Elman
1991; Elman et al. 1996; McClelland et al. 2010; Rydell and McConnell 2006; Fazio
2007).
Outside of these core uses of associationism the movement has also been closely
aligned with a number of different doctrines over the years: empiricism, behaviorism,
anti-representationalism (i.e., skepticism about the necessity of representational
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realism in psychological explanation), gradual learning, and domain-general learning.

All of these theses are dissociable from core associationist thought (see section 7).
While one can be an associationist without holding those theses, some of those
theses imply associationism to differing degrees. These extra theses’ historical and
sociological ties to associationism are strong, and so will be intermittently discussed
below.
2. Associationism as a Theory of Mental Processes: The Empiricist Connection

Empiricism is a general theoretical outlook, which tends to offer a theory of learning to
explain as much of our mental life as possible. From the British empiricists through
Skinner and the behaviorists (see the entry on behaviorism) the main focus has been
arguing for the acquisition of concepts (for the empiricists’ “Ideas”, for the behaviorists
“responses”) through learning.
However, the mental processes that underwrite such learning are almost never
themselves posited to be learned.So winnowing down the amount of mental processes
one has to posit limits the amount of innate machinery with which the theorist is
saddled. Associationism, in its original form as in Hume (1738/1975), was put forward
as a theory of mental processes.
Associationists’ attempt to answer the question of how many mental processes there
are by positing only a single mental process: the ability to associate ideas.
Of course, thinkers execute many different types of cognitive acts, so if there is only
one mental process, the ability to associate, that process must be flexible enough to
accomplish a wide range of cognitive work. In particular, it must be able to account for
learning and thinking.
Accordingly, associationism has been utilized on both fronts. We will first discuss the
theory of learning and then, after analyzing that theory and seeing what is putatively
learned, we will return to the associationist theory of thinking.
3. Associationism as a Theory of Learning

In one of its senses, “associationism” refers to a theory of how organisms acquire
concepts, associative structures, response biases, and even propositional knowledge.
It is commonly acknowledged that associationism took hold after the publishing of John
Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690/1975). However, Locke’s
comments on associationism were terse (though fertile), and did not address learning
to any great degree.
The first serious attempt to detail associationism as a theory of learning was given by
Hume in the Treatise of Human Nature (1738/1975).Hume’s associationism was, first
and foremost, a theory connecting how perceptions (“Impressions”) determined trains
of thought (successions of “Ideas”). Hume’s empiricism, as enshrined in the Copy

Principle demanded that there were no Ideas in the mind that were not first given in
experience.
For Hume, the principles of association constrained the functional role of Ideas once
they were copied from Impressions: if Impressions IM1 and IM2 were associated in
perception, then their corresponding Ideas, ID1 and ID2 would also become
associated. In other words, the ordering of Ideas was determined by the ordering of the
Impressions that caused the Ideas to arise.
Hume’s theory then needs to analyze what types of associative relations between
Impressions mattered for determining the ordering of Ideas. Hume’s analysis consisted
of three types of associative relations: cause and effect, contiguity, and resemblance. If
two Impressions instantiated one of these associative relations, then their
corresponding Ideas would mimic the same instantiation. For instance, if Impression
IM1 was cotemporaneous with Impression IM2, then (ceteris paribus) their
corresponding Ideas, ID1 and ID2, would become associated.
As stated, Hume’s associationism was mostly a way of determining the functional

profile of Ideas. But we have not yet said what it is for two Ideas to be associated (for
that see section
4). Instead, one can see Hume’s contribution as introducing a very influential type of
learning—associative learning—for Hume’s theory purports to explain how we learn to
associate certain Ideas.
We can abstract away from Hume’s framework of ideas and his account of the specific
relations that underlie associative learning, and state the theory of associative learning
more generally: if two contents of experiences, X and Y, instantiate some associative
relation, R, then those contents will become associated, so that future activations
of X will tend to bring about activations of Y.
The associationist then has to explain what relation R amounts to.
The Humean form of associative learning (where R is equated with cause and effect,
contiguity, or resemblance) has been hugely influential, informing the accounts of
those such as Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, and Alexander Bain (see, e.g., the entries
on John Stuart Mill and 19th Century Scottish Philosophy).
Associative learning didn’t hit its stride until the work of Ivan Pavlov, which spurred the
subsequent rise of the behaviorist movement in psychology. Pavlov introduced the
concept of classical conditioning as a modernized version of associative learning.
For Pavlov, classical conditioning was in part an experimental paradigm for teaching
animals to learn new associations between stimuli. The general method of learning
was to pair an unconditioned stimulus (US) with a novel stimulus. An unconditioned
stimulus is just a stimulus that instinctively, without training, provokes a response in an
organism. Since this response is not itself learned, the response is referred to as an

“unconditioned response” (UR). In Pavlov’s canonical experiment, the US was a meat

powder, as the smell of meat automatically brought about salivation (UR) in his canine
subjects. The US is then paired with a neutral stimulus, such as a bell.
Over time, the contiguity between the US and the neutral stimulus causes the neutral
stimulus to provoke the same response as the US. Once the bell starts to provoke
salivation, the bell has become a “conditioned stimulus” (CS) and the salivating, when
prompted by the bell alone, a “conditioned response” (CR).
The associative learning here is learning to form new stimulus-response pairs between
the bell and the salivation.
Classical conditioning is a fairly circumscribed process. It is a “stimulus substitution”

paradigm where one stimulus can be swapped for another to provoke a response.
However, the responses that are provoked are supposed to remain unchanged; all that
changes is the stimulus that gets associated with the response.
Thus, classical conditioning seemed to some to be too restrictive to explain the

panoply of novel behavior organisms appear to execute.
Edward Thorndike’s research with cats in puzzle boxes broadened the theory of
associative learning by introducing the notion of consequences to associative learning.
Thorndike expanded the notion of associative learning beyond instinctual behaviors

and sensory substitution to genuinely novel behaviors. Thorndike’s experiments initially
probed, e.g., how cats learned to lift a lever to escape the “puzzle boxes” (the forbearer
to “Skinner boxes”) that they were trapped in. The cats’ behaviors, such as attempting
to lift a lever, were not themselves instinctual behaviors like the URs of Pavlov’s
experiments.
Additionally, the cats’ behaviors were shaped by the consequences that they brought
on. For Thorndike it was because lifting the lever caused the door to open that the cats
learned the connection between the lever and the door.
This new view of learning, operant conditioning (for the organism is “operating” on its
environment), was not merely the passive learning of Pavlov, but a species-
nonspecific, general, active theory of learning.
This research culminated in Thorndike’s famous “Law of Effect” (1911), the first
canonical psychological law of associationist learning. It asserted that responses that
are accompanied by the organism feeling satisfied will, ceteris paribus, be more likely
to be associated with the situation in which the behavior was executed, whereas
responses that are accompanied with a feeling of discomfort to the animal will, ceteris
paribus, make the response less likely to occur when the organism encounters the
same situationThe greater the positive or negative feelings produced, the greater the
likelihood that the behavior will be evinced.

To this Thorndike added the “Law of Exercise”, that responses to situations will, ceteris
paribus, be more connected to those situations in proportion to the frequency of past
pairings between situation and response. Thorndike’s paradigm was popularized and
extended by B.F. Skinner (see, e.g., Skinner 1953) who stressed the notion not just of
consequences but of reinforcement as the basis of forming associations.
For Skinner, a behavior would get associated with a situation according to the
frequency and strength of reinforcement that would arise as a consequence of the
behavior.
Since the days of Skinner, associative learning has come in many different variations.
But what all varieties should share with their historical predecessors is that associative
learning is supposed to mirror the contingencies in the world without adding additional
structure to them (see section 9 for some examples of when supposedly associative
theories smuggle in extra structure).
The question of what contingencies associative learning detects (that is, one’s
preferred analysis of what the associative relation R is), is up for debate and changes
between theorists.
The final widely shared, though less central, property of associative learning concerns
the domain generality of associative learning. Domain generality’s prevalence among
associationists is due in large part to their traditional empiricist allegiances: excising
domain-specific learning mechanisms constrains the amount of innate mental
processes one has to posit.
Thus it is no surprise to find that both Hume and Pavlov assumed that associative
learning could be used to acquire associations between any contents, regardless of the
types of contents they were. For example, Pavlov writes,
Associationism as a Theory of Mental Structure

Associative learning amounts to a constellation of related views that interprets learning
as associating stimuli with responses (in operant conditioning), or stimuli with other
stimuli (in classical conditioning), or stimuli with valences (in evaluative
conditioning).Associative learning accounts raise the question: when one learns to
associate contents X and Y because, e.g., previous experiences with Xs and Ys
instantiated R, how does one store the information that X and Y are associated? A
highly contrived sample answer to this question would be that a thinker learns an
explicitly represented unconscious conditional rule that states “when a token of x is
activated, then also activate a token of y”.
Instead of such a highly intellectualized response, associationists have found a natural

(though by no means necessary, see section 4.2) complementary view that the
information is stored in an associative structure.

An associative structure describes the type of bond that connects two distinct mental
states. An example of such a structure is the associative pair salt/pepper. The
associative structure is defined, in the first instance, functionally:
if X and Y form an associative structure, then, ceteris paribus, activations of mental
state X bring about mental state Y and vice versa without the mediation of any other
psychological states (such as an explicitly represented rule telling the system to
activate a concept because its associate has been activated)
.In other words, saying that two concepts are associated amounts to saying that there
is a reliable, psychologically basic causal relation that holds between them—the
activation of one of the concepts causes the activation of the other. So, saying that
someone harbors the structure salt/pepper amounts to saying that activations
of salt will cause activations of pepper (and vice versa) without the aid of any other
cognitive states.
Associative structures are most naturally contrasted with propositional structures. A

pure associationist is opposed to propositional structures—strings of mental
representations that express a proposition—because propositionally structured mental
representations have structure over and above the mere associative bond between two
concepts.
Take, for example, the associative structure green/toucan. This structure does not
predicate green onto toucan. If we know that a mind has an associative bond
between green and toucan, then we know that activating one of those concepts leads
to the activation of the other.
A pure associative theory rules out predication, for propositional structures aren’t just
strings of associations. “Association” (in associative structures) just denotes a causal
relation among mental representations, whereas predication (roughly) expresses a
relation between things in the world (or intentional contents that specify external
relations).
Saying that someone has an associative thought green/toucan tells you something
about the causal and temporal sequences of the activation of concepts in one’s mind;
saying that someone has the thought there is a green toucan tells you that a person is
predicating greenness of a particular toucan (see Fodor 2003: 91–94, for an expansion
of this point).
Associative structures needn’t just hold between simple concepts. One might have
reason to posit associative structures between propositional elements (see section 5)
or between concepts and valences (see section 8). But none of the proceeding is
meant to imply that all structures are associative or propositional—there are other
representational formats that the mind might harbor (e.g., analog magnitudes or iconic
structures; see Camp 2007; Quilty-Dunn forthcoming).

For instance, not all semantically related concepts are harbored in associative
structures. Semantically related concepts may in fact also be directly associated (as
in doctor/nurse) or they may not (as in horse/zebra; see Perea and Rosa 2002). The
difference in structure is not just a theoretical possibility, as these different structures
have different functional profiles: for example, conditioned associations appear to last
longer than semantic associations do in subjects with dementia (Glosser and Friedman
1991).
Associationism in Social Psychology

Since the cognitive revolution, associationism’s influence has mostly died out in
cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. This is not to say that all aspects of
associative theorizing are dead in these areas; rather, they have just taken on much
smaller, more peripheral roles (for example, it has often been suggested that mental
lexicons are structured, in part, associatively, which is why lexical decision tasks are
taken to be facilitation maps of one’s lexicon).
In other areas of cognitive psychology (for example, the study of causal cognition),
associationism is no longer the dominant theoretical paradigm, but vestiges of
associationism still persist (see Shanks 2010 for an overview of associationism in
causal cognition). Associationism is also still alive in the connectionist literature, as well
as in the animal cognition tradition.
But the biggest contemporary stronghold of associationist theorizing resides in social

psychology, an area which has traditionally been hostile to associationism (see, e.g.,
Asch 1962, 1969). The ascendance of associationism in social psychology has been a
fairly modern development, and has caused a revival of associationist theories in
philosophy (e.g., Madva and Brownstein 2019). The two areas of social psychology
that have seen the greatest renaissance of associationism are the implicit attitude and
dual-process theory literature. However, in the late 2010s social psychology has begun
to take a critical look at associationist theories (e.g., Mann et al. 2019).
Criticisms of Associationism
Associationism has been a dominant theme in mental theorizing for centuries. As such,
it has garnered an appreciable amount of criticism.
Learning Curves
The basic associative learning theories imply, either explicitly or implicitly, slow,
gradual learning of associations (Baeyens et al. 1995). The learning process can be
summarized in a learning curve which plots the frequency (or magnitude) of the
conditioned response as a function of the number of reinforcements (Gallistel et al.
2004: 13124). Mappings between CRs and USs are gradually built up over numerous
trials (in the lab) or experiences (in the world). Gradual, slow learning has come under
fire from a variety of areas (see sections 9.3 and 9.4.1).

However, here we just focus on the behavioral data. In a series of works re-analyzing
animal behavior, Gallistel (Gallistel et al. 2004; Gallistel and King 2009) has argued
that although group-level learning curves do display the properties of being negatively
accelerated and gradually developing, these curves are misleading because
no individual’s learning curve has these properties. Gallistel has argued that learning
for individuals is generally step-like, rapid, and abrupt.
An individual’s learning from a low-level of responding to asymptotic responding is very

quick. Sometimes, the learning is so quick that it is literally one-shot learning. For
example, after analyzing multiple experiments of animal learning of spatial location
Gallistel writes.
The Problem of Predication

The problem of predication is, at its core, a problem of how an associative mechanism
can result in the acquisition of subject/predicate structures, structures which many
theorists believe appear in language, thought, and judgment.
The first major discussion of the problem appears in Kant (1781/1787), but variants of
the basic Kantian criticism can be seen across the contemporary literature (see, e.g.,
Chomsky 1959; Fodor and Pylyshyn 1988; Fodor 2003; Mandelbaum 2013a; for the
details of the Kantian argument see the entry on Kant’s Transcendental Argument).
For a pure associationist, association is “semantically transparent” (see Fodor 2003), in

that it purports to add no additional structure to thoughts. When a simple
concept, X and a simple concept Y, become associated one acquires the associative
structure X/Y.
But X/Y has no additional structure on top of their contents. Knowing that X and Y are
associated amounts to knowing a causal fact: that activating Xs will bring about the
activation of Ys and vice versa. However, so the argument goes, some of our thoughts
appear to have more structure than this: the thought birds fly predicates the property of
flying onto birds.
The task for the associationist is to explain how associative structures can distinguish a
thinker who has a single (complex) thought birds fly from a thinker who conjoins two
simple thoughts in an associative structure where one thought, birds, is immediately
followed by another, fly. As long as the two simple thoughts are reliably causally
correlated so that, for a thinker, activations of birds regularly brings about fly, then that
thinker has the associative structure birds/fly. Yet it appears that thinker hasn’t yet had
the thought birds fly.
The problem of predication is explaining how a purely associative mechanism could

eventuate in complex thoughts. In Fodor’s terms the problem boils down to how
association, a causal relation among mental representations, can affect predication, a
relation among intentional contents (Fodor 2003).

Against the Contiguity Analysis of Associationism

Contiguity has been a central part of associationist analyses since the British
Empiricists. In the experimental literature, the problem of figuring out the parameters
needed for acquiring an association due to the contiguity of its relata has sometimes
been termed the problem of the “Window of Association” (e.g., Gallistel and King
2009).
Every associationist theory has to specify what temporal window two properties must
instantiate in order for those properties to be associated. A related problem for
contiguity theorists is that if the domain generality of associative learning is desired,
then the window needs to be homogenous across content domains. The late 1960s
saw persuasive attacks on domain generality, as well as the necessity and sufficiency
of the contiguity criterion in general.
Against the Necessity of Contiguity

Research on “taste aversions” and “bait-shyness” provided a variety of problems with
contiguity in the associative learning tradition of classical conditioning. Garcia observed
that a gustatory stimulus (e.g., drinking water or eating a hot dog) but not an
audiovisual stimulus (a light and a sound) would naturally become associated with
feeling nauseated. For instance, Garcia and Koelling (1966) paired an audiovisual
stimulus (a light and a sound) with a gustatory stimulus (flavored water).
The two stimuli were then paired with the rats receiving radiation, which made the rats
feel nauseated. The rats associated the feeling of nausea with the water and not with
the sound, even though the sound was contiguous with the water. Moreover, the delay
between ingesting the gustatory stimulus and feeling nauseated could be quite long,
with the feeling not coming on until 12 hours later (Roll and Smith 1972), and the
organism needn’t even be conscious when the negative feeling arises. (For a review,
see Seligman 1970; Garcia et al. 1974).
The temporal delay shows that the CS (the flavored water) needn’t be contiguous with
the US (the feeling of nausea) in order for learning to occur, thus showing that
contiguity isn’t necessary for associative learning.
Gestalt perspectives on thought processes:

Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior
as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology
suggests that we do not simply focus on every small component.
Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as part of a greater whole and as elements
of more complex systems. This school of psychology played a major role in the modern
development of the study of human sensation and perception.
Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer, Gestalt psychology formed partially as a
response to the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt.

While Wundt was interested in breaking down psychological matters into their smallest
possible part, the Gestalt psychologists were instead interested in looking at the totality
of the mind and behavior. The guiding principle behind the Gestalt movement was that
the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
The development of this area of psychology was influenced by a number of thinkers,
including Immanuel Kant, Ernst Mach, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The development of Gestalt psychology was influenced in part by Wertheimer's

observations one day at a train station. He purchased a toy stroboscope which
displayed pictures in a rapid sequence to mimic the appearing movement. He later
proposed the concept of the Phi phenomenon in which flashing lights in sequence can
lead to what is known as apparent motion.1
In other words, we perceive movement where there is none. Movies are one example
of apparent motion. Through a sequence of still frames, the illusion of movement is
created.
"The fundamental 'formula' of Gestalt theory might be expressed in this way,” Max
Wertheimer wrote. "There are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined by that
of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined
by the intrinsic nature of the whole. It is the hope of Gestalt theory to determine the
nature of such wholes."
Gestalt is a decisive trend in psychology history. It was born in Germany at the

beginning of the 20th century. It was Christian von Ehrenfels, an Austrian philosopher,
who gave this movement its name in The Attributes of Form, his most important work.
There is no perfect English translation of the term “gestalt”. But we can interpret it as
“totality”,”figure”,”structure”,”configuration” or “organized unity”.
“The whole is more than the sum of its parts” is its maximum. The main authors of
Gestalt proposed alternatives to the dominant psychological paradigms and made
great contributions to cognitive psychology.
This particular focus was a breath of fresh air and allowed people who did not feel
represented by the main currents of psychology to find an alternative.
Gestalt Theory: Characteristics

 Its main predecessors of gestalt theory are philosophers: Thinkers such as
Kant, Descartes or Husserl developed the theoretic basis on which this school
developed. The psychologists belonging to this current were able to take their
ideas to the laboratory and obtain amazing results.
 We must treat people as a whole: We cannot explore the different dimensions
that shape us in isolation. A holistic approach is needed when speaking about
mental health. The complexity of the human mind cannot be reduced. Gestalt
theory explores the dynamic relationships that connect the various elements of

reality. Gestalt theory does not conceive separating processes such as learning
from memory.
 We are active in understanding reality: We do not all perceive reality, in the
same way, we have our own vision. Each one structures the information they
receive according to their previous experiences. Our mental representations
do not correspond completely with those that exist in reality, we construct
them ourselves. We are also able to adapt our mental processes and contents
as new situations arise.
 They opposed the predominant schools in their time: Gestalt theory
psychologists did not agree with approaches such as behaviorism, which limits
human behavior to associations between stigmas and responses. This
perspective leaves mental processes aside and does not contemplate the
potential of human intelligence. On the other hand, they did not adhere to
psychoanalysts either, seeing people as passive agents without willpower.
 Gestalt theory’s main study area is perception: Gestalt theorist focused
especially on seeking simple and natural explanations that could be adapted to
our natural way of perceiving reality. Through perception, we are able to
acquire knowledge of the world, interact with it and connect with others.
Our senses and mental processes interact to allow us to perform tasks as varied as
removing the hand from a burning surface or notice that the person speaking to us is
upset by their frowning. Gestalt theory focuses on visual perception. However, their
ideas have been adapted to fields such as music.
Gestalt psychologists are known for their contributions to the study of the learning
process and problem-solving. However, their most relevant contribution, which was
stated by Wertheimer, is the elaboration of some basic laws that govern our
perception.
Information processing, Feature integration model

Basic Assumptions
The information processing approach is based on a number of assumptions, including:
(1) information made available by the environment is processed by a series of
processing systems (e.g. attention, perception, short-term memory);
(2) these processing systems transform or alter the information in systematic ways;
(3) the aim of research is to specify the processes and structures that underlie
cognitive performance;
(4) information processing in humans resembles that in computers.
The development of the computer in the 1950s and 1960s had an important influence
on psychology and was, in part, responsible for the cognitive approach becoming the
dominant approach in modern psychology (taking over from Behaviorism).

The computer gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor, or analogy, to which they

could compare human mental processing. The use of the computer as a tool for
thinking how the human mind handles information is known as the computer analogy.
Essentially, a computer codes (i.e., changes) information, stores information, uses
information, and produces an output (retrieves info). The idea of information
processing was adopted by cognitive psychologists as a model of how human thought
works.
For example, the eye receives visual information and codes information into electric
neural activity which is fed back to the brain where it is “stored” and “coded”. This
information is can be used by other parts of the brain relating to mental activities such
as memory, perception and attention. The output (i.e. behavior) might be, for example,
to read what you can see on a printed page.
Hence the information processing approach characterizes thinking as the environment

providing input of data, which is then transformed by our senses. The information can
be stored, retrieved and transformed using “mental programs”, with the results being
behavioral responses.
Cognitive psychology has influenced and integrated with many other approaches and
areas of study to produce, for example, social learning theory, cognitive
neuropsychology and artificial intelligence (AI).
Information Processing and Selective Attention

When we are selectively attending to one activity, we tend to ignore other stimulation,
although our attention can be distracted by something else, like the telephone ringing
or someone using our name.
Psychologists are interested in what makes us attend to one thing rather than another
(selective attention); why we sometimes switch our attention to something that was
previously unattended (e.g. Cocktail Party Syndrome), and how many things we can
attend to at the same time (attentional capacity).
One way of conceptualizing attention is to think of humans as information processors

who can only process a limited amount of information at a time without becoming
overloaded.
Broadbent and others in the 1950s adopted a model of the brain as a limited capacity
information processing system, through which external input is transmitted.
Information processing models consist of a series of stages, or boxes, which represent

stages of processing. Arrows indicate the flow of information from one stage to the
next.
 Input processes are concerned with the analysis of the stimuli.
 Storage processes cover everything that happens to stimuli internally in the brain
and can include coding and manipulation of the stimuli.

 Output processes are responsible for preparing an appropriate response to a

stimulus.
Critical Evaluation
A number of models of attention within the Information Processing framework have
been proposed including:
Broadbent's Filter Model (1958), Treisman's Attenuation Model (1964) and Deutsch
and Deutsch's Late Selection Model (1963).
However, there are a number of evaluative points to bear in mind when studying these
models, and the information processing approach in general. These include:
1. The information processing models assume serial processing of stimulus inputs.

 Serial processing effectively means one process has to be completed before
the next starts.
 Parallel processing assumes some or all processes involved in a cognitive
task(s) occur at the same time.
There is evidence from dual-task experiments that parallel processing is possible. It is
difficult to determine whether a particular task is processed in a serial or parallel
fashion as it probably depends (a) on the processes required to solve a task, and (b)
the amount of practice on a task.
Parallel processing is probably more frequent when someone is highly skilled; for
example a skilled typist thinks several letters ahead, a novice focuses on just 1 letter at
a time.
2. The analogy between human cognition and computer functioning adopted by the
information processing approach is limited.
Computers can be regarded as information processing systems insofar as they:
(i) combine information presented with stored information to provide solutions to a
variety of problems, and
(ii) most computers have a central processor of limited capacity and it is usually
assumed that capacity limitations affect the human attentional system.
BUT -
(i) the human brain has the capacity for extensive parallel processing and computers
often rely on serial processing;
(ii) humans are influenced in their cognitions by a number of conflicting emotional and
motivational factors.
3. The evidence for the theories/models of attention which come under the information
processing approach is largely based on experiments under controlled, scientific
conditions.
Most laboratory studies are artificial and could be said to lack ecological validity.
In everyday life, cognitive processes are often linked to a goal (e.g. you pay attention in
class because you want to pass the examination), whereas in the laboratory the
experiments are carried out in isolation form other cognitive and motivational factors.

Although these laboratory experiments are easy to interpret, the data may not be
applicable to the real world outside the laboratory. More recent ecologically valid
approaches to cognition have been proposed (e.g. the Perceptual Cycle, Neisser,
1976).
Attention has been studied largely in isolation from other cognitive processes, although
clearly it operates as an interdependent system with the related cognitive processes of
perception and memory.
The more successful we become at examining part of the cognitive system in isolation,
the less our data are likely to tell us about cognition in everyday life.
Feature Integration Theory
Feature Integration Theory was parent to a family of subsequent models. Many of

these include the concept of guided search. In guided search, the information gathered
about basic features can be used to guide attention toward likely targets. Thus, if an
observer is looking for a red letter T, attention will be guided to red letters and not
wasted on letters that could never be the target (Wolfe, J. M., 1994). In two-stage
modeling, critical questions include the nature of the stimulus attributes that can be
processed prior to attentional selection as discussed earlier. Some attributes, like color
and orientation clearly fall into the preattentive category. The more interesting and
problematic cases are complex and/or learned classes of stimuli like faces and letters.
All models must resolve issues about the nature of selection. What is selected? If
objects are selected, how are objects parsed from the background prior to selection?
What are the limits on selection? Can more than one item be selected at one time?
What does selection do? Does it enhance processing? Does it enable different types of
processing?
Binding by Attention
Anne Treisman's Feature Integration Theory (FIT), developed in the context of visual
search tasks, postulates that the correct binding of object features requires visual
attention. Treisman starts from the assumption that the visual system is equipped with
a set of ‘feature maps,’ with a different map for every conceivable feature (e.g., ‘red,’
‘green,’ ‘square,’ ‘circular’). These feature maps are connected to a ‘master map of
locations,’ which encodes the exact positions of objects in visual space.
When the search target is defined by a single feature, for example, ‘red,’ one only has
to monitor the respective feature map and trace its activation to the target's position on
the master map. This is what occurs in parallel search when the target seems to ‘pop
out’ of the display (see ‘Empirical evidence for binding problems in visual perception’
section). However, when the target is defined by a conjunction of features, it is
necessary to employ visual attention. Each object location on the master map has to
be scanned by a ‘spotlight’ of attention, and for each of these positions the single

features have to be collected from the feature maps and bound into an ‘object file’ that
can be compared with a target template stored in working memory. As soon as the
current object file matches the target template, the object has been found, and the
search is terminated. Because the sequential scanning of object positions is a time-
consuming process that depends on the number of positions to be covered, this model
can explain serial search.
Feature Integration Theory

Anne Treisman's Feature Integration Theory (FIT), first proposed in 1980, holds that
attention is critical to the formation of bound representations of objects and, by
extension, it proposes that attention is critical to our conscious experience of those
bound representations. In FIT, following the understanding of
visual neurophysiology given above, the visual system first decomposes the visual
scene into its composite features, arrayed in a set of “feature maps.” The pre-attentive
description of a scene or object comprises a list of such features. The term “pre-
attentive” has been controversial but it can be operationally defined here as the
representation of a stimulus before selective attention is directed to that stimulus.
In FIT, the approximate position of each feature is recorded on its pre-attentive feature
map. For example, if the visual scene contains two red objects, the feature map
corresponding to redness would be activated at two points roughly corresponding to
the locations of the red objects. If each feature were associated with a precise region in
space, this might solve the binding problem. Features that correspond to the same
region in space could be automatically conjoined thus guaranteeing veridical
perception. Unfortunately, the location of many features is measured in an imprecise
fashion. For example, the smallest receptive fields in IT, the region whose activity
correlates well with shape perception, have a spatial extent of a few degrees of visual
angle. Within this region, the cell will respond to an object in an approximately
translation invariant manner. Thus, a neuron in IT cannot signal the location of a
particular shape with a precision of better than a few degrees, while the perception of
coherent objects requires a much finer resolution.
Because of the poor resolution of these feature maps, if two objects are close together,
then there is the potential that the features from one object may become conjoined with
the features of the other object thus creating a percept of an object that did not in fact
exist. For example, if the visual scene contains a red vertical bar and a blue horizontal
bar then one might see a blue vertical bar and a red horizontal bar. Such inappropriate
combinations of features are known as illusory conjunctions. FIT suggests that
attention hinders the formation of illusory conjunctions.
Supporting this assertion is a series of classic experiments by Treisman and her

colleagues showing that, if attention is occupied elsewhere, illusory conjunctions are, in
fact, reported. In one version of the experiment, observers viewed a display of five
characters aligned horizontally.

The outer two characters were always digits and the inner three characters were
always letters. While the digits were always black, the letters were colored. The
observer's primary task was to name the digits. After doing that, the observer reported
the letters and their associated colors. When the display was presented sufficiently
rapidly, observers would often report seeing an incorrect conjunction of a color and a
letter. For example, if the display contained a red X and a green T, they might report
seeing a red T.
Several of these are based on the idea that neurons in different cortical areas that
respond to the same object synchronize their activity, so that they create action
potentials at the same time. Consequently, a third brain area could determine whether
two neurons in two different parts of the brain are responding to different features of
the same object by being sensitive to this synchrony.
As attention is known to increase neural synchrony, theories based on synchrony are

consistent with the notion that attention is needed to solve the binding problem.
An alternative theory put forward by Edward Vul and Anina Rich suggests that features
are not directly bound together but rather are consciously perceived as being bound
when they are perceived to share a location in space and time. Attending to a feature
allows it to be more precisely localized, thereby increasing the chances that the correct
features are perceived together and decreasing the chances of illusory conjunctions
forming.
Thus they propose that attention solves the binding problem only in an indirect fashion
by increasing the precision by which features can be localized in space and time.
Concept formation: Rules, Types
Concept formation, process by which a person learns to sort specific experiences into
general rules or classes. With regard to action, a person picks up a particular stone or
drives a specific car. With regard to thought, however, a person appears to deal with
classes. For instance, one knows that stones (in general) sink and automobiles (as a
class) are powered by engines. In other words, these things are considered in a
general sense beyond any particular stone or automobile.
Awareness of such classes can help guide behaviour in new situations. Thus two
people in a bakery may never have met before, but, if one can be classified as
customer and the other as clerk, they tend to behave appropriately. Similarly, many
people are able to drive almost any automobile by knowing how to drive a specific
automobile.

The term concept formation describes how a person learns to form classes, whereas
the term conceptual thinking refers to an individual’s subjective manipulation of those
abstract classes. A concept is a rule that may be applied to decide if a particular object
falls into a certain class. The concept “citizen of the United States” refers to such a
decision rule, meaning any person who was born in U.S. territory or who is a child of a
U.S. citizen or who has been legally naturalized. The rule suggests questions to ask in
checking the citizenship of any particular individual. As most concepts do, it rests on
other concepts; “U.S. citizen” is defined in terms of the concepts “child” and “territory.”
Many scientific or mathematical concepts cannot be understood until the terms by
which they are defined have been grasped. In this way concept formation builds on
itself.
Conceptual classification may be contrasted with another type of classification

behaviour called discrimination learning. In discrimination learning, objects are
classified on the basis of directly perceived properties such as physical size or shape.
The emphasis on concrete physical features in discrimination learning can be
contrasted with the more abstract nature of concept formation. When a stimulus is
perceived to match several different past experiences, however, the response may be
a compromise, because an object need not bear an all-or-none relation to a set of
others in discrimination learning; for example, there is no absolute distinction between
tall and short people.
While human beings are capable of abstract thought, many of the classifications
people make seem to be concrete discriminations. For example, people may use the
same term in a discriminative or conceptual way. A child might use the
term policeman in discriminating a man who wears a distinctive uniform, while a lawyer
may use the term to represent a civil servant charged with enforcing criminal codes. In
practice, people seem to think in ways that combine abstractness and concreteness.
They also may blend class membership with assignment along a scale—e.g., such
concepts as leadership, an abstract quality that people are said to exhibit in varying
degrees. The same would apply to vivacity, avarice, and other personality traits.
People seem to develop more-complex sets of classes than do other animals, but this
does not necessarily mean that human modes of learning are unique. It may be that all
animals have the same basic biochemical machinery for learning but human animals
exhibit it in greater variety. Yet, it seems no more appropriate to account for human
concept formation in terms of discrimination learning alone than it does to reduce the
functions of a piston engine to chemical reactions.
Age And Conceptual Behaviour

Piaget’s observations
Through clinical observations, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget initiated considerable
study of how young children learn concepts that help them cope with their physical
surroundings. As models for defining feasible change, concepts are at least as

important in such contexts as they are for classification. Piaget stressed that infants
must first learn to distinguish themselves from the external environment.
Next they form understandings of the physical world (for example, identifying objects
that fall) that allow further exploration of the world. Later in the preschool period,
children grasp the concept of spatial localization—objects that are separated in space.
Piaget characterized this period of learning as classifying objects only on the basis of
perceptually attractive, concrete physical features (in agreement with laboratory studies
of intradimensional and extradimensional shift).
He and others who used his methods reported that preschool children are apt to
explain external change in terms of their own needs: a four-year-old is likely to say that
a cloud moves “because the sun is in my eyes.” Among children in early primary
grades, other interpretations of cause and effect might be expressed by saying a
moving cloud “wants to hide the sun.” In later primary grades, volitional and passive
movement usually become conceptually distinct. By adolescence, children develop an
ability to deal analytically with objects apart from their immediate perceptual
characteristics. This marks an understanding of the hierarchies of subclasses within
more general classes—for example, a normal child of eleven applies the properties of
all living things to the class called birds.
Given proper information, by the age of six many children display significant concept-
forming abilities. They ordinarily have considerable linguistic competence, using
(though often not being able to explain) such abstract qualifications as present and
past tense. Rules of formal logic (such as “new math”) can be taught in the elementary
grades. Progressive use of abstract concepts seems to reflect both maturation and
learning.
Aging
It is generally thought that the potential for learning new abstractions tends to decrease
in old age and that in extreme cases (such as senility, severe alcoholism, or brain
injury) the deficit is dramatic. Much less is known, however, about changes
in conceptual ability during the active period of adult life, in part because much of the
evidence is conflicting.
Concept Formation In Animals

Rats learn to enter lighted or unlighted alleys to get food, and goldfish can be taught to
swim toward or away from an object. In such discrimination learning, the animal is said
to associate a physical property of the stimulus with its response, and with
some contingency of reward or punishment. Thus, while a dog can be trained to come
when called, it need not mean that he knows his name in the same sense that a man
apparently does.
Most animals show classification behaviour that seems indicative
of discrimination learning. A crow will respond to the danger call of a bird of another

species—but only if that call resembles the crow’s. Chimpanzees, however, which
have been observed using sticks as primitive tools, behave as if they have a concept of
things that extend reach. Based on considerable evidence of this sort, many are
reluctant to say that animals are incapable of abstract thinking.
Most studies aimed at evidence of concept formation among laboratory animals have
involved primates, although there are reports of abstract behaviour among other
animals such as dogs, dolphins, pigs, and parrots. Monkeys have been taught to solve
the oddity problem: presented with two objects of one kind and one of another, they
can be trained to select the discrepant one. This behaviour persists even for sets of
objects that have never been presented to them before.
The animals behave as if they grasp the general concept of similarity, which is an
abstraction rather than a simple discrimination. Animals also have been tested on the
ability to learn languages.
With great effort, chimpanzees have been taught to “speak” (through physical
gestures) and to use correctly a very few words. A much more successful attempt was
made by Beatrice and Allan Gardner to teach a chimpanzee, Washoe, the sign
language used by deaf people—the gestures of this language apparently being more
appropriate to the anatomic structure of chimpanzees.
The chimpanzee learned to use the signs for hat, dog, food, yes, me (self), sorry,
funny, go, come, and many others. Washoe’s foster son learned 68 words simply
through observation, while Washoe’s companions learned to use sign language to
communicate transactions and reassurance. They also taught others the concepts they
had learned.
Concept Formation By Machine

Computers can be programmed to process information and to develop classification
rules (e.g., they can play chess and make decisions about business or military
problems; see artificial intelligence). Essentially, such devices are programmed to
mimic the processes of human problem solving. In this sense, machines have formed
concepts; but their functions remain relatively impoverished.
Efficient linguistic behaviour has proved particularly difficult to produce in a machine.

While many believe that human thinking can be explained mechanistically in
physiological terms, scientists themselves have yet to develop concepts adequate for
producing machines that can approach the full range of human talent.
Machine translation of language, however, has shown some success.
A Computational Metaphor for the Mind We can imagine the human mind as an
evolving store of knowledge, which constantly updates itself from new information built
from previous information through some kind of reasoning. In this model, the problems,
events, or feelings, et cetera, of which we are consciously aware at any given time

trigger a partly, or wholly, unconscious search through the knowledge store for those
pieces of information that relate to the problem.
Once found, these pieces of information permit the inference of new knowledge. For
instance, a rule that is appropriate for modeling the formation of the new knowledge
might look roughly as follows: c1, c2, …cn Æ newc .
(1) Here ci and newc are concepts expressed as logic atoms. We call these rules
concept formation rules. Occasionally, we may need to test some condition before
being able to form a new concept. For example, consider the knowledge that if the
speed limit is X and our car’s velocity is Y, then we will likely receive a speeding ticket
if Y is greater than X. If we also know that we are traveling at
100km/hour and the speed limit is 50km/ hour, then we might form the new concept
that it is likely we will receive a speeding ticket. In other words, using a primitive (i.e.,
system-defined) unary atom test, whose argument contains the test to be performed,
we can model the above conceptformation rule as the following: speed_limit(X),
current_speed(Y) => test(Y>X), speeding_ticket(likely) .
(2) We next examine each feature that our concept-formation paradigm must have in
order to
a) constitute an adequate, constructivist metaphor for the workings of the human mind,
b) provide some of the flexibility exhibited in human reasoning, and
c) be directly executable.
Information Selection Most of the rules in our knowledge store will be irrelevant to the
situation at hand, so the first problem in our model, and in constructivism in general, is
the problem ofselecting the appropriate information in order to form new concept(s)
(which are actually relevant to the problem).
We solve this by using a system that constantly searches for any information that may
match the new information (i.e., the initial problem’s concepts, or the concepts formed
while attempting a solution) and consequently triggers those rules whose left-hand side
at least partially matches some of the new information.
If we consider our previous example, then as soon as the new information that the
speed limit is 50km/hr and the current speed is 100km/hr arrives in the knowledge
store, a search through that store is initiated which ultimately yields rule (2), whose left
hand side will be matched with unifier {X=50, Y=100}. The unifier will apply to the rest
of the rule as well, and a test to see whether 100 > 50 will be performed. Since the test
will succeed, the new information speeding_ticket(likely) will be added to the
knowledge store.
Flexible Concept Formation Binary logic is notoriously insufficient for modeling the
human mind. The main alternatives are based either on probabilistic or fuzzy
reasoning. As pointed out in [4], although probability theory is appropriate for

measuring randomness of information, it is inappropriate for measuring the meaning of

information. For many applications, measuring vagueness (e.g. through a membership
function that measures the “degree” to which an element belongs to a set) is more
important than measuring randomness.
While the fuzzy set approach has successfully overcome some of the problems with
probabilistic reasoning, it relies on fairly detailed comparative knowledge of the domain
being described. Not only must one say that Tom is tall, for instance, but one must also
state specifically to what degree. Here we propose a simpler model based on
properties between concepts. Vagueness can be expressed by relaxing the properties
between concepts in accordance with a user’s criteria.
The criteria can be flexibly and modularly adjusted for experimental purposes while still
maintaining direct executability. For our model described so far, we need only
introduce the following enhancement.
That is, rather than inflexibly allowing a concept to be formed if a test succeeds while
disallowing its formation if that test fails, we instead denote those tests which we wish
to make flexible as properties. Properties are like any other test, except that their
failure does not necessarily result in the failure of the rule itself. Rather, the concept will
still be formed and two lists will be associated with it: a list of the properties that the
concept satisfies, S, and a list of those that it violates, V.
This allows us to construct possibly incorrect or incomplete concepts while collecting

the information as to what way they are not totally justified. The user then has all the
information pertaining to the construction of a particular concept and can interpret
these results in a much more informed, holistic way. This is in contrast to the blind
computation of the degree of randomness or vagueness from those assigned a priori to
each individual piece of the reasoning puzzle.
In other cases, however, it will be more appropriate for the new concepts to replace
the concepts that led to it. For instance, imagine a rule which uses the concept that a
teacher is free at time T and that a parent is free at the same time T in order to add the
concept that a meeting between these two individuals should be scheduled for time T.
Obviously, once a meeting at time T has been arranged between them, they can no
longer be considered as free at that time. Yet another type of rule is needed to remove
redundant concepts such as “John must meet Alice at six” and “Alice must meet John
at six”. In this paper we primarily use the first type of rule, but all three types maintain
computational counterparts within our model.
Information Selection Most of the rules in our knowledge store will be irrelevant to the
situation at hand, so the first problem in our model, and in constructivism in general, is
the problem ofselecting the appropriate information in order to form new concept(s)
(which are actually relevant to the problem).

Flexible Concept Formation

Binary logic is notoriously insufficient for modeling the human mind. The main
alternatives are based either on probabilistic or fuzzy reasoning. As pointed out in [4],
although probability theory is appropriate for measuring randomness of information, it
is inappropriate for measuring the meaning of information.
For many applications, measuring vagueness (e.g. through a membership function that
measures the “degree” to which an element belongs to a set) is more important than
measuring randomness. While the fuzzy set approach has successfully overcome
some of the problems with probabilistic reasoning, it relies on fairly detailed
comparative knowledge of the domain being described. Not only must one say that
Tom is tall, for instance, but one must also state specifically to what degree. Here we
propose a simpler model based on properties between concepts. Vagueness can be
expressed by relaxing the properties between concepts in accordance with a user’s
criteria.
The criteria can be flexibly and modularly adjusted for experimental purposes while still
maintaining direct executability. For our model described so far, we need only
introduce the following enhancement. That is, rather than inflexibly allowing a concept
to be formed if a test succeeds while disallowing its formation if that test fails, we
instead denote those tests which we wish to make flexible as properties. Properties are
like any other test, except that their failure does not necessarily result in the failure of
the rule itself. Rather, the concept will still be formed and two lists will be associated
with it: a list of the properties that the concept satisfies, S, and a list of those that it
violates, V.
This allows us to construct possibly incorrect or incomplete concepts while collecting

the information as to what way they are not totally justified. The user then has all the
information pertaining to the construction of a particular concept and can interpret
these results in a much more informed, holistic way. This is in contrast to the blind
computation of the degree of randomness or vagueness from those assigned a priori to
each individual piece of the reasoning puzzle.
Concept Formation Programs/Grammars

It is clear that CHRs can provide most of the features needed for a computational
incarnation of our concept formation rules model: - Information selection is a side effect
of the CHR engine’s search over applicable rules. –
The transformation of information takes place automatically when a rule triggers, in the
way sanctioned by the rule (namely, propagation rules update the knowledge store
with the concept newly formed). - Hypotheses can be made through assumptions. In
addition, we need to provide flexible cognitive structure through relaxable, directly
executable properties between concepts.

This is achieved through concept formation rules, which have the same general form
as CHR rules except that the guard may include any number of property calls for
properties that have been defined by the user.
These calls are automatically handled by the system, provided that the user defines
the properties as follows: a) A property must be named and defined through the binary
predicate prop/2, whose first argument is the property’s name and whose second
argument is the list of arguments that are involved in checking the property and
signaling the results.
Scheduled Meetings Consider the problem of scheduling meeting events between two
groups of people given the availability of each person and the specific individuals that
must meet. Regular scheduling software systems typically work in stages. The
schedule is partially assigned until it reaches a meeting that it cannot schedule. By re-
shuffling the other meetings that have already been scheduled, it is then often possible
to open up matching timeslots for the individuals in question. Our concept formation
framework allows us to produce a higher-level solution in a concise and effective
manner.
Strategies; Role of concepts in thinking

As discussed in the previous section, you may recall that the potential for creative
thinking is in all of us. It is not limited to a few talented artists or scientists or to a
chosen few. The expression of creative thinking may vary from individual to individual.
Although hereditary factors are important in determining the extent to which one can be
creative, environmental factors facilitate or hamper the development of creative
thinking abilities.
Research in different countries including India has shown a slump in the level of
creative thinking of school children at different stages due to environmental factors. On
the other hand, research also indicates that children from lower socio-economic
groups, ethnic and minority groups have substantial untapped creativity and that they
are creative in many different ways.
Research has also shown that all of us can make better use of our abilities for creative
thinking through practice and training. We can become more imaginative, flexible, and
original in solving day-to-day problems creatively and effectively. Development of
creative thinking is important for one’s personal growth and fulfilment.
Barriers to Creative Thinking

The first step in developing creative thinking is to identify inhibiting factors that impede
creative expression and then make conscious attempts to overcome the same. As we
are discussing, you may analyse how you approach your tasks and problems.
There are blocks to creative thinking which can be categorised as habitual, perceptual,
motivational, emotional, and cultural. Although much habitual learning is necessary for

smooth and efficient functioning within the daily routine, the tendency to be
overpowered by habits particularly in one’s ways of thinking.
Strategies for Creative Thinking

Research on characteristics of creative people has revealed that there are certain
attitudes, dispositions, and skills which facilitate creative thinking. Here are some
strategies to help you enhance your creative thinking abilities and skills:
• Become more aware and sensitive to be able to notice and respond to feelings,
sights, sounds, textures around you. Spot problems, missing information, anomalies,
gaps, deficiencies, and so on. Try to notice contradictions and incompleteness in
situations that others may not do. For this, cultivate the habit of wider reading,
exposure to a variety of information, and develop the art of asking questions,
pondering over the mysteries of situations and objects.
• Generate as many ideas, responses, solutions or suggestions on a given task or

situation to increase your flow of thoughts.
Try deliberately to look for multiple angles of a task and situation to increase flexibility
in your thinking. It could be, for example, thinking of alternative arrangements of
furniture in a room to generate more space, differentways of conversing with people,
looking for costs and benefits of a course of study or career, looking for ways of
dealing with an angry friend, helping others, etc.
• Osborn’s Brainstorming technique can be used to increase fluency and flexibility of

ideas to open-ended situations. Brainstorming is based on the principle that producing
ideas should be kept separate from the evaluation of their worth. The basic assumption
is to let the minds think freely and the tendency to put judgment on the worth of ideas
may be postponed,
i.e. imagination should be given priority over judgment till all the ideas are exhausted.
This helps in increasing the fluency of ideas and piling up alternatives. Brainstorming
can be practised by playing brainstorming games with family members and friends
keeping its principles in mind. Use of checklists and questions often provide a new
twist for ideas like, What other changes? What else? In how many ways could it be
done? What could be the other uses of this object? and so on.
• Originality can be developed by practicing fluency, flexibility, habit of associative

thinking, exploring linkages, and fusing distinct or remote ideas. A creative thinker, it is
said, may not evolve new ideas but evolve new combination of ideas. It is the chain of
thoughts and cross-fertilisation of ideas that may bring out something new.
The idea of the ‘rocking chair’ has come from the combination of ‘chair’ and ‘seesaw’.
Practice making unusual and unexpected associations using analogies. Sometimes
finding original ideas/solutions requires a dramatic shift of focus which can be

facilitated by asking oneself : what is the opposite of the commonplace or usual

solution to the problem? Allow conflicting thoughts to co-exist. Looking for solutions
opposite to the obvious may lead to original solutions.
• Engage yourself more frequently in activities which require use of imagination and
original thinking rather than routine work according to your interest and hobbies. It may
be decorating the house, improvising or redesigning of old objects, making use of
waste products in multiple ways, completing incomplete ideas in unique ways, giving
new twist to stories or poems, developing riddles, puzzles, solving mysteries and so
on.
• Never accept the first idea or solution. Many ideas die because we reject them
thinking that the idea might be a silly idea. You have to first generate a number of
possible ideas or solutions, then select the best from among them.
• Get a feedback on the solutions you decide on from others who are less personally
involved in the task.
• Try to think of what solutions someone else may offer for your problems.
• Give your ideas the chance to incubate. Allowing time for incubation between
production of ideas and the stage of evaluation of ideas, may bring in the ‘Aha!’
experience.
• Sometimes ideas cluster like branches of a tree. It is useful to diagram your thinking
so that you can follow each possible branch to its completion.
• Resist the temptation for immediate reward and success and cope with the frustration
and failure. Encourage selfevaluation. • Develop independent thinking in making
judgments, figuring out things without any help or resources.
• Visualise causes and consequences and think ahead, predicting things that have
never happened, like, suppose the time starts moving backwards, what would
happen?, If we had no zero?, etc.
• Be aware of your own defenses concerning the problem. When we feel threatened by
a problem we are less likely to think of creative ideas.
• Last but not the least, be self-confident and positive. Never undermine your creative
potential. Experience the joy of your creation.
Types of Reasoning

Reasoning is the process of using existing knowledge to draw conclusions, make

predictions, or construct explanations. Three methods of reasoning are the deductive,
inductive, and abductive approaches.
Deductive reasoning: conclusion guaranteed
Deductive reasoning starts with the assertion of a general rule and proceeds from
there to a guaranteed specific conclusion. Deductive reasoning moves from the
general rule to the specific application: In deductive reasoning, if the original assertions
are true, then the conclusion must also be true.
Assuming the propositions are sound, the rather stern logic of deductive reasoning can
give you absolutely certain conclusions. However, deductive reasoning cannot really
increase human knowledge (it is nonampliative) because the conclusions yielded by
deductive reasoning are tautologies-statements that are contained within the premises
and virtually self-evident. Therefore, while with deductive reasoning we can make
observations and expand implications, we cannot make predictions about future or
otherwise non-observed phenomena.
Inductive reasoning: conclusion merely likely
Inductive reasoning begins with observations that are specific and limited in scope, and
proceeds to a generalized conclusion that is likely, but not certain, in light of
accumulated evidence. You could say that inductive reasoning moves from the specific
to the general. Much scientific research is carried out by the inductive method:
gathering evidence, seeking patterns, and forming a hypothesis or theory to explain
what is seen.
Conclusions reached by the inductive method are not logical necessities; no amount of
inductive evidence guarantees the conclusion. This is because there is no way to know
that all the possible evidence has been gathered, and that there exists no further bit of
unobserved evidence that might invalidate my hypothesis.
Abductive reasoning: taking your best shot
Abductive reasoning typically begins with an incomplete set of observations and

proceeds to the likeliest possible explanation for the set. Abductive reasoning yields
the kind of daily decision-making that does its best with the information at hand, which
often is incomplete.
A medical diagnosis is an application of abductive reasoning: given this set of

symptoms, what is the diagnosis that would best explain most of them? Likewise, when
jurors hear evidence in a criminal case, they must consider whether the prosecution or

the defense has the best explanation to cover all the points of evidence. While there
may be no certainty about their verdict, since there may exist additional evidence that
was not admitted in the case, they make their best guess based on what they know.
While cogent inductive reasoning requires that the evidence that might shed light on
the subject be fairly complete, whether positive or negative, abductive reasoning is
characterized by lack of completeness, either in the evidence, or in the explanation, or
both. A patient may be unconscious or fail to report every symptom, for example,
resulting in incomplete evidence, or a doctor may arrive at a diagnosis that fails to
explain several of the symptoms. Still, he must reach the best diagnosis he can.
Language and Thought
Till now, we have discussed the nature and meaning of thinking and how thinking is
based on images and concepts. We have also discussed the various processes of
thought. Throughout the discussion did you feel that words or language are essential to
express what we think? This section examines the relationship between language and
thought: that language determines thought, that thought determines language, and that
thought and language have different origins. Let us examine these three viewpoints in
some detail.
Language as Determinant of Thought

In Hindi and other Indian languages we use a number of different words for various
kinship relationships. We have different terms for mother’s brother, father’s elder
brother, father’s younger brother, mother’s sister’s husband, father’s sister’s husband,
and so on. An English person uses just one word uncle to describe all these kinship
relationships. In the English language there are dozens of words for colours whereas
some tribal languages have only two to four colour terms.
Do such differences matter for how we think? Does an Indian child find it easier to think
about and differentiate between various kinship relationships compared to her
Englishspeaking counterpart? Does our thinking process depend on how we describe it
in our language? Benjamin Lee Whorf was of the view that language determines the
contents of thought. This view is known as linguistic relativity hypothesis. In its strong
version, this hypothesis holds what and how individuals can possibly think is
determined by the language and linguistic categories they use (linguistic determinism).
Experimental evidence, however, maintains that it is possible to have the same level or
quality of thoughts in all languages depending upon the availability of linguistic
categories and structures. Some thoughts may be easier in one language compared to
another.
Thought as Determinant of Language The noted Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget

believed that thought not only determines language, but also precedes it. Piaget
argued that children form an internal representation of the world through thinking. For
example, when children see something and later copy it (a process called imitation),

thinking does take place, which does not involve language. A child’s observation of
other’s behaviour and imitation of the same behaviour, no doubt involves thinking but
not language. Language is just one of the vehicles of thinking.
As actions become internalised, language may affect children’s range of symbolic

thinking but is not necessary for the origins of thought. Piaget believed that though
language can be taught to children, understanding of the words require knowledge of
the underlying concepts (i.e. thinking). Thus, thought is basic, and necessary if
language is to be understood. Different Origins of Language and Thought The Russian
psychologist, Lev Vyogotsky, argued that thoughts and language develop in a child
separately until about two years of age, when they merge. Before two years thought is
preverbal and is experienced more in action (Piaget’s sensory motor stage).
The child’s utterances are more automatic reflexes - crying when uncomfortable - than
thoughtbased. Around two years of age, the child expresses thought verbally and
her/his speech reflects rationality. Now children are able to manipulate thoughts using
soundless speech. He believed that during this period the development of language
and thinking become interdependent; the development of conceptual thinking depends
upon the quality of inner speech and vice versa. Thought is used without language
when the vehicle of thinking is non-verbal such as visual or movementrelated.
Language is used without thought when expressing feelings or exchanging
pleasantries, for example “Good morning! How are you?” “Very well,
Meaning and Nature of Language

In the previous section we discussed the relationship between language and thought.
In this section, we will examine how human beings acquire and use language in
different age groups. Think for a moment: what would have happened if you did not
have a language to express whatever you wanted to say? In the absence of language
you will not be able to communicate your ideas and feelings, nor will you have the
opportunity to know or have access to what others think and feel.
As a child when you first started saying “ma..ma..ma.”, it not only gave you tremendous
boost to continue repeating this activity but also was a great moment of joy for your
parents and other care-givers. Slowly you learnt to say ‘ma’ and ‘papa’ and sometime
later combined two or more words to communicate your needs, feelings, and thoughts.
You learnt words appropriate for situations and also learnt the rules of putting these
words in sentences.
Initially you learnt to communicate in the language being used at home (usually the
mother-tongue), went to school and learnt the formal language of instruction (in many
cases this language is different from the mothertongue), and were promoted to higher
grades and learnt other languages. If you look back, you will realise that your journey
from crying and saying “ma..ma..ma” to the attainment of mastery in not one but many
languages, has been a fascinating one. In this section we shall be discussing the
salient features of language acquisition.

You have been using language all your life. Now try to define accurately what it is that
you have been using. Language consists of a system of symbols organised by means
of certain rules that we use to communicate with each other. You will notice that
language has three basic characteristics: (a) the presence of symbols, (b) a set of rules
to organise these symbols, and (c) communication.
Here we shall be discussing these three characteristics of language. The first

characteristic of language is that it involves symbols. Symbols represent something or
someone else, for example, the place where you live is called ‘home’, the place where
you study is called ‘school’, the thing that you eat is called ‘food’. Words like home,
school, food, and numerous other words do not in themselves carry any meaning.
When these words are associated with some objects/ events they attain meaning and
we begin recognising those objects/events, etc. with particular words (symbols). We
use symbols while thinking.
The second characteristic of language is that it involves rules. While combining two or
more words we usually follow a definite and accepted order of presenting these words.
For example, one would most likely say “I am going to school” and not “school am
going I”. The third characteristic of language is that it is used for communicating one’s
thought, ideas,
Development of Language Language

is a complex system and unique to human beings. Psychologists have tried to teach
sign language, use of symbols to chimpanzees, dolphins, parrots, etc. But it is
observed that, human language is more complex, creative, and spontaneous than the
system of communication other animals can learn. There is also a great deal of
regularity with which children all over the world seem to be learning the language or
languages to which they are exposed. When you compare individual children, you find
that they differ a intentions, and feelings to others. On many occasions we
communicate through the use of our body parts, called gestures or postures. This type
of communication is called non-verbal communication. Some people who cannot use
oral speech, like the ones with severe hearing and speech problems, communicate
through signs. Sign language is also a form of language.
Great deal in the rate of their language development as well as in how they go about it.
But when you take a general view of children’s acquisition of language all over the
world you find some predictable pattern in which children proceed from almost no use
of language to the point of becoming competent language users.
Language develops through some of the stages discussed below. Newborn babies and
young infants make a variety of sounds, which gradually get modified to resemble
words. The first sound produced by babies is crying. Initial crying is undifferentiated
and similar across various situations. Gradually, the pattern of crying varies in its pitch
and intensity to signify different states such as hunger, pain, and sleepiness, etc.

These differentiated crying sounds gradually become more meaningful cooing sounds
(like ‘aaa’, ‘uuu’, etc.) usually to express happiness.
At around six months of age children enter the babbling stage. Babbling involves
prolonged repetition of a variety of consonants and vowel sounds (for example, da—,
aa—, ba—). By about nine months of age these sounds get elaborated to strings of
some sound combinations, such as ‘dadadadadada’ into repetitive patterns called
echolalia. While the early babblings are random or accidental in nature, the later
babblings seem to be imitative of adult voices. Children show some understanding of a
few words by the time they are six months old. Around the first birthday (the exact age
varies from child to child) most children enter the one-word-stage. Their first word
usually contains one syllable – ma or da, for instance.
Gradually they move to one or more words which are combined to form whole
sentences or phrases. So they are called holophrases. When they are 18 to 20 months
of age, children enter a two-word stage and begin to use two words together. The two-
word stage exemplifies telegraphic speech. Like telegrams (got admission, send
money) it contains mostly nouns and verbs.
Close to their third birthday, i.e. beyond two-and-ahalf years, children’s language
development gets focused on rules of the language they hear.
Language Use
As we have discussed earlier, language use involves knowing socially appropriate
ways of communication. Knowledge of vocabulary and syntax of a language does not
ensure proper use of language to achieve the purpose of communication in a variety of
social situations. When we use language we have various pragmatic intentions such as
requesting, asking, thanking, demanding, etc. In order to effectively serve these social
goals, language use must be pragmatically correct or contextually appropriate besides
being grammatical and meaningful. Children often have difficulty with choice of
appropriate utterances for politeness or for requests and their use of language conveys
a demand or a command instead of a polite request. When children are engaged in
conversations, they also have difficulty in taking turns in speaking and listening like
adults.
Relativity and Determinism

There are two problems to confront in this arena: linguistic relativity and linguistic
determinism. Relativity is easy to demonstrate. In order to speak any language, you
have to pay attention to the meanings that are grammatically marked in that language.
For example, in English it is necessary to mark the verb to indicate the time of
occurrence of an event you are speaking about: It's raining; It rained; and so forth. In
Turkish, however, it is impossible to simply say, 'It rained last night'.
This language, like many American Indian languages, has more than one past tense,
depending on one's source of knowledge of the event. In Turkish, there are two past
tenses—one to report direct experience and the other to report events that you know
about only by inference or hearsay.

Thus, if you were out in the rain last night, you will say, 'It rained last night' using the
past-tense form that indicates that you were a witness to the rain; but if you wake up in
the morning and see the wet street and garden, you are obliged to use the other past-
tense form—the one that indicates that you were not a witness to the rain itself.
Differences of this sort have fascinated linguists and anthropologists for centuries.
They have reported hundreds of facts about 'exotic' languages, such as verbs that are
marked or chosen according to the shape of an object that is being handled (Navajo)
or for the relative ages of speaker and hearer (Korean). Such facts are grist for the mill
of linguistic relativity.
And, indeed, they can be found quite readily in 'nonexotic' languages as well. To cite a
fact about English that is well known to linguists: It is not appropriate to say Richard
Nixon has worked in Washington, but it is perfectly OK to say Gerald Ford has worked
in Washington. Why? English restricts the present perfect tense ('has worked') to
assertions about people who are alive. Exotic!
Proponents of linguistic determinism argue that such differences between languages

influence the ways people think—perhaps the ways in which whole cultures are
organized.
Among the strongest statements of this position are those by Benjamin Lee Whorf and
his teacher, Edward Sapir, in the first half of this century—hence the label, 'The Sapir-
Whorf Hypothesis', for the theory of linguistic relativity and determinism. Whorf
proposed: 'We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we
do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way—an
agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns
of our language' (Whorf, 1940; in Carroll, 1956, pp. 213-4).
And, in the words of Sapir: 'Human beings...are very much at the mercy of the
particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.
...The fact of the matter is that the "real world" is to a large extent unconsciously built
up on the language habits of the group' (Sapir, 1929; in Manlbaum, 1958, p. 162).
Investigating Language and Thought

How can such bold claims be substantiated beyond examination of individual
languages themselves? If one takes the hypothesis seriously, it should be possible to
show that Turks are more sensitive to evidence than are Americans, but that
Americans are more aware of death than Turks. Clearly, the hypothesis cannot be
supported on so grand a level. Rather, experimental psychologists and cognitive
anthropologists have sought to find small differences, on controlled tasks, between
speakers of various languages. Maybe Navajos are somewhat more sensitive to
shapes of objects, for example.

The results have been mixed. In most cases, human thought and action are
overdetermined by an array of causes, so the structure of language may not play a
central causal role.
Linguistic determinism can best be demonstrated in situations in which language is the

principal means of drawing people's attention to a particular aspect of experience. For
example, if you regularly speak a language in which you must pick a form of second-
person address (you) that marks your social relationship to your interlocutor—such as
Spanish tu ('you' for friends and family and for those socially subordinate)
vs. usted ('you' for those socially above in status or for those with whom you have no
close connection) or French tu versus vous—you must categorize every person you
talk to in terms of the relevant social dimensions. (As a thought experiment of linguistic
determinism, think of the categorizations of social relationships that would have to be
made if Spanish became the common language of the United States.)
What is Problem solving: Type, Strategies, and Obstacles Decision-making: Types

and models?
PROBLEM SOLVING
How do we proceed while repairing a broken cycle, or planning a summer tour or
patching up a broken friendship? In some cases the solution is reached quickly as in
repair of a bicycle based on immediately available cues whereas others are more
complex and require time and effort. Problem solving is thinking that is goal-directed.
Almost all our day-today activities are directed towards a goal. Here it is important to
know that problems are not always in the form of obstacles or hurdles that one faces.
It could be any simple activity that you perform to reach a defined goal, for example,
preparing a quick snack for your friend who has just arrived at your place. In problem
solving there is an initial state (i.e. the problem) and there is an end state (the goal).
These two anchors are connected by means of several steps or mental operations.
would clarify your understanding of various steps through which one solves a problem.
You can try out the problems given in Activity 8.3 with your friends and observe how
they are approaching the problem. You can ask them the steps they follow while
solving these problems
From organizing your movie collection to deciding to buy a house, problem-solving

makes up a large part of daily life. Problems can range from small (solving a single
math equation on your homework assignment) to very large (planning your future
career).
In cognitive psychology, the term problem-solving refers to the mental process that
people go through to discover, analyze, and solve problems. 1 This involves all of the
steps in the problem process, including the discovery of the problem, the decision to

tackle the issue, understanding the problem, researching the available options and
taking actions to achieve your goals. Before problem-solving can occur, it is important
to first understand the exact nature of the problem itself. If your understanding of the
issue is faulty, your attempts to resolve it will also be incorrect or flawed.
Mental Processes at Work During Problem-Solving

There are a number of mental processes at work during problem-solving. These
include:
 Perceptually recognizing a problem
 Representing the problem in memory
 Considering relevant information that applies to the current problem
 Identify different aspects of the problem
 Labeling and describing the problem
Problem-Solving Strategies
 Algorithms: An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that will always produce a
correct solution. A mathematical formula is a good example of a problem-solving
algorithm. While an algorithm guarantees an accurate answer, it is not always the
best approach to problem-solving. This strategy is not practical for many
situations because it can be so time-consuming. For example, if you were trying
to figure out all of the possible number combinations to a lock using an algorithm,
it would take a very long time!
 Heuristics: A heuristic is a mental rule-of-thumb strategy that may or may not
work in certain situations. Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not always guarantee a
correct solution. However, using this problem-solving strategy does allow people
to simplify complex problems and reduce the total number of possible solutions
to a more manageable set.2
 Trial and Error: A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a
number of different solutions and ruling out those that do not work. This approach
can be a good option if you have a very limited number of options available. If
there are many different choices, you are better off narrowing down the possible
options using another problem-solving technique before attempting trial-and-
error.
 Insight: In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden
insight. According to researchers, insight can occur because you realize that the
problem is actually similar to something that you have dealt with in the past, but
in most cases, the underlying mental processes that lead to insight happen
outside of awareness.
Obstacles in Problem-Solving
Of course, problem-solving is not a flawless process. There are a number of different
obstacles that can interfere with our ability to solve a problem quickly and efficiently.
Researchers have described a number of these mental obstacles, which include
functional fixedness, irrelevant information, and assumptions.


Functional Fixedness: This term refers to the tendency to view problems only in
their customary manner.3
Functional fixedness prevents people from fully seeing all of the different options that
might be available to find a solution.
 Irrelevant or Misleading Information: When you are trying to solve a problem,
it is important to distinguish between information that is relevant to the issue and
irrelevant data that can lead to faulty solutions. When a problem is very complex,
the easier it becomes to focus on misleading or irrelevant information.
 Assumptions: When dealing with a problem, people often make assumptions
about the constraints and obstacles that prevent certain solutions.
 Mental Set: Another common problem-solving obstacle is known as a mental
set, which is the tendency people have to only use solutions that have worked in
the past rather than looking for alternative ideas.4 A mental set can often work as
a heuristic, making it a useful problem-solving tool. However, mental sets can
also lead to inflexibility, making it more difficult to find effective solutions.
Particular strategy would sometimes help in solving a new problem. However, this
tendency also creates a mental rigidity that obstructs the problem solver to think of any
new rules or strategies. Thus, while in some situations mental set can enhance the
quality and speed of problem solving, in other situations it hinders problem solving.
You might have experienced this while solving mathematical problems. After
completing a couple of questions, you form an idea of the steps that are required to
solve these questions and subsequently you go on following the same steps, until a
point where you fail.
At this point you may experience difficulty in avoiding the already used steps. Those
steps would interfere in your thought for new strategies. However, in day-to-day
activities we often rely on past experiences with similar or related problems.
Like mental set, functional fixedness in problem solving occurs when people fail to
solve a problem because they are fixed on a thing’s usual function. If you have ever
used a hardbound book to hammer a nail, then you have overcome functional
fixedness.
Lack of Motivation
People might be great at solving problems, but all their skills and talents are of no use
if they are not motivated. Sometimes people give up easily when they encounter a
problem or failure in implementing the first step. Therefore, there is a need to persist in
their effort to find a solution
DECISION-MAKING
Inductive and deductive reasonings allow us to make judgments. In judgment we draw
conclusions, form opinions, evaluate events, objects, based on knowledge and
available evidences. Consider this example, the man is very talkative, likes to mix with

people, can convince others with ease — he would be most suitable for a
salesperson’s job. Our judgment of this person is based on the specific characteristics
of an expert salesperson.
Here we will discuss how we make decisions and judgments. Sometimes judgments
are automatic and require no conscious effort by the person and occur as a matter of
habit, for example,
applying brakes on seeing the red light. However, evaluating a novel or a literary text
requires reference to your past knowledge and experience. Judging the beauty of a
painting would involve your personal preferences. Thus our judgments are not
independent of our beliefs and attitudes. We also make changes in our judgments
based on newly acquired information. Consider this example.
A new teacher joins the school, students make onthe-spot judgment of the teacher as
being very strict. However, in subsequent classes, they closely interact with the teacher
and make changes in their evaluation. Now they judge the teacher to be extremely
studentfriendly. Many of the problems you solve each day require you to make
decisions. What to wear for the party? What to eat for dinner? What to say to your
friend?
The answer to all these lies in picking or choosing one of several choices. In decision-
making, we sometimes choose among options based on choices of personal
significance. Judgment and decisionmaking are interrelated processes. In
decisionmaking the problem before us is to choose among alternatives by evaluating
the cost and benefit associated with each alternative.
For example, when you have the option to choose between psychology and economics
as subjects in Class XI, your decision would be based upon your interest, future
prospects, availability of books, efficiency of teachers, etc. You could evaluate them by
talking to seniors and faculty members and attending a few classes, etc. Decision-
making differs from other types of problem solving. In decisionmaking we already know
the various solutions or choices and one has to be selected. Suppose your friend is a
very good player of badminton. S/he is getting an opportunity to play at the state level.
At the same time the final examination is approaching and s/he needs to study hard for
it. S/he will have to choose between two options, practising for badminton or studying
for the final examination. In this situation her/his decision will be based upon evaluation
of all possible outcomes. You would observe that people differ in their priorities and
therefore their decisions will differ. In real life situations we take quick decisions and
therefore, it is not possible always to evaluate every situation thoroughly and
exhaustively.
The decision-making process though a logical one is a difficult task. All decisions can
be categorized into the following three basic models.

(1) The Rational/Classical Model.

(2) The Administrative or Bounded Rationality Model.
(3) The Retrospective Decision-Making Model.
All models are beneficial for understanding the nature of decision-making processes in
enterprises or organisations. All models are based on certain assumptions on which
the decisions are taken.
1. The Rational/Classical Model:

The rational model is the first attempt to know the decision-making-process. It is
considered by some as the classical approach to understand the decision-making
process. The classical model gave various steps in decision-making process which
have been discussed earlier.
Features of Classical Model:

1. Problems are clear.
2. Objectives are clear.
3. People agree on criteria and weights.
4. All alternatives are known.
5. All consequences can be anticipated.
6. Decision makes are rational.
i. They are not biased in recognizing problems.
ii. They are capable of processing ail relevant information
iii. They anticipate present and future consequences of decisions.
iv. They search for all alternatives that maximizes the desired results.
2. Bounded Rationality Model or Administrative Man Model:

Decision-making involve the achievement of a goal. Rationality demands that the
decision-maker should properly understand the alternative courses of action for
reaching the goals.
He should also have full information and the ability to analyse properly various
alternative courses of action in the light of goals sought. There should also be a desire
to select the best solutions by selecting the alternative which will satisfy the goal
achievement.
Herbert A. Simon defines rationality in terms of objective and intelligent action. It is

characterised by behavioural nexus between ends and means. If appropriate means
are chosen to reach desired ends the decision is rational.
Bounded Rationality model is based on the concept developed by Herbert Simon. This
model does not assume individual rationality in the decision process.
Instead, it assumes that people, while they may seek the best solution, normally settle
for much less, because the decisions they confront typically demand greater
information, time, processing capabilities than they possess. They settle for “bounded
rationality or limited rationality in decisions. This model is based on certain basic
concepts.

a. Sequential Attention to alternative solution:

Normally it is the tendency for people to examine possible solution one at a time
instead of identifying all possible solutions and stop searching once an acceptable
(though not necessarily the best) solution is found.
b. Heuristic:
These are the assumptions that guide the search for alternatives into areas that have a
high probability for yielding success.
c. Satisficing:
Herbert Simon called this “satisficing” that is picking a course of action that is
satisfactory or “good enough” under the circumstances. It is the tendency for decision
makers to accept the first alternative that meets their minimally acceptable
requirements rather than pushing them further for an alternative that produces the best
results.
Satisficing is preferred for decisions of small significance when time is the major
constraint or where most of the alternatives are essentially similar.
Thus, while the rational or classic model indicates how decisions should be made (i.e.
it works as a prescriptive model), it falls somewhat short concerning how decisions are
actually made (i.e. as a descriptive model).
3. Retrospective decision model (implicit favourite model):

This decision-making model focuses on how decision-makers attempt to rationalise
their choices after they have been made and try to justify their decisions. This model
has been developed by Per Soelberg. He made an observation regarding the job
choice processes of graduating business students and noted that, in many cases, the
students identified implicit favorites (i.e. the alternative they wanted) very early in the
recruiting and choice process. However, students continued their search for additional
alternatives and quickly selected the best alternative.
The total process is designed to justify, through the guise of scientific rigor, a decision
that has already been made intuitively. By this means, the individual becomes
convinced that he or she is acting rationally and taking a logical, reasoned decision on
an important topic.
Some Common Errors in Decision-Making:

Since the importance of the right decision cannot be overestimated enough for the
quality of the decisions can make the difference between success and failure.
Therefore, it is imperative that all factors affecting the decision be properly looked into
and fully investigated.
In addition to technical and operational factors which can be quantified and analyzed,
other factors such as personal values, personality traits, psychological assessment,
perception of the environment, intuitional and judgemental capabilities and emotional
interference must also be understood and credited.

Some researchers have pinpointed certain areas where managerial thinking needs to
be re-assessed and where some common mistakes are made. These affect the
decision-making process as well as the efficiency of the decision, and must be
avoided.
Some of the errors re:

a. Indecisiveness:
Decision-making is full of responsibility. The fear of its outcome can make some people
timid about taking a decision. This timidity may result in taking a long time for making a
decision and the opportunity may be lost. This trait is a personality trait and must be
looked into seriously. The managers must be very quick in deciding.
b. Postponing the decision until the last moment:

This is a common feature which results in decision-making under pressure of time
which generally eliminates the possibility of thorough analysis of the problem which is
time consuming as well as the establishment and comparison of all alternatives. Many
students, who postpone studying until near their final exams, usually do not do well in
the exams.
Even though some managers work better under pressures, most often an adequate
time period is required to look objectively at the problem and make an intelligent
decision. Accordingly, a decision plan must be formulated; time limits must be set for
information gathering, analysis and selection of a course of action.
c. A failure to isolate the root cause of the problem:

It is a common practice to cure the symptoms rather than the causes. For example, a
headache may be on account of some deep-rooted emotional problem. A medicine for
the headache would not cure the problem. It is necessary to separate the symptoms
and their causes.
d. A failure to assess the reliability of informational sources:

Very often, we take it for granted that the other person’s opinion is very reliable and
trustworthy and we do not check for the accuracy of the information ourselves.
Many a time, the opinion of the other person is taken, so that if the decision fails to
bring the desired results, the blame for the failure can be shifted to the person who had
provided the information. However, this is a poor reflection on the manager’s ability and
integrity and the manager must be held responsible for the outcome of the decision.
e. The method for analysing the information may not be the sound one:
Since most decisions and especially the non-programmed ones have to be based upon
a lot of information and factors, the procedure to identify, isolate and select the useful
information must be sound and dependable. Usually, it is not operationally feasible to
objectively analyse more than five or six pieces of information at a time.

Hence, a model must be built which incorporates and handles many variables in order
to aid the decision makers. Also, it will be desirable to define the objectives, criteria and
constraints as early in the decision-making process as possible.
This would assist in making the process more formal so that no conditions or
alternatives would be overlooked. Following established procedures would eliminate
the efforts of emotions which may cloud the process and rationality.
f. Do implement the decision and follow through:

Making a decision is not the end of the process, rather it is a beginning.
Implementation of the decision and the results obtained are the true barometer of the
quality of the decision. Duties must be assigned, deadlines must be set, evaluation
process must be established and contingency plans must be prepared in advance. The
decisions must be implemented whole heartedly to get the best results.
What is Metacognition: Metacognitive knowledge and Metacognitive regulation?
Metacognition: Metacognitive knowledge and Metacognitive regulation
Metacognitive knowledge
Metacognitive strategies refers to methods used to help students understand the way
they learn; in other words, it means processes designed for students to ‘think’ about
their ‘thinking’.
Teachers who use metacognitive strategies can positively impact students who have
learning disabilities by helping them to develop an appropriate plan for learning
information, which can be memorized and eventually routine. As students become
aware of how they learn, they will use these processes to efficiently acquire new
information, and consequently, become more of an independent thinker. Below are
three metacognitive strategies, which all include related resources, that can be
implemented in the classroom:
Think Aloud
Great for reading comprehension and problem solving. Think-alouds help students to
consciously monitor and reflect upon what they are learning. This strategy works well
when teachers read a story or problem out loud and periodically stop to verbalize their
thoughts. This allows students to follow the teacher’s thinking process, which gives
them the foundation they need for creating their own strategies and processes that can
be useful for understanding what they are trying to comprehend.
Checklist, Rubrics and Organizers

Great for solving word problems. These organizational tools support students in the
decision-making process because they serve as an aid for planning and self-

evaluation. Typically they ask what students know and need to know to arrive at an
answer, and emphasize the need to reread the problem and self-check responses.
Explicit Teacher Modeling

Great for math instruction. Explicit teacher modeling helps students understand what is
expected of them through a clear example/model of a skill or concept. When a teacher
provides a easy to follow procedure for solving a problem, students have a memorable
strategy to use for approaching a problem on their own.
Reading Comprehension
Truly comprehending reading involves students actively engaging with a text and
accurately deciphering the layers of meaning. It is very important for students to
develop solid reading comprehension skills because statistics show that people who
have low reading comprehension ability suffer in academic, professional, and personal
pursuits. The resources in this guide from supersummary.com are effective strategies
for promoting reading comprehension.
Metacognition and Learning

Metacognition denotes in-depth thinking in which cognitive processes involved in
learning are actively controlled. This includes planning how to accomplish a given
learning task, monitoring understanding, and estimating progress toward the
completion of a task.
It is believed that students have greater ability to control goals, dispositions, and
attention when they are more aware of their thinking processes as they learn. This
means that self-regulation is a result of self-awareness.
For instance, when a student is aware of his lack of commitment to write his thesis, and
bears the knowledge that he is procrastinating, delaying, and allowing himself to be
distracted by other less important things, then he could take action to get started on
doing the task. This is possible only if the student becomes aware of his
procrastination and takes control in planning on how to approach his thesis completion.
Components of Metacognition
Metacognition is divided into three components:
 Metacognitive knowledge
 Metacognitive regulation
 Metacognitive experiences
Metacognitive knowledge refers to the awareness individuals possess about
themselves and other people as cognitive processors.
Metacognitive regulation, on the other hand, has to do with people’s control over
cognition and learning experiences through a set of methods that help people regulate
their learning.
Metacognitive experiences involve cognitive efforts that are currently taking place.

Types of Metacognitive Knowledge

The metacognitive knowledge component of metacognition is divided into three
different types of knowledge:
 Declarative knowledge
 Procedural knowledge
 Conditional knowledge
Declarative knowledge refers to the factual information that we know, and can both be
spoken or written. This is also the knowledge about ourselves as learners and about
what factors can influence our performances.
Procedural knowledge refers to information on how to do something or how to perform
the procedural steps that make up a task. A high degree of procedural knowledge
allows us to perform tasks more automatically through a variety of strategies.
Conditional knowledge refers to the knowledge about when to use a procedure, skill, or
strategy or when not to. Such knowledge allows us to assign optimal resources for
various tasks.
Skills in Metacognitive Regulation

There are three important skills in metacognitive regulation:
 Planning
 Monitoring
 Evaluating
Planning involves suitable selection of strategies and the right assignment of
resources. Monitoring includes awareness of understanding and task performance,
while evaluating refers to the assessment of the final result of a task and the efficiency
carried out during task performance.
Metacognitive Strategies
Research has shown that teaching students metacognitive strategies can improve
learning. Among the different learning strategies that are commonly used when
studying or doing homework are rote memorization, goal setting, monitoring, self-
assessing, and regulating during thinking and writing processes.
Metacognitive experiences and problem solving

Research revealed the two components of metacognition – metacognitive
knowledge and metacognitive experiences – impact individuals’ problem solving
differently. Flavell (1979) described metacognitive experiences as “any conscious
cognitive or affective experience that accompany or pertain to any intellectual
enterprise” (p. 906). He believed they were more likely to occur during a task due to the
importance of individuals’ decisions and actions in the endeavor. Efklides
(2001) maintained that metacognitive experiences monitored task characteristics and
also reflected an individual’s goals in task-making.
She identified different categories of metacognitive experiences, and some of these
included: feeling of familiarity, feeling of confidence, feeling of difficulty, feeling of

satisfaction, estimate of solution correctness, and estimate of effort expenditure. She

found individuals’ metacognitive experiences were influenced by cognitive ability as
well as “personality and other affective factors” .
Moreover, the author joined Flavell (1979) in linking metacognitive experiences to
triggering metacognitive knowledge. Efklides maintained that metacognitive
experiences “monitor online cognitive processing” from the individual’s perspective,
and “online task-specific knowledge” as well as for influencing “control decisions” .
Her research revealed that metacognitive experiences varied according to the level of
“task difficulty” and “phase of cognitive processing (advance, planning, and solution
production)” .
Akama and Yamauchi’s (2004) study underscored the role of metacognitive
experiences in problem solving. The authors examined the effect of task performance
on individuals’ metacognitive experiences. Comparisons of participants’ metacognitive
experiences questionnaire results before and after the task illustrated differences
between those who successfully solved the puzzle and those who did not.
The success group “reported significantly higher feeling of satisfaction” confidence,

knowledge, and correctness of the solution than the failure group. The authors found
participants’ prior performance affected “Feeling of difficulty, Need to think of the
Success group and Feeling of having knowledge after the task for both groups.
The study also showed high correlations between individuals’ task performance and
metacognitive experiences after the task, which the authors attributed to participants’
performance. The article maintained that this result supported earlier studies that
illustrated “participants can get information from their performance and revise
metacognitive experiences after problem-solving”
Metacognitive regulation
Metacognitive Experiences involve the use of Metacognitive Strategies or
Metacognitive Regulation (Brown, 1987). Metacognitive strategies are sequential
processes that one uses to control cognitive activities, and to ensure that a cognitive
goal (eg:- understanding a text) has been met.
These processes help to regulate and oversee learning, and consist of planning and
monitoring cognitive activities, as well as checking the outcomes of those activities.
Thus metacognitive regulation is the regulation of cognition and learning experiences
through a set of activities that help people control their learning. For example, after
reading a paragraph in a text, a learner may question herself about the concepts
discussed in the paragraph.
Her cognitive goal is to understand the text. Self questioning is a common

Metacognitive Comprehension Monitoring Strategy. If she finds that she cannot answer
her own questions, or that she does not understand the material discussed, she must

then determine what needs to be done to ensure that she meets the cognitive goal of
understanding the text.
She may decide to go back and reread the paragraph with the goal of being able to
answer the questions she had generated if, after rereading through the text she can
now answer the questions, she may determine that she understands the material.
Thus, the Metacognitive Strategy of self questioning is used to ensure that the
cognitive goal of comprehension is met.
Metacognitive experiences are those experiences that have something to do with the
current, ongoing cognitive endeavour. Metacognitive experiences usually precede or
follow a cognitive activity. They often occur when cognitions fail, such as the
recognition that one did not understand what one just read. Such an impasse is
believed to activate metacognitive processes as the learner attempts to rectify the
situation.
Metacognition, or the ability to control one’s cognitive processes (self regulation) has
been linked to intelligence (Borokowski et al., 1987, Brown, 1987, Sternberg, 1984,
1986). Sternberg refers to these executive processes as “Metacomponents in his
triarchic theory of control, other cognitive components as well as receive feed back
from these components.
According to Sternberg, Metacomponents are responsible for “figuring out how to do a

particular task or set of tasks, and then making sure that the task or set of tasks are
done correctly” (Sternberg, 1986). These executive processes involve planning,
evaluating, monitoring and problem solving activities. Sternberg maintains that the
ability to appropriately allocate cognitive resources, such as deciding how and when a
given task should be accomplished is central to intelligence.
What is Intelligence: Spearman; Thurstone; Jensen; Cattell; Gardner; Stenberg;

Goleman; Das, Kar & Parrila?
Intelligence: Spearman; Thurstone; Jensen; Cattell; Gardner; Stenberg;

Goleman; Das, Kar & Parrila
General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to the existence of a broad mental
capacity that influences performance on cognitive ability measures. Charles Spearman
first described the existence of general intelligence in 1904. According to Spearman,
this g factor was responsible for overall performance on mental ability tests.
Spearman noted that while people certainly could and often did excel in certain areas,
people who did well in one area tended also to do well in other areas. For example, a
person who does well on a verbal test would probably also do well on other tests.

Those who hold this view believe that intelligence can be measured and expressed by
a single number, such as an IQ score. The idea is that this underlying general
intelligence influences performance on all cognitive tasks.
General intelligence can be compared to athleticism. A person might be a very skilled

runner, but this does not necessarily mean that they will also be an excellent figure
skater. However, because this person is athletic and fit, they will probably perform
much better on other physical tasks than an individual who is less coordinated and
more sedentary.
Spearman and General Intelligence

Charles Spearman was one of the researchers who helped develop a statistical
technique known as factor analysis. Factor analysis allows researchers to use a
number of different test items to measure common abilities. For example, researchers
might find that people who score well on questions that measure vocabulary also
perform better on questions related to reading comprehension.
Spearman believed that general intelligence represented an intelligence factor

underlying specific mental abilities. All tasks on intelligence tests, whether they related
to verbal or mathematical abilities, were influenced by this underlying g-factor.
Many modern intelligence tests, including the Stanford-Binet, measure some of the
cognitive factors that are thought to make up general intelligence.
 Visual-spatial processing: Abilities such as putting together puzzles and
copying complex shapes
 Quantitative reasoning: The capacity to solve problems that involve numbers
 Knowledge: A person's understanding of a wide range of topics
 Fluid reasoning: The ability to think flexibly and solve problems
 Working memory: The use of short-term memory (such as being able to repeat
a list of items)
Challenges to the Concept of General Intelligence

The notion that intelligence could be measured and summarized by a single number on
an IQ test was controversial during Spearman's time and has remained so over the
decades since. Some psychologists, including L.L. Thurstone, challenged the concept
of a g-factor. Thurstone instead identified a number of what he referred to as "primary
mental abilities."
More recently, psychologists such as Howard Gardner have argued against the notion
that a single general intelligence can accurately capture all of human mental ability.
Gardner instead proposed that multiple intelligences exist. Each intelligence represents
abilities in a certain domain, such as visual-spatial intelligence, verbal-linguistic
intelligence, and logical-mathematical intelligence.

Research today points to an underlying mental ability that contributes to performance

on many cognitive tasks. IQ scores, which are designed to measure this general
intelligence, are also thought to influence an individual's overall success in life.
However, while IQ can play a role in academic and life success, other factors such as
childhood experiences, educational experiences, socioeconomic status, motivation,
maturity, and personality also play a critical role in determining overall success.
The early 1900s saw Charles Spearman using a mathematical approach to the
question of measuring human intelligence. Using statistical factor analysis
Spearman identified g, a single underlying intelligence factor he believed
accounted for the variety of observable abilities.
Spearman noticed that children’s grades across all school subjects tended to be highly
correlated. If a child did well in one subject, they generally also did well in another
subject, and vice versa. What did this say about the nature of intelligence?
He devised factor analysis to measure the relationships between seemingly varied
cognitive abilities and account for the correlations he saw between scores on different
tests.
The result was Spearman’s two-factor theory which attempted to show that all cognitive
performance can be explained by two variables: one general ability (g) and the
many specific abilities (s) it gave rise to. Later, however, further analysis showed
that g alone was enough to explain the correlations between different tests. When
people talk about IQ or intelligence, it’s usually this general mental ability that they are
referring to.
Alternatives and Criticisms

The existence of a single quantifiable factor for human intelligence has been hotly
debated ever since Spearman proposed it.
Criticism came from one of Spearman’s own students, Raymond Cattell, who thought
that intelligence could be understood as two main capacities: “fluid" (Gf) and
“crystallized" (Gc).
Cattell thought that crystallized intelligence was a kind of cemented knowledge bank
acquired over time, representing all those abilities that were already familiar from
previous learning. On the other hand, fluid intelligence was the ability to acquire that
knowledge in the first place, i.e. to learn in the moment. He saw g as more accurately
Gc, and that tests focusing only on g would omit an important developmental factor in
human intelligence.
Others were similarly critical for the reductive nature of g, including psychologist L.L.
Thurstone and J. P Guilford. Both believed that there were several, irreducible and
independent domains of intelligence, however many have since found correlations
between their tests which strongly suggest a general factor.

Still more criticism came from Howard Gardener who proposed nine domains of
intelligence, including some decidedly non-cognitive ones like musical, existential and
bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Almost everyone can think of a person who performed
poorly at school but excelled in sport or dance, perhaps, or a person with musical
genius that didn’t translate to any other area in their life.
Gardner argued that the academic environment over-emphasized verbal and logical
skill while ignoring these other forms of intelligence. However, his critics have
responded that we think of something like athletic skill as just that – a skill and not
strictly intelligence.
Thurstone’s theory :
Primary mental abilities/Group factor theory: States that Intelligent Activities are not an
expression of innumerable highly specific factors, as Thorndike claimed. Nor is it the
expression primarily of a general factor that pervades all mental activities. It is the
essence of intelligence, as Spearman held.
Instead, the analysis of interpretation of Spearman and others led them to the
conclusion that ‘certain’ mental operations have in common a ‘primary’ factor that gives
them psychological and functional unity and that differentiates them from other mental
operations. These mental operations then constitute a group.
A second group of mental operation has its own unifying primary factor, and so on. In
other words, there are a number of groups of mental abilities, each of which has its
own primary factor, giving the group a functional unity and cohesiveness. Each of
these primary factors is said to be relatively independent of the others.
Thurstone has given the following six primary factors :

(i) The Number Factor
(N)—Ability to do Numerical Calculations rapidly and accurately.
(ii) The Verbal Factor
(V)—Found in tests involving Verbal Comprehension.
(iii) The Space Factor
(S)—Involved in any task in which the subject manipulates the imaginary object in
space.
(iv) Memory
(M)—Involving ability to memorize quickly.
(v) he Word Fluency Factor
(W)—Involved whenever the subject is asked to think of isolated words at a rapid rate.
(vi) The Reasoning Factor
(R)—Found in tasks that require a subject to discover a rule or principle involved in a
series or groups of letters. Based on these factors Thurstone constructed a new test of
intelligence known as ‘‘Test of Primary Mental Abilities (PMA).’’
JENSEN'S THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE

The criticism of my "theory of intelligence" by Humphreys and Dachler (1969), although

making an interesting and worthwhile methodological point, is based on so limited a
view of the theory and of the supporting evidence as to constitute a very weak criticism
when viewed in proper perspective.
The questionable suitability of the Project TALENT tests used by Humphreys and
Dachler for testing hypotheses derived from the theory, as compared with tests and
studies specifically designed for this purpose, hardly warrants these authors' overly
sweeping conclusion that "... Jensen's published results can be disregarded and that
unbiased data lend no support to his theory [p. 426]." Theoretical Misconceptions
The theory, which has been explicated in detail elsewhere (Jensen, 1968a, 1969, in
press), concerns the organization of mental abilities in individuals. It incidently predicts,
and was originally formulated to explain, relationships between intelligence, rote-
learning ability, and sooioeconomic status (SES).
It postulates two broad types of mental ability: Level I (associative and rote learning
ability as measured, for example, by digit-span memory and rote serial learning), and
Level II (abstract reasoning as measured by most IQ tests and in purer form by tests
such as Raven's Progressive Matrices).
The correlation between Level I and Level II abilities, according to the theory, is due
largely to the hierarchical functional dependence of Level II proo1 Requests for reprints
should be sent to:' Arthur R. Jensen, School of Education, University of California,
Berkeley, California 94720. esses upon Level I.
The educational and occupational requirements of our society tend to sort out people
much more by their Level II ability than by their Level I ability, so that lower and upper
SES groups will differ markedly on Level II tests while differing little or not at all on
Level I. Humphreys and Dachler are wrong to argue that a general theory of
intelligence means that it must generalize to the entire population. The theory is about
the organization of mental abilities.
It makes no statements about population parameters per se. Given such parameters,
however,
the theory should yield specific predictions. But populations differ in their social class
composition and relative frequencies in various SES categories, and a truly general
theory of intelligence cannot include these specific population characteristics (though it
needs to know them for specific predictions) any more than a general theory of
gravitation includes such data as the mass of the earth or air resistance, which
nevertheless need to be taken into account in order to make a specific prediction from
the law of falling bodies.
Humphreys and Dachler have thus failed to distinguish clearly between the theory itself
and the ancillary information required to derive any specific test of the theory.
Furthermore, it is not at all clear just what alternative theory or empirical state of affairs

prevails according to Humphreys and Dachler. Is it that all kinds of mental abilities are
about equally correlated with SES? This is clearly refuted by much solid evidence.
Cattell Theory of intelligence

The fluid aspect of this theory says that intelligence is a basic capacity due to genetic
potentiality. While this is affected by the past and new expriences, the crystallized
theory is a capacity resultant of experiences, learning and environment.
In the 1930s and early 1940s, both Raymond B. Cattell and Donald O. Hebb were
critical of the ability of the currently available tests to accurately measure intelligence
and both began to develop improved tests of intelligence. Cattell was in search of a
“culture-free” test of intelligence while Hebb was concerned with the development of
tests of intelligence which could measure the effects of localized brain damage at
different ages in patients with little schooling.
At that time, intelligence testing was fuelled by a scientific interest to quantify the
intelligence of different groups of people, with a focus on special classes of individuals,
such as the insane, feebleminded, deaf, and delinquent. The intelligence scales used
were influenced by the work of Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon with the publication of
the first Binet-Simon scale in 1905 (Binet and Simon, 1905). This “measuring scale of
intelligence” was originally developed for use with school children in Paris and
consisted of a series of 30 brief cognitive tests.
The Binet-Simon intelligence scale and its modifications (such as the Stanford-Binet
scale) were the most commonly used tests of intelligence in the 1930's (Pintner, 1931),
but the Wechsler-Bellevue intelligence scale, published in 1939 (Wechsler, 1939)
introduced a number of innovations in intelligence testing including a test more suitable
for measuring intelligence in adults rather than children; the inclusion of both verbal
and performance measures of intelligence; and the omission of memory tests
(Boake, 2002).
Cattell's work on intelligence testing

Cattell (1940a) gave a detailed critique of the Binet test and was concerned that
differences in scores on intelligence tests were due to differences in social status,
special abilities distinct from intelligence, or other environmental factors. The problem
that he identified was that tests of intelligence focused on acquired skills and verbal
ability rather than on intelligence per se. Cattell was interested in developing “culture
free” intelligence tests based on non-verbal skills that would define a person's general
intelligence “g” (Spearman, 1904) irrespective of their social status, race, verbal ability
or environmental experience. Cattell thus developed a culture-free test with seven sub-
tests. The tests were designed to be non-verbal and instructions were given using a
series of worked examples rather than verbal instructions.
Cattell et al. (1941) outlined seven variables which influenced intelligence or “general
ability” and then analyzed the effects of environmental variables such as cultural

knowledge and training (practice) on each test. He then compared the scores of
American-born and immigrant children on his culture-free test and three other tests of
intelligence: the Terman-Merrill Revision of the Binet Test, the arithmetic section of the
American Council of Education (A.C.E.) Test, and the Arthur Performance Test. Based
on these studies, Cattell et al. (1941) found that the Arthur test was the most culture-
free, the culture-free test was second, the Terman-Merrill-Binet test was third and the
A.C.E. test fourth, and concluded that culture-free tests should be administered using
people from a wide range of cultures, “primitive and otherwise.”
Gardner Theory of intelligence
GARDENER’S THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE :

Howard Gardner in his book ‘‘Frames of Mind, The Theory of Multiple Intelligence’’
(1983), puts forth a new and different view of human intellctual competencies. He
argues boldly and cogently that we are all born with potential to develop a multiplicity of
Intelligence, most of which have been overlooked in our testing society, and all of
which can be drawn upon to make us competent individuals.
The potential for musical accomplishments, bodily mastery and spatial reasoning, and
the capacities to understand ourselves as well as others are, Gardner argues, ‘‘the
multiple forms of intelligence that we must add to the conventional—and typical
tested—logical and lingustic skills long called I.Q.’’.
The multiple intelligence theory is that people possess eight types of intelligence :
linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, motor ability, interpersonal, intrapersonal and
naturalistic intelligence.
Sternberg’s triarchic theory: Psychologist Robert Sternberg (1985) has constructed a
three—pronged, or triarchic theory of intelligence. The Three types are :
Analytical Intelligence—is what we generally think of as academic ability. It enables us

to solve problems and to acquire new knowledge. Problem—solving skill include
encoding information, combining and comparing pieces of information and generating
a solution.
Creative Intelligence—is defined by the abilities to cope with novel situations and to
profit from experience. The ability to quickly relate novel situations to familiar situations
(that is, to perceive similarities and differences) fosters adaptation.
Moreover, as a result of experience, we also become able to solve problems more
rapidly. Practical Intelligence—or ‘‘street smarts’’, enable people to adapt to the
demands of their environment.
For example, keeping a job by adapting one’s behavior to the employer’s requirements
is adaptive. But if the employer is making unreasonable demands, reshaping the
environment (by changing the employer’s attitudes) or selecting an alternate
enviornment (by finding a more suitable job) is also adaptive.

Stenberg Theory of intelligence

The triarchic theory of intelligence consists of three subtheories:
(i) the componential subtheory which outlines the structures and mechanisms that
underlie intelligent behavior categorized as metacognitive, performance, or knowlege
acquistion components , (ii) the experiential subtheory that proposes intelligent
behavior be interpreted along a continuum of experience from novel to highly familar
tasks/situations,
(iii) the contextual subtheory which specifies that intelligent behavior is defined by the
sociocultural context in which it takes place and involves adaptation to the
environment, selection of better environments, and shaping of the present
environment.
According to Sternberg, a complete explanation of intelligence entails the interaction of
these three subtheories.
The componential subtheory specifies the potential set of mental processes that
underlies behavior (i.e., how the behavior is generated) while the contextual subtheory
relates intelligence to the external world in terms of what behaviors are intelligent and
where. The experiential subtheory addresses the relationship between the behavior in
a given task/situation and the amount of experience of the individual in that
task/situation.
The componential subtheory is the most developed aspect of the triarchic theory and is
based upon Sternberg (1977) which presents an information processing perspective
for abilities. One of the most fundamental components according to Sternberg’s
research are the metacognition or “executive” processes that control the strategies and
tactics used in intelligent behavior.
Application
The triarchic theory is a general theory of human intelligence. Much of Sternberg’s
early research focused on analogies and syllogistic reasoning. Sternberg has used the
theory to explain exceptional intelligence (gifted and retardation) in children and also to
critique existing intelligence tests. Sternberg (1983) outlines the implications of the
theory for skill training. Later work examines topics such as learning styles (Sternberg,
1997) and creativity (Sternberg, 1999).
Example
Sternberg (1985) describes the results of various analogy experiments that support the
triarchic theory. For example, in a study that involved adults and children solving
simple analogies, he found that the youngest children solved the problems differently
and theorized that this was because they had not yet developed the ability to discern
higher order relations. In another study of analogies with children at a Jewish school,
he discovered a systematic bias towards selection of the first two answers on the right

and suggested that this could be accounted for by the right-to-left reading pattern of
Hebrew.
Principles
1. Training of intellectual performance must be socioculturally relevant to the
individual
2. A training program should provide links between the training and real-world
behavior.
3. A training program should provide explicit instruction in strategies for coping with
novel tasks/situations
4. A training program should provide expilicit instruction in both executive and non-
executive information processing and interactions between the two.
5. Training programs should actively encourage individuals to manifest their
differences in strategies and styles.
Origins
Sternberg proposed his theory in 1985 as an alternative to the idea of the general
intelligence factor. The general intelligence factor, also known as g, is what intelligence
tests typically measure. It refers only to “academic intelligence.”
Sternberg argued that practical intelligence—a person’s ability to react and adapt to
the world around them—as well as creativity are equally important when measuring an
individual's overall intelligence. He also argued that intelligence isn’t fixed, but
rather comprises a set of abilities that can be developed. Sternberg's assertions led to
the creation of his theory.
Subtheories
Sternberg broke his theory down into the following three subtheories:
Contextual subtheory: The contextual subtheory says that intelligence is intertwined

with the individual’s environment. Thus, intelligence is based on the way one functions
in their everyday circumstances, including one’s ability to a) adapt to one’s
environment, b) select the best environment for oneself, or c) shape the environment to
better fit one’s needs and desires.
Experiential subtheory: The experiential subtheory proposes that there is a

continuum of experience from novel to automation to which intelligence can be applied.
It’s at the extremes of this continuum that intelligence is best demonstrated. At the
novel end of the spectrum, an individual is confronted with an unfamiliar task or
situation and must come up with a way to deal with it. At the automation end of the
spectrum, one has become familiar with a given task or situation and can now handle it
with minimal thought.

Componential subtheory: The componential theory outlines the various mechanisms

that result in intelligence. According to Sternberg, this subtheory is comprised of three
kinds of mental processes or components:
 Metacomponents enable us to monitor, control, and evaluate our mental
processing, so that we can make decisions, solve problems, and create plans.
 Performance components are what enable us to take action on the plans and
decisions arrived at by the metacomponents.
 Knowledge-acquisition components enable us to learn new information that
will help us carry out our plans.
Kinds of Intelligence
Each subtheory reflects a particular kind of intelligence or ability:
 Practical intelligence: Sternberg called one’s ability to successfully interact with
the everyday world practical intelligence. Practical intelligence is related to the
contextual subtheory. Practically intelligent people are especially adept at
behaving in successful ways in their external environment.
 Creative intelligence: The experiential subtheory is related to creative
intelligence, which is one’s ability to use existing knowledge to create new ways
to handle new problems or cope in new situations.
 Analytical intelligence: The componential subtheory is related to analytical
intelligence, which is essentially academic intelligence. Analytical intelligence is
used to solve problems and is the kind of intelligence that is measured by a
standard IQ test
Sternberg observed that all three kinds of intelligence are necessary for successful
intelligence, which refers to the ability to be successful in life based on one’s abilities,
personal desires, and environment.
Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Theory

With regard to emotional intelligence, Daniel Goldman was not the first to articulate the
concept. However, in the double role of psychologist and journalist, Goleman made the
elements of emotional intelligence accessible to broad segments of society. His best-
selling books — beginning with “Emotional Intelligence”(1995) — have already
changed how some businesses interact with clients and some managers recruit
employees. His impact has been even more profound on education.
Thanks to Goleman, educators now recognize that emotional intelligence is every bit
as important to learning as intellectual prowess or IQ. As a result, tens of thousands of
schools throughout the world currently incorporate “social and emotional learning” in
their curricula. In some schools, courses geared toward developing emotional
intelligence are mandatory.
Goleman’s five components of emotional intelligence

Goleman broadened Mayer’s and Salovey’s four-branch system to incorporate five

essential elements of emotional intelligence — or EQ, the shorthand he sometimes
uses:
 Emotional self-awareness — knowing what one is feeling at any given time and
understanding the impact those moods have on others
 Self-regulation — controlling or redirecting one’s emotions; anticipating
consequences before acting on impulse
 Motivation — utilizing emotional factors to achieve goals, enjoy the learning
process and persevere in the face of obstacles
 Empathy — sensing the emotions of others
 Social skills — managing relationships, inspiring others and inducing desired
responses from them
Applications for educators

There are very practical reasons to promote social and emotional learning in schools,
from kindergarten through college. According to Goleman, bullying, disciplinary
problems, violence and drug abuse are reduced in schools with a high EQ. With a solid
basis in emotional intelligence, academic performance — as well as behavior —
improves. There is an obvious connection to Goleman’s third, motivational component:
learning stimulates curiosity and promotes feelings of satisfaction, even joy, when
students immerse themselves in the process of assimilating new information.
The EQ of children starts developing long before they ever enter a classroom. But EQ
levels will vary widely, depending on each child’s home environment. Thus teachers
must be able to recognize those children whose emotional literacy needs a boost.
Teachers should be ready to talk about feelings in the classroom. The message is that
no emotion is “wrong,” but certain ways of expressing those emotions or acting on
them are indeed inappropriate.
In 2002, UNESCO launched an international campaign to promote emotional learning

in the classroom. The U.N. body sent a statement of 10 basic EQ principles to
education ministries throughout the world. Those principles drew heavily from
Goleman’s exposition of emotional intelligence.
Rating emotional intelligence

PositivePsychology.com has created a guide to help people assess their own levels of
emotional intelligence. Discover exercises ranging from classifying facial expressions,
emotional articulation tools, and communication tasks among other activities. These
are suitable for students and adults alike.
Das, Kar & Parrila Theory
PASS Cognitive Processes Das and his colleagues (Das et al., 1975; Das, Parrila, &
Kirby, 1994) have offered the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive

processing (PASS) theory as an alternative to the conceptualization of intelligence as a

general mental ability. The popular approach to theory of human intelligence that
considers human intellectual functioning as a single unitary quality underlying all
cognitive processes (g) provides ideology for PASS theory of Intelligence. It challenges
g-theory on the grounds that neuropsychological research has consistently
demonstrated that the brain is made up of interdependent, but separate functional
systems. Specifically, the PASS theory is based on the view that intelligence is
composed of multiple inter-dependent cognitive processes.
The PASS theory has evolved through many years of theoretical and empirical work.
Initially proposed and described as an information processing model derived from Luria
(Das, 1973; Das, Kirby, & Jarman, 1975) and then as information-integration model
(Das, Kirby, & Jarman, 1979), later the model was called the PASS model (Naglieri &
Das, 1988, 1990).
Further it was elaborated by Das, Naglieri and Kirby (1994); and Das, Kar and Parrila
(1996) and referred to as PASS theory of intelligence. Das et al. (1994) believed that it
has a strong theoretical foundation, has been sufficiently operationalized and is making
significant contributions to the understanding of exceptionality and predict academic as
well as job performance. This view of intelligence is based on a neuropsychological
work of Luria (1966, 1973) as well as cognitive psychological findings (Hunt &
Lansman, 1986).
According to Luria, human cognitive processing involves three functional systems that
work in concert and whose participation is necessary for any type of mental activity
(1973, p.43). The first functional unit is responsible for regulating cortical tone and
maintenance of attention. The second unit receives, processes and stores information
using simultaneous and successive information coding and the third unit programs,
regulates and directs mental activity. The first functional unit is associated with the
brainstem, diencephalon and medial regions of the hemispheres.
This is the base of human mental processes, because it maintains a proper state of
arousal which allows for the focus of attention. The arousal aspect of the first functional
unit is important because it provides the opportunity for the voluntary action of
attention. Arousal is responsible for cortical tone and wakefulness and also attention
which is more of a complex cognitive activity.
With the prerequisite functioning of these units, the individual can develop plans of
action, inspect performance and regulate behaviour so that it conforms to the plans
and then compare the effects of these actions with the original intention so that
correction of mistakes is possible.
The third functional unit is also responsible for activities such as impulse control,
regulation of voluntary actions and linguistic functions such as spontaneous speech

(Luria, 1980, p. 517). Das (1984) and Arlin (1977) suggested that planning is the
essence of human intelligence, as it involves the aptitude for asking new questions,
solving problems and self-monitoring as well as the application of information coding
processes.
Planning-
This is the ability to make decisions about how to solve problems and perform actions.
It involves setting goals, anticipating consequences and using feedback. Planning also
involves the attentionarousal, simultaneous and successive processing functions and
is associated with the frontal lobes of the brain. Planning processes provide the
individual with the facility to determine and utilize an efficient way to solve a problem
through the application of attention, simultaneous and successive processes in
conjunction with the base of knowledge.
The three main aspects of planning are generation, selection, and execution. If more
than one plan is found, selecting the best one is important and monitoring the
effectiveness of these solutions is always needed.
Attention-Arousal-
This involves the ability to selectively attend to stimuli while ignoring other distractions.
Individuals with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have impairments in this area. The
arousal functions are generally associated with the brain stem and thalamus, whereas
the higher attentional processes are thought to be related to the planning functions of
the frontal lobe.
Simultaneous Processing-
This involves the ability to integrate separate stimuli into a cohesive, interrelated whole.
Simultaneous processing is necessary for language comprehension, as in: “Who is the
person in the following statement: My mother’s father was his only son (Naglieri & Das,
1997)?” The occipital and parietal lobes are thought to be important for these functions.
It also involves the integration of stimuli into groups or the recognition that a number of
stimuli share a common characteristic. Both of these aspects require that all the stimuli
be related to one another. Simultaneous processing may take place with perceived
stimuli, remembered stimuli or the conceptual aspects of stimuli (Naglieri, 1985).
Successive Processing-
This involves the ability to integrate stimuli into a sequential order. An example of this
process is the sequencing of letters and words in reading and writing. This type of
processing is believed to be related to frontal-temporal lobe functioning (Das, 2002).
The critical part of successive processing is that elements must be ordered without
surveyability. In successive processing elements are only linearly related. Successive
coding is needed for skilled movements because such activity requires a series of
movements which follow each other in a strictly defined order without surveyability
(Luria 1966, p. 78).

In the early stages of the skilled movement each successive link exists as a separate
unit and may be taught as a specific step in a larger behaviour. Only when each aspect
becomes automatic can the initial stimulus in the chain become the signal that leads to
the automatic execution of the complete successive action.
Because the PASS processes are interactive, they act in concert to provide specific
functions to virtually all tasks performed in everyday life. However, all the processes
are not equally involved in all the tasks. A close relationship has been described by
Luria (1980), and Stuss, Benson et al. (1986) between planning and attention. It results
from large number of neural connections between the first and third functional units in
the brain.
Level I ability is described as an associative ability in which the correspondence

between stimulus information response output is relatively simple and direct. In
contrast, Level II ability is described as conceptual ability in which the original stimulus
information for learning is transformed and elaborated before the response can be
made. Level I and Level II can be taken as two poles of continuum along which tasks
can be arranged in terms of degree of complexity of cognitive demands. Das’s PASS
model observed that a number of inconsistencies in Level I/II data could be interpreted
with knowledge of types of transformation (e.g.,
simultaneous and successive) rather than amount of information transformation (Level
I and II).
What is Creativity: Torrance, Getzels & Jackson, Guilford, Wallach & Kogan
Relationship between Intelligence and Creativity?
Creativity theory by torrance

The TTCT (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) assess how creatively a child’s
mind works and are often given to children in order to determine advanced placement
or as part of an entrance examination. They are very different from the intelligence and
reasoning tests your child may already have taken. Instead of traditionally taught
subjects such as reading or math, these tests assess creativity. Children are scored on
a number of aspects, including creative titles for pictures, expressions, imagery and
humor.
Therefore, your child hasn’t “learned” the content that will be tested on the Torrance,
since it involves more ambiguous concepts than the ones that are driven home in the
classroom. As the name suggests, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking test, in
large part, how creative and imaginative your child is.
The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) is designed to identify and evaluate
creative potential using two parts – a Verbal test and a Figural test.

 The Verbal test contains seven subtests – Asking, Guessing Causes, Guessing
Consequences, Product Improvement, Unusual Uses, Unusual Questions, and
Just Suppose. Subtests are scored on the basis of fluency, flexibility, and
originality (with a score on elaboration as optional), and these scores are
accumulated across all subtests. The totals may be converted to standard T
scores if normative reference is desired.
 The Figural test has three subsets – Picture Construction (from a marked cue),
Picture Completion (again with cues), and Parallel Lines. The first of these
subtests is scored on originality and elaboration while the remainder are scored
on fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Totals are then accumulated
across subtests to provide overall scores for Figural fluency, flexibility, originality,
and elaboration. These scores, as in the Verbal test, can be converted to a
standard T score.
More Information on the Torrance Test

The tests are game-like to catch children’s interests. The scoring of the tests is by
hand and require careful attention to the manual for reliable results. However,
“streamlined” guides are available and are helpful in developing greater familiarity with
the test and its scoring procedures. Grades K through graduate school.
Many school districts include some kind of creativity testing as part of their assessment
of gifted children. One of the most common tests used to assess creativity in a child or
an adult is the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. The TTCT test is a series of figural
exercises (thinking with pictures) and verbal activities (thinking with words) that
students do to showcase their creative abilities. The full test is a series of individual
exercises that are administered by a psychologist over a 90-minute period. While it
isn’t the perfect creativity test, it has proved to be highly reliable over the years as a
predictor of successful, creative individuals of all ages.
This test is used by both businesses and schools. Often, in a school setting, a few of
the exercises from the TTCT test are chosen to be administered along with other
intelligence or achievement tests. They might choose one figural and one verbal
activity to include in their evaluation if they are looking for children who are both highly
creative and intelligent to be part of their program.
Getzels and Jackson theory of creativity

The study which had a great impact on psychologists in the field of education and
which had set off a boom in research into the area of creativity was the study of 449
high school children in Chicago, published by J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson in
1962. They compared a group of middle-class adolescent pupils who had scored well
on intelligence tests with pupils who scored well on creativity tests designed by
Guilford.

They found that highly creative children were superior in scholastic achievement to
pupils with high I.Q., although the high creatives had 20 I.Q. points lower than the high
I.Q. students - indicating a positive relationship between creativity and academic ability.
The high creatives, although having an average I.Q. 5 points less than their school
population taken as a whole performed better in school achievement. Getzels and
Jackson's (1962) study drew criticisms as to its design and the sampling procedures
employed. But the educational implications of Getzels and Jackson's study were
undeniable. Several research studies replicated the study on other samples. Torrance
(1962), for example, undertook eight replications of this famous study.
Five of these studies were on elementary school students, one at high-school level and
two at graduate level. It was found that six of these studies supported the findings of
Getzels and Jackson that creativity is related to academic achievement.
The two discrepant studies showed that creativity may be dependent on other factors
such as the range of intelligence of the sample studied and the type of school the
students attended.
Yamamoto (1964a) replicated Getzels and Jackson's (1962) study on 272 ninth
through twelfth grade students of the University of Minnesota High School. The
students in each grade were grouped into three groups based on their level of
creativity and intelligence scores. The groups were the high intelligence group
(comprising students in the upper 20% on IQ but not in the upper 20% on creativity
scores), the high creative group (comprising students in the upper 20% on creativity
scores but not in the upper 20% on IQ) and the high intelligent-high creative group
which comprised students in the upper 20% on both the I.Q. and creativity measures.
On analyzing the academic achievement scores of these groups, Yamamoto (1964a)
found no difference in academic achievement between the high creatives and the high
I.Q. groups although there was a mean difference of twenty I.Q. points.
The creatives seem to be able to “compensate” for what they lack in intelligence by
their creative ability to attain similar level of academic achievement. Other researchers
like Ahrens (1962), Jacobson (1966), Lucht (1963), Feldhusen, Treffinger and Elias
(1970) have come out in support of the Getzels and Jackson phenomenon.
Researchers who used the Grade Point Average as a measure of academic
achievement, namely, Taylor (1958), Nuss (1961), Parker (1979), Wilson (1968) and
Cline, Richards and Needham (1963) have also reported results consistent with the
findings of Getzels and Jackson. However, there are studies that did not support the
Getzels and Jackson phenomenon of equivalent achievement of the high creative and
the high I.Q groups. Among the earliest were the discrepant studies reported by
Torrance (1962) based on his replications of the Getzels and Jackson's study.
Many reasons were put forward to explain this. Among them were the lower level of
intelligence among the subjects studied, the different kinds of academic ability

measured and to the presence of an I.Q. threshold in the relationship between

creativity and academic achievement. This study intends to further investigate this
phenomenon using Form Four (US Grade 10) Malaysian students to explore if this
phenomena is prevalent in other cultures.
Procedure Subjects totaling 467 Form Four students were drawn from three secondary
schools in the township of Kuantan, in the state of Pahang in Malaysia. Their average
age was 13.3 years and the students had undergone six years of primary and three
years of secondary school
Discussion
The equivalent academic achievement scores obtained by the HI-LC and LI-HC groups
support the findings reported by Getzels and Jackson (1962), Torrance (1959) and
Yamamoto (1964a). The fact that similar findings are obtained in another culture with a
different education system after a lapse of about 40 years adds to the generalizability
of this phenomenon of positive correlation between creativity and academic
achievement across culture and time. The similarity in achievement scores among the
HI-HC and LI-HC groups further supports the contribution of creativity to academic
achievement.
The fact that students not in the top 20% in IQ are able to achieve just as well as
students in the top 20% in IQ possibly due to their elevated creativity, may be
considered a significant finding in this research. This finding also provides empirical
evidence and support for the advocacy of creativity enhancing curricula and programs
in Malaysia. At very high IQ levels, the strength of the relationship between creativity
and academic achievement appears to diminish.
This finding appears to support the threshold concept in this relationship. It appears
that above an intelligence threshold of about 140, creativity may not enhance
academic achievement. However, this finding appears to contradict Yamamoto’s
(1964b) study which found that above the IQ level of 120, creativity would enhance
academic achievement. It may be concluded that while the intelligence threshold
concept appears to hold true, the nature of the relationship between creativity and
academic achievement both above and below the threshold appears to differ in this
Malaysian sample.
Further research involving different samples and different measures of creativity,
intelligence and academic achievement will throw more light on these relationships and
the concept of intelligence threshold.
Conclusion
This paper provides empirical support for the positive relationship between creativity
and academic achievement and the finding that this relationship appears to differ
across the intelligence continuum.

This relationship appears to be positive until an intelligence threshold of around 140

above which it appears to diminish. Further studies need to be carried out to confirm
the nature of this relationship for other measures academic achievement and across
other cultures to establish the generalizability of this finding.
Theories of Creativity on The Basis of Guilford

Before I am able to explain several of the leading theories of creativity, one must
understand a confusing intricacy surrounding this topic of study. What is different
about the study of creativity is that in other fields of research the newest theory often
replaces the older theories. The newest theory is often deemed as being "more
correct" than the previously held school of thought. However when researching
creativity, one might find that there are a multitude of theories that are seen as
"correct".
The theories themselves each argue that creativity is caused by different factors.
They each argue that the components of creativity are different. Interestingly enough,
they each are correct in their own respect.
Now this may seem a tad confusing, but because creativity is a such a dynamic
concept many theories are only able to define creativity in one particular field or career
at one specific point in time (i.e. creativity among engineers, creativity among artists,
etc.) That being said, it is important to view each model of creativity only as a single
perspective among many perspectives.
Guilford’s Structure of Intellect Model and Model of Creativity
One of the earliest models of creativity was created by a man named J. P. Guilford.
Originally, Guilford was trying to create a model for intellect as a whole, but in doing so
also created a model for creativity. Guilford hypothesized that every mental task was
made up of three separate parts: an operation, a content, and a product. He stated
that there were five types of operations, four types of content, and six types of products
adding to a total of one hundred and twenty different types of possible metal tasks (he
would later expand this number to one hundred and eighty different mental tasks, but
for now let's focus on the original one hundred and twenty.) Of these one hundred and
twenty different mental tasks Guilford identified one specific operation as "divergent
production" and marked it as being a vital component of creativity. This divergent
production coupled with a content and a product created twenty four possibilities that
Guilford labeled collectively as "divergent thinking".
By labeling this group of mental tasks as divergent thinking Guilford made an important
assumption for creative research: creativity isn't one abstract concept. The idea that
creativity is a category rather than one single concept opened up the ability for other
researchers to look at creativity with a whole new perspective.
Additionally, Guilford hypothesized one of the first models for the components of
creativity. He explained that creativity was a result of having:

1. Sensitivity to problems, or the ability to recognize problems.
2.Fluency, which encompasses
-a. Ideational fluency, or the ability rapidly to produce a variety of ideas that fulfill
stated requirements.
-b. Associational fluency, or the ability to generate a list of words, each of which
is associated with a given word.
-c. Expressional fluency, or the ability to organize words into larger units, such
as phrases, sentences, and paragraphs.
3. Flexibility, which encompasses
-a. Spontaneous flexibility, or the ability to demonstrate flexibility.
-b. Adaptive flexibility, or the ability to produce responses that are novel and
high in quality
This represents the base model by which several researchers would take and alter to
produce their new theories of creativity years later. This base theory stated that
creativity was a result of of cognitive ability (intellect) alone. As Guilford was originally
only studying intellect, it is not strange that he categorizes creativity as just a specific
subset of cognitive ability.
After Guilford's initial model, researchers would begin to categorize and re-categorize
mental ability into subsets that would further hypothesize how mental ability was
broken up (as shown in the image to the left). These models would help others
understand and put into place one specific part of creativity that Guilford brought to
light: the intellectual requirement.
Kerrie Unsworth's "Unpacking Creativity"

Moving on from Guilford's model of cognitive ability, Kerrie Unsworth proposed that
there was more than just raw intelligence that influenced the creative process.
Unsworth argues that context was just as important of a factor of creativity as cognitive
ability was. Specifically, Unworth looked two aspects of context: The problem type
and motivation. Unsworth broke down each of these ideas into two categories to better
explain each context affects the creative process.
In differentiating the type of problem, Unsworth separated cases based on whether or

not a given problem was known. Where closed problems are instances when a
problem is clearly defined, open problem must be discovered and searched for. The
first step in dealing with open problems is that one needs to discover what the problem

is before they can fix it.
Regarding motivation, Unsworth differentiated types of motivation based off of what the
source of the driving action was. This means that the motivation could either be
internally or externally driven.
Using the different types of motivation and problems, Unsworth created a matrix
(pictured above) that broke down creativity into four arch-types:
Responsive creativity: Externally driven with a closed problem
type, this type of creativity has the least amount of opportunity for creative input, but is
often seen in occupational and professional scenarios.
Expected creativity: Externally driven with an open problem type, this type of creativity
is most often seen in art and poetry where the problem is self- discovered.
Contributory creativity: Internally driven with a closed problem type, this type of
creativity often deals with volunteer behaviors as the problem is known,
but an individual exercising contributory creativity is doing so on their own will and not
being forced by an extrinsic motivator.
Proactive creativity: Internally driven with a open problem type, this creativity is when
dealing with an uncertain problem that must be found. Often synonymous
with spontaneous creativity as a problem wasn't apparent, but was found and
creatively fixed.
Through this model, Unsworth shed light on the important topic that is context. As she
specifically states, "There are many theories concerning the creative process, yet the
proposition that the process may change depending upon the type of creativity has not
been considered" (Unsworth, 294). This is to say that just as Guilford offered cognitive
ability as a component of creativity, context is another factor that shapes and mold
types of creativity. Additionally, Unsworth made the distinction between innovation and
creativity that I had not seen explained before. She explains that innovation is used in
regards to the implementation of ideas whereas creativity describes only the
generation of ideas.
The Personality Connection
Apart from intelligence and context, there is one other leading theory to explain the
components of creativity: The personality factor. While being closely related to
cognitive ability, personality is another internal factor that affects the creative process.
This theory breaks down how personality effects creativity into two options: Little-C:
Creativity that can be seen in your everyday life, but these are usually small little
opportunities to adapt and change to fit a situation. Big-C: Significant change that
affects how others think, feel, and live their lives.
Depending on what kind of personality one has determines what effect it will have on
the creative process. For example, say that someone has found a new way to dust
shelves. The new method takes half of the normal time of dusting. Now, the little-C

personality might think to themselves that this is a creative way for them to go about
cleaning the house, and it will even save them a solid hour of cleaning each week. On
the other hand, the big-C personality might realize that the implications of this creative
breakthrough. By sharing this news with the world and garnishing support behind this
new method, people everywhere might be saving millions of hours collectively dusting
their shelves. The creative idea is the same in both cases, however one scenario
affects just one individual, while the other situation affected millions of people. The
difference is in the personality.
One of the main ways that personality is measured is through J.M. Digman's Big-5
personality traits or OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion,
Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Digman uses these traits to categorize personality
types into measurable quantities. While it is not clear how each of these individual
traits affect the creative process, the main point is that personality in its entirety has an
influence of the creative process.
Takeaways From the Creative Theories

The evolution of creative theory has brought our understanding of what creativity is
from Guilford's solely cognitive representation in the 1900's to our modern day model
that includes intellect, context (problem type and motivation), and personality each as
factors of influence. Again, I would like to reiterate that each of these models are
correct in and of themselves. Each individual theory is correct not only because the
next theory builds off the previous one, but also because they each help explain the
creative process for different fields. For instance, personality plays less of a role than
cognitive ability in the creative process when trying to find a new way to wield two
pieces of metal together. However when trying to find a new way to creatively get
votes for a politician, personality might have a much larger role than cognitive ability.
Creativity Misconceptions
While I believe that each of these theories have evolved and changed our
fundamental understanding of creativity, some would argue that our overall perceptions
and understanding of creativity has not changed. Some would say that while a few
components of creativity have changed, our overlying view of creativity as a whole has
not changed.
This is a common misconception about creativity. Originally, creativity was thought to

be one individual trait that could be measured in the same way that base intellect and
physical strength are measured. However due to the research in the above theories
and models, the fundamental components of creativity have in fact changed. This
change in the rudimentary parts of the creative process has caused our overarching
view of creativity to switch from viewing it as a personality trait to being a broad
category that better encompasses all types of creativity than a singular model could
ever hope to.

Why So Many Theories?

The main point these theories attempt to display is that creativity is a dynamic concept
with a multitude of sub-types of creativity. Because creativity is as dynamic and
diverse as previously stated, the need for multiple theories to be correct to fit any given
context arises. Now that we understand that there are many different components,
parts, and perspectives on what creativity is, I would like to piece together the core
arguments in each of these theories to define creativity, not as an single entity, but as
an broad category.
Wallach kogan creativity test

In Wallach and Kogan’s assessment of creativity, examinees are asked to come up
with many possible items that are in a general group.
For example: Name things with wheels.
Responses could be:
 a car
 a bicycle
 a lorry
 a train
 a go-cart
 a skateboard
 a scooter
 your mind
This test is scored using four components:
1. Fluency
The number of responses is calculated. In the above example, the score would be 8.
2. Flexibility
The number of different categories is calculated. The above example would score 2;
the first seven are all methods of transportation but “wheel turning in your mind” is a
different category, e.g. a metaphor.
3. Originality
Each response is compared to the total amount of responses from all of the people
given the test.
Responses that were given by only 5% of the group are unusual (1 point).
Responses that were given by only 1% of the group are unique (2 points). Higher total
scores indicate an aptitude for original thinking.
4. Elaboration
The amount of detail is assessed. For example, “a scooter” = 0, whereas “an electric
scooter racing down the pavement” = 1
An additional point would be given if the examinee noted where the scooter car was
going.
In terms of administration, Wallach and Kogan’s test can be done by anyone and there
is no special training needed. Typically the test is administered in a classroom setting.
Here are some more examples:

1. Name all the round things you can think of.

2. Name all the things you can think of that will make a noise.
3. Name all the square things you can think of.
4. Name all the things you can think of that move on wheels.
One of my favourite tests is focuses on similarities where children have to think of as
many possible similarities between two objects.
Examples:
1. Tell me all the ways in which an apple and orange are alike.
2. Tell me all the ways in which a cat and mouse are alike.
3. Tell me all the ways in which milk and meat are alike.
4. Tell me all the ways in which a radio and a telephone are alike.
Example answers for apple and orange: both round, sweet, have seeds, are fruit, grow
on trees, have skins, etc.
This has developed into an active assessment strategy called ‘reasoning by analogy’
which commonly uses a graphic organiser to identify similarities between objects or
events, such as structural or functional similarities. They are used to illustrate some
sort of relationship between things being compared.
In the book Start Thinking by Marcelo Staricoff and Alan Rees, they provide an
example of reasoning by analogy that also asks students to consider differences.
What are the similarities and differences between blood and tomato ketchup?
Similarities include: both a red, both have sugar in them, both are used by people etc
Differences include: blood is thinner, blood is darker, ketchup is made in a factory, etc
Relationship between Intelligence and Creativity

Intelligence is a complex characteristic of cognition. Many theories have been
developed to explain what intelligence is and how it works. There’s Sternberg’s
triarchic theory of intelligence that focuses on analytical, creative, and practical
intelligence, but there is also Gardner’s theory which holds that intelligence is
comprised of many factors. Still other theories focus on the importance of emotional
intelligence.
Classifying Intelligence
What exactly is intelligence? The way that researchers have defined the concept of
intelligence has been modified many times since the birth of psychology. British
psychologist Charles Spearman believed intelligence consisted of one general factor,
called g, which could be measured and compared among individuals. Spearman
focused on the commonalities among various intellectual abilities and de-emphasized
what made each unique. Long before modern psychology developed, however, ancient
philosophers, such as Aristotle, held a similar view (Cianciolo & Sternberg, 2004).
Others psychologists believe that instead of a single factor, intelligence is a collection

of distinct abilities. In the 1940s, Raymond Cattell proposed a theory of intelligence that
divided general intelligence into two components: crystallized intelligence and fluid
intelligence (Cattell, 1963). Crystallized intelligence is characterized as acquired

knowledge and the ability to retrieve it. When you learn, remember, and recall
information, you are using crystallized intelligence. You use crystallized intelligence all
the time in your coursework by demonstrating that you have mastered the information
covered in the course. Fluid intelligence encompasses the ability to see complex
relationships and solve problems. Navigating your way home after being detoured onto
an unfamiliar route because of road construction would draw upon your fluid
intelligence. Fluid intelligence helps you tackle complex, abstract challenges in your
daily life, whereas crystallized intelligence helps you overcome concrete,
straightforward problems (Cattell, 1963).
Other theorists and psychologists believe that intelligence should be defined in more
practical terms. For example, what types of behaviors help you get ahead in life?
Which skills promote success? Think about this for a moment. Being able to recite all
44 presidents of the United States in order is an excellent party trick, but will knowing
this make you a better person?
Robert Sternberg developed another theory of intelligence, which he titled the triarchic
theory of intelligence because it sees intelligence as comprised of three parts
(Sternberg, 1988): practical, creative, and analytical intelligence (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Sternberg’s theory identifies three types of intelligence: practical, creative,

and analytical.
Practical intelligence, as proposed by Sternberg, is sometimes compared to “street

smarts.” Being practical means you find solutions that work in your everyday life by
applying knowledge based on your experiences. This type of intelligence appears to be
separate from traditional understanding of IQ; individuals who score high in practical

intelligence may or may not have comparable scores in creative and analytical
intelligence (Sternberg, 1988).
This story about the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings illustrates both high and low
practical intelligences. During the incident, one student left her class to go get a soda
in an adjacent building.
She planned to return to class, but when she returned to her building after getting her
soda, she saw that the door she used to leave was now chained shut from the inside.
Instead of thinking about why there was a chain around the door handles, she went to
her class’s window and crawled back into the room. She thus potentially exposed
herself to the gunman. Thankfully, she was not shot.
On the other hand, a pair of students was walking on campus when they heard
gunshots nearby. One friend said, “Let’s go check it out and see what is going on.” The
other student said, “No way, we need to run away from the gunshots.” They did just
that. As a result, both avoided harm.
The student who crawled through the window demonstrated some creative intelligence
but did not use common sense. She would have low practical intelligence. The student
who encouraged his friend to run away from the sound of gunshots would have much
higher practical intelligence.
Analytical intelligence is closely aligned with academic problem solving and

computations. Sternberg says that analytical intelligence is demonstrated by an ability
to analyze, evaluate, judge, compare, and contrast. When reading a classic novel for
literature class, for example, it is usually necessary to compare the motives of the main
characters of the book or analyze the historical context of the story.
In a science course such as anatomy, you must study the processes by which the
body uses various minerals in different human systems. In developing an
understanding of this topic, you are using analytical intelligence. When solving a
challenging math problem, you would apply analytical intelligence to analyze different
aspects of the problem and then solve it section by section.
Multiple Intelligences Theory was developed by Howard Gardner, a Harvard

psychologist and former student of Erik Erikson. Gardner’s theory, which has been
refined for more than 30 years, is a more recent development among theories of
intelligence. In Gardner’s theory, each person possesses at least eight intelligences.
Among these eight intelligences, a person typically excels in some and falters in others
(Gardner, 1983). The following table describes each type of intelligence.
Intelligence Characteristics Representative
Type Career
Linguistic Perceives different functions of language, Journalist, novelist,
intelligence different poet, teacher
sounds and meanings of words, may

easily learn
multiple languages
Logical- Capable of seeing numerical patterns, Scientist,

mathematical strong ability to mathematician
intelligence use reason and logic
Musical Understands and appreciates rhythm, Composer, performer
intelligence pitch, and tone;
may play multiple instruments or perform
as a vocalist
Bodily High ability to control the movements of Dancer, athlete,
kinesthetic the body athletic coach, yoga
intelligence and use the body to perform various instructor
physical tasks
Spatial Ability to perceive the relationship Choreographer,
intelligence between objects and sculptor, architect,
how they move in space aviator, sailor
Interpersonal Ability to understand and be sensitive to Counselor, social
intelligence the various worker, salesperson
emotional states of others
Intrapersonal Ability to access personal feelings and Key component of
intelligence motivations, personal success over
and use them to direct behavior and reach time
personal goals
Naturalist High capacity to appreciate the natural Biologist, ecologist,
intelligence world and interact environmentalist
with the species within it
Multiple Intelligences
Gardner’s theory is relatively new and needs additional research to better establish
empirical support. At the same time, his ideas challenge the traditional idea of
intelligence to include a wider variety of abilities, although it has been suggested that
Gardner simply relabeled what other theorists called “cognitive styles” as “intelligences”
(Morgan, 1996). Furthermore, developing traditional measures of Gardner’s
intelligences is extremely difficult (Furnham, 2009; Gardner & Moran, 2006; Klein,
1997).
Gardner’s inter- and intrapersonal intelligences are often combined into a single type:
emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence encompasses the ability to understand
the emotions of yourself and others, show empathy, understand social relationships
and cues, and regulate your own emotions and respond in culturally appropriate ways
(Parker, Saklofske, & Stough, 2009). People with high emotional intelligence typically
have well-developed social skills. Some researchers, including Daniel Goleman, the
author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, argue that emotional

intelligence is a better predictor of success than traditional intelligence (Goleman,

1995). However, emotional intelligence has been widely debated, with researchers
pointing out inconsistencies in how it is defined and described, as well as questioning
results of studies on a subject that is difficulty to measure and study emperically
(Locke, 2005; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004)
Intelligence can also have different meanings and values in different cultures. If you
live on a small island, where most people get their food by fishing from boats, it would
be important to know how to fish and how to repair a boat. If you were an exceptional
angler, your peers would probably consider you intelligent. If you were also skilled at
repairing boats, your intelligence might be known across the whole island. Think about
your own family’s culture. What values are important for Latino families? Italian
families? In Irish families, hospitality and telling an entertaining story are marks of the
culture. If you are a skilled storyteller, other members of Irish culture are likely to
consider you intelligent.
Some cultures place a high value on working together as a collective. In these cultures,
the importance of the group supersedes the importance of individual achievement.
When you visit such a culture, how well you relate to the values of that culture
exemplifies your cultural intelligence, sometimes referred to as cultural competence.
Creativity happens when someone comes up with a creative idea. An example would
be a creative solution to a difficult problem. But what makes an idea or solution
creative? Creativity is the ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions,
and possibilities. Very creative people often have intense knowledge about something,
work on it for years, look at novel solutions, seek out the advice and help of other
experts, and take risks. Although creativity is often associated with the arts, it is
actually a vital form of intelligence that drives people in many disciplines to discover
something new. Creativity can be found in every area of life, from the way you
decorate your residence to a new way of understanding how a cell works.
Although psychologists have offered several definitions of creativity (Plucker, Beghetto,

& Dow, 2004; Runco & Jaeger, 2012), probably the best definition is the one recently
adapted from the three criteria that the U.S. Patent Office uses to decide whether an
invention can receive patent protection (Simonton, 2012).
The first criterion is originality. The idea must have a low probability. Indeed, it often
should be unique. Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity certainly satisfied this
criterion. No other scientist came up with the idea.
The second criterion is usefulness. The idea should be valuable or work. For example,
a solution must, in fact, solve the problem. An original recipe that produces a dish that
tastes too terrible to eat cannot be creative. In the case of Einstein’s theory, his

relativity principle provided explanations for what otherwise would be inexplicable

empirical results.
The third and last criterion is surprise. The idea should be surprising, or at least
nonobvious (to use the term used by the Patent Office).
For instance, a solution that is a straightforward derivation from acquired expertise

cannot be considered surprising even if it were original. Einstein’s relativity theory was
not a step-by-step deduction from classical physics but rather the theory was built upon
a new foundation that challenged the very basis of traditional physics.When applying
these three criteria, it is critical to recognize that originality, usefulness, and surprise
are all quantitative rather than qualitative attributes of an idea. Specifically, we really
have to speak of degree to which an idea satisfies each of the three criteria. In
addition, the three attributes should have a zero point, that is, it should be possible to
speak of an idea lacking any originality, usefulness, or surprise whatsoever.
Finally, we have to assume that if an idea scores zero on any one criterion then it must
have zero creativity as well. For example, someone who reinvents the wheel is
definitely producing a useful idea, but the idea has zero originality and hence no
creativity whatsoever. Similarly, someone who invented a parachute made entirely out
of steel reinforced concrete would get lots of credit for originality—and surprise!—but
none for usefulness.

UNIT-6 THINKING,INTELLIGENCE
AND CREATIVITY MCQS
DIWAKAR
EDUCATION
HUB
(The Learn With Expertise)
DIWAKAR EDUCATION HUB

UNIT-6 THINKING,INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY MCQS
1. The fundamental purpose for the Answer: (4)

existence of any organization is described
by its 5. Which of the following is an issue
(1) policies considered in developing corporate
(2) mission strategies?
(3) procedures (1) What business(es) are we in?
(4) strategy (2) What direction are we going?
Answer: (2) (3) What resources do we have to
implement our strategies?
2. The fundamental purpose of an (4) What businesses are we in and what to
organization’s mission statement is to do with those businesses?
(1) create a good human relations climate Answer: (3)
in the organization
(2) define the organization’s purpose in 6. Which of the following is NOT a major
society element of the strategic management
(3) define the operational structure of the process?
organization (1) Formulating strategy
(4) generate good public relations for the (2) Implementing strategy
organization (3) Evaluating strategy
Answer: (2) (3) Assigning administrative tasks
Answer: (4)
3. The acronym SWOT stands for
(1) Special Weapons for Operations 7. Competitive advantage can best be
Timeliness described as:
(2) Services, Worldwide Optimization, and (1) increased efficiency.
Transport (2) what sets an organization apart.
(3) Strengths Worldwide Overcome (3) a strength of the organization.
Threats (4) intangible resources.
(4) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Answer: (1)
and Threats
Answer: (4) 8. ________________ is the foundation of
blue ocean strategy.
4. Which of the following is not a (1) Innovation
characteristic of strategic management (2) Value creation
that makes it different from other types of (3) Value innovation
management? (4) value cost trade-off
(1) It is interdisciplinary. Answer: (3)
(2) It has an external focus.
(3) It has an internal focus. 9. The various organizational routines and
(4) It concerns the present direction of the processes that determine how efficiently
organization.

and effectively the organization transforms 13. Which of the following is not an
its inputs into outputs are called: advantage of strategic management?
(1) strengths. (1) It provides organisations with a clearer
(2) core competencies. sense of direction and purpose
(3) capabilities. (2) It helps improve the political,
(4) customer value. economic, social and technological
Answer: (2) environment of the organisation
(3) It helps orientate management
10. When defining strategic management decisions to relevant environmental
the most important thing to remember is conditions
that it is: (4) It helps organisations be proactive
(1) Not as easy as you think rather than reactive
(2) Mainly the province of senior managers Answer: (2)
(3) A living evolving process
(4) More conceptual than practical 14. Which of the following defines what
(5) A way of determining responsibilities business or businesses the firm is in or
Answer: (3) should be in?
(1) Business strategy
11. An organisation’s strategy: (2) Corporate strategy
(1) remains set in place longer than the (3) Functional strategy
mission and objectives (4) National strategy
(2) generally forms over a period of time as Answer: (2)
events unfold
(3) tends to be formed at the same time 15. Which of the following defines how
the mission is developed and objectives each individual business unit will attempt
are formulated to achieve its mission?
(4) is usually conceived at a single time (1) Business strategy
when managers sit down and work out a (2) Corporate strategy
comprehensive strategic plan for the next (3) Functional strategy
3-5 years (4) National strategy
Answer: (2) Answer: (1)
12. The primary focus of strategic 16. Which of the following focuses on
management is: supporting the corporate and business
(1) strategic analysis strategies?
(2) the total organisation (1) Competitive strategy
(3) strategy formulation (2) Corporate strategy
(4) strategy implementation. (3) Operational strategy
Answer: (2) (4) National strategy
(5) Mission strategy
Answer: (3)

(3) overall strategy for the entire

17. Which one of the following is not a organization
primary task of strategic managers? (4) overall sales projections
(1) Establishing strategic objectives Answer: (3)
(2) Developing the steps to follow in
implementing operational level plans 21. The three organizational levels are:
(3) Defining the business and developing a (1) corporate level, business level,
mission functional level
(4) Developing a strategy (2) corporate level, business unit level,
(5) Implementing and evaluating the functional level
chosen strategy (3) corporate strategy level, business unit
Answer: (2) level, functional level
(4) corporate strategy level, business level,
18. The task of strategy choice involves: specialist level
(1) developing plans and activities which Answer: (1)
will improve the organisation’s
performance and competitive position 22. Which of the following is an example of
(2) determining how the organisation can competing on quick response?
be more market and efficiency oriented (1) a firm produces its product with less
(3) monitoring whether the organisation is raw material waste than its competitors
achieving good financial performance (2) a firm offers more reliable products
(4) keeping the organisation free of debt than its competitors
Answer: (1) (3) a firm’s products are introduced into
the market faster than its competitors’
19. Which one of the following is at the (4) a firm’s research and development
core of strategic management? department generates many ideas for new
(1) Choosing which organisational products
objectives to focus on Answer: (3)
(2) Being alert for opportunities to change
work responsibilities 23. Which one of the following is NOT
(3) Adapting the organisation to a changing included in the Porter’s Five Forces model:
external environment (1) Potential development of substitute
(4) Choosing whether to make decisions products
autocratically or on the basis of (2) Bargaining power of suppliers
participation (3) Rivalry among stockholders
Answer: (3) (4) Rivalry among competing firms
Answer: (3)
20. The corporate level is where top
management directs: 24. What is meant by the term
(1) all employees for orientation ‘Stakeholder’?
(2) its efforts to stabilize recruitment needs

(1) A person who is not related with a investors through effective use of the
business. organization’s resources.
(2) A person who is related with a (4) the full set of commitments, decisions,
business. and actions required for the firm to
(3) A person who owns a business. achieve above-average returns and
(4) A person who purchases the shares of a strategic competitiveness..
business. Answer: (4)
Answer: (2)
27. The goal of the
25. Of the following, which one would NOT organization’s__________ is to capture the
be considered one of the components of a hearts and minds of employees, challenge
mission statement? them, and evoke their emotions and
(1) The target market for XYZ is oil and gas dreams.
producers as well as producers of (1) vision
chemicals. (2) mission
(2) XYZ shall hire only those individuals (3) culture
who have with sufficient educational levels (4) strategy
so as to be of benefit to our customers Answer: (1)
(3) The customers of XYZ shall include
global and local consumers of gas and oil 28. A firm’s mission
products and domestic users of nontoxic (S) is a statement of a firm’s business in
chemicals which it intends to compete and the
(4) The technologies utilized by XYZ shall customers which it intends to serve.
focus upon development of alternative (2) is an internally-focused affirmation of
sources of gas and oil so as to remain the organization’s financial, social, and
competitive within the industry ethical goals.
Answer: (2) (3) is mainly intended to emotionally
inspire employees and other stakeholders.
26. The strategic management process is (4) is developed by a firm before the firm
(1) a set of activities that will assure a develops its vision.
temporary advantage and average returns Answer: (1)
for the firm.
(2) a decision-making activity concerned 29. The environmental segments that
with a firm’s internal resources, comprise the general environment
capabilities, and competencies, typically will NOT include
independent of the conditions in its (1) demographic factors.
external environment. (2) sociocultural factors.
(3) a process directed by top-management (3) substitute products or services.
with input from other stakeholders that (4) technological factors.
seeks to achieve above-average returns for Answer: (3)

30. An analysis of the economic segment of 34. New entrants to an industry are more
the external environment would include all likely when (i.e., entry barriers are low
of the following EXCEPT when…)
(1) interest rates. (1) it is difficult to gain access to
(2) international trade. distribution channels.
(3) the strength of the U.S. dollar. (2) economies of scale in the industry are
(4) the move toward a contingent high.
workforce. (3) product differentiation in the industry
Answer: (4) is low.
(4) capital requirements in the industry are
31. Product differentiation refers to the: high.
(1) ability of the buyers of a product to Answer: (3)
negotiate a lower price.
(2) response of incumbent firms to new 35. Suppliers are powerful when:
entrants. (1) satisfactory substitutes are available.
(3) belief by customers that a product is (2) they sell a commodity product.
unique. (3) they offer a credible threat of forward
(4) fact that as more of a product is integration.
produced the cheaper it becomes per unit. (4) they are in a highly fragmented
Answer: (3) industry.
Answer: (3)
32. Which of the following is NOT an entry
barrier to an industry? 36. The highest amount a firm can charge
(1) expected competitor retaliation for its products is most directly affected by
(2) economies of scale (1) expected retaliation from competitors.
(3) customer product loyalty (2) the cost of substitute products.
(4) bargaining power of suppliers (3) variable costs of production.
Answer: (4) (4) customers’ high switching costs.
Answer: (2)
33. Switching costs refer to the:
(1) cost to a producer to exchange 37. All of the following are forces that
equipment in a facility when new create high rivalry within an industry
technologies emerge. EXCEPT
(2) cost of changing the firm’s strategic (1) numerous or equally balanced
group. competitors.
(3) one-time costs suppliers incur when (2) high fixed costs.
selling to a different customer. (3) fast industry growth.
(4) one-time costs customers incur when (4) high storage costs.
buying from a different supplier. Answer: (3)
Answer: (4)

38. According to the five factors model, an 42. In the airline industry, frequent-flyer
attractive industry would have all of the programs, ticket kiosks, and e-ticketing are
following characteristics EXCEPT: all examples of capabilities that are
(1) low barriers to entry. (1) rare.
(2) suppliers with low bargaining power. (2) causally ambiguous.
(3) a moderate degree of rivalry among (3) socially complex.
competitors. (4) valuable.
(4) few good product substitutes. Answer: (4)
Answer: (1)
43. Firms with few competitive resources
39. Internal analysis enables a firm to are more likely
determine what the firm (1) to not respond to competitive actions.
(1) can do. (2) respond quickly to competitive actions.
(2) should do. (3) delay responding to competitive
(3) will do. actions.
(4) might do. (4) respond to strategic actions, but not to
Answer: (1) tactical actions.
Answer: (3)
40. An external analysis enables a firm to
determine what the firm 44. Competitors are more likely to respond
(1) can do. to competitive actions that are taken by
(2) should do. (1) differentiators.
(3) will do. (2) larger companies.
(4) might do. (3) first movers.
Answer: (4) (4) market leaders.
Answer: (4)
41. ________ is/are the source of a
firm’s________, which is/are the source of 45. What can be defined as the art and
the firm’s ________. science of formulating, implementing and
(1) Resources, capabilities, core evaluating cross-functional decisions that
competencies enable an organization to achieve its
(2) Capabilities, resources, core objectives?
competencies (1) Strategy formulation
(3) Capabilities, resources, above average (2) Strategy evaluation
returns (3) Strategy implementation
(4) Core competencies, resources, (4) Strategic management
competitive advantage (5) Strategic leading
46. Which of the following is not a cultural

product?

(1) Rites
(2) Emotions 51. According to Greenley, strategic
(3) Rituals management offers all of these benefits
(4) Sagas except that
(5) Symbols (1) it provides an objective view of
Answer: (2) management problems.
(2) it creates a framework for internal
47. Which individuals are most responsible communication among personnel.
for the success and failure of an (3) it encourages a favorable attitude
organization? toward change.
(1) Strategists (4) it maximizes the effects of adverse
(2) Financial planners conditions and changes.
(3) Personnel directors (5) it gives a degree of discipline and
(4) Stakeholders formality to the management of a
(5) Human resource managers business.
48. Which of the following is an element of 52. The vision and mission statement can
a firm’s remote external environment? often be found
(1) Competition (1) in the SEC report.
(2) Political agencies (2) in annual reports.
(3) Suppliers (3) on customer receipts.
(4) Trade union (4) on supplier invoices.
Answer: (2) (5) on community news bulletins
Answer: (2)
49. Long-term objectives should be all of
the following except: 53. Which group would be classified as a
(1) measurable. stakeholder?
(2) continually changing. (1) Communities
(3) reasonable. (2) Banks
(4) challenging. (3) Suppliers
(5) consistent. (4) Employees
Answer: (2) (5) All of these
Ans. E
50. What are guides to decision making?
(1) laws 54. The process of performing an external
(2) rules audit needs to include:
(3) policies (1) only top level managers, as it’s a
(4) procedures planning function.
(5) goals (2) as many managers and employees as
Answer: (3) possible.

(3) primarily front-line supervisors (3) Operating environment

(4) between 15 to 20 managers for it to be (4) Societal environment
valid Answer: (4)
(5) stockholders and external government
agencies 59. Strategic management involves
Answer: (2) the_______, directing, _______ and
controlling of a company’s strategy-related
55. Which of the following is not a stage of decisions and actions.
strategy formulation techniques? (1) Financing; marketing
(1) Formulation Framework (2) Planning; financing
(2) Matching stage (3) Planning; organizing
(3) External factor evaluation (4) Marketing; planning
(4) Decision stage Answer: (3)
Answer: (2)
60. A strategy is a company’s
56. ST Strategies is an important strategy (1) Value statement
to (2) Pricing policy
(1) Match weakness with opportunities of (3) Game Plan to outsmart competitor
the firm (4) Long-term objective
(2) Overcome external threats Answer: (3)
(3) Obtain benefit from its resources
(4) Overcome its weakness and reducing 61. Strategy-formulation concepts and
threats tools
Answer: (2) (1) Do not differ greatly for different size
and type of organizations
57. The immediate external environment (2) Differ greatly for different size and type
includes: of organizations
(1) Divisions (3) Do not differ greatly for profit or
(2) S. B. U. s nonprofit organizations but differ in small
(3) Competitors and large organizations
(4) Management (4) None of the mentioned options
58. The________ comprises economic and 62. Annual objectives

social conditions, political priorities and (1) Are not critical to success
technological developments, all of which (2) Serve as guidelines for action, directing
must be anticipated, monitored, assessed and channeling efforts and activities of
and incorporated into the executive’s organization members
decision making. (3) Are not important for employee
(1) Internal environment motivation and identification
(2) Task environment

(4) Do not provide a basis for 67. Strategic issues require which level of
organizational design management decisions?
Answer: (2) (1) Operative
(2) Top
63. Annual objectives (3) Front-line
(1) Need not to be consistent (4) Middle
(2) Should be easily achievable Answer: (2)
(3) Should be measurable
(4) Should be confidential and not to be 68. Which of these basic questions should
communicated throughout the a vision statement answer?
organization (1) What is our business?
Answer: (3) (2) Who are our employees?
(3) Why do we exist?
64. Which of the following resources is (4) What do we want to become?
used by all organizations to achieve Answer: (4)
desired objectives?
(1) Financial resources, 69.________ is not part of an external
(2) Physical resources, audit.
(3) Human resources (1) Analyzing competitors
(4) All of the mentioned options (2) Analyzing financial ratios
Answer: (4) (3) Analyzing available technologies
(4) Studying the political environment
65. Strategic management is Answer: (2)
(1) A pure science.
(2) Based mainly on intuition. 70. Strategic management process activate
(3) Needed mainly when organizational in the sequence of_______
performance falls. (1) Environmental scanning, Strategy
(4) Based on the use of quantitative and formulation, Implementation, control and
qualitative information. evaluation
Answer: (4) (2) Strategy formulation, Environmental
scanning, Implementation, control and
66. Large-scale, future-oriented plans, for evaluation
interacting with the competitive (3) Environmental scanning, Strategy
environment to achieve company Implementation, formulation, control and
objectives refers to its evaluation
(1) Strategy (4) Strategy formulation, Implementation,
(2) Goals control, evaluation, Environmental
(3) Competitive analysis scanning
(4) Dynamic policies Answer: (1)
Answer: (1)

71. KAPKAL Power’s interested to achieve 75. Strategic-management audit is known

a 10 percent return on equity (ROE) in their as:
core electric utility, 14 percent ROE on (1) Environmental scanning
water resource operations, and 15 percent (2) Strategy formulation
ROE on support businesses. It is (3) Strategy control
_____________ (4) Strategy evaluation
(1) Mission Answer: (1)
(2) Strategy
(3) Objective 76. Forecasting tools can be broadly
(4) Policy categorized into two groups. Those are:
Answer: (3) (1) Qualitative, Operational
(2) Quantitative, Operational
72. “A possible and desirable future state (3) Qualitative, Quantitative
of an organization” is called: (4) Regression and time series analysis
(1) Mission Answer: (3)
(2) Vision
(3) Strategy implementation 77.____________ identifies a firm’s major
(4) None of above competitors and their particular strengths
Answer: (2) and weaknesses in relation to a sample
firm’s strategic position.
73. Strategic decisions are based on what (1) Competitive Profile Matrix
managers_____________, rather than on (2) External Factor Evaluation matrix
what they__________. (3) Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix
(1) Know; forecast (4) Boston consulting group matrix
(2) React to; anticipate Answer: (1)
(3) Forecast; know
(4) Compromise with; analyze 78. Organizing means an identifiable group
Answer: (3) of people contributing their efforts
towards the attainment of same goal. It is
74. “To improve economic strength of important at the time of:
society and function as a good corporate (1) Environmental scanning
citizen on a local, state, and national basis (2) Strategy formulation
in all countries in which we do business”. (3) Strategy Implementation
This is a mission statement that contains: (4) Strategy evaluation
(1) Self-concept Answer: (3)
(2) Economic concern
(3) Products or Services 79. In a turbulent and competitive free
(4) Concern for Public Image enterprise environment, a firm will
Answer: (4) succeed only if it takes a(n) _____________
stance towards change.
(1) Reactive

(2) Proactive (2) political

(3) Anti-regulatory or anti-government (3) technological
(4) Vision and not mission (4) competitive
Answer: (2) (5) Multinational
Answer: (2)
80. Which statement best describes
intuition? 84.________ is not part of an external
(1) It represents the marginal factor in audit.
decision-making. (1) Analyzing competitors
(2) It represents a minor factor in decision- (2) Analyzing financial ratios
making integrated with analysis. q. Analyzing available technologies
(3) It should be coupled with analysis in (4) Studying the political environment
decision-making. (5) Analyzing social, cultural, demographic
(4) It is better than analysis in decision- and geographic forces
making. Answer: (2)
(5) It is management by ignorance.
Answer: (3) 85. Which individuals are most responsible
for the success and failure of an
81. What are the means by which long- organization?
term objectives will be achieved? (1) Strategists
(1) Strategies. (2) Financial planners
(2) Strengths. (3) Personnel directors
(3) Weaknesses. (4) Stakeholders
(4) Policies. (5) Human resource managers
(5) Opportunities. Answer: (1)
Answer: (1)
86. Long-term objectives should be all of
82. Which of these basic questions should the following except:
a vision statement answer? (1) Measurable.
(1) What is our business? (2) Continually changing.
(2) Who are our employees? (3) Reasonable.
(3) Why do we exist? (4) Challenging.
(4) What do we want to become? (5) Consistent.
(5) Who are our competitors? Answer: (2)
Answer: (4)
87. What are guides to decision making?
83. When an industry relies heavily on (1) laws
government contracts, which forecasts can (2) rules
be the most important part of an external (3) policies
audit. (4) procedures
(1) economic (5) goals

Answer: (3) (2) Strategy formulation and evaluation

(3) Strategy implementation and
88. Which group would be classified as a evaluation
stakeholder? (4) Strategy formulation, implementation
(1) Communities and evaluation
(2) Banks Answer: (1)
(3) Suppliers
(4) Employees 93. Strategic decisions ostensibly commit
(5) All of the given options the firm for
Answer: (5) (1) 1 -2 years
(2) The short term
89. Typically how many strategic decision (3) one years
levels are in the corporate decision-making (4) A long time, typically five years
hierarchy? Answer: (4)
(1) 3
(2) 4 94. Social responsibility is a critical
(3) could be more than 5 consideration for a company’s strategic
(4) 2 decision makers since
Answer: (1) (1) Stockholders demand it
(2) The mission statement must express
90. Which type of trend can be exemplified how the company intends to contribute to
by the increasing numbers of two- income the societies that sustain it
households in a society? (3) It increases a company’s profits
(1) Social (4) It helps make decisions
(2) Economic Answer: (2)
(3) Cultural
(4) Technological 95. “The perfect search engine would
Answer: (2) understand exactly what you mean and
give back exactly what you want”, this
91. External assessment is performed in statement is included in the mission
which of the strategic management phase? statement of an online firm and is showing
(1) Strategy formulation stage which one of the following components?
(2) Strategy implementation stage (1) Self-concept
(3) Strategy evaluation stage (2) Concern for public image
(4) All of the given options (3) A declaration of attitude
Answer: (1) (4) Philosophy
Answer: (2)
92. Political variables have a significant
effect on 96. Which of the following are signs of
(1) Strategy formulation and weakness in a company’s competitive
implementation position?

(1) A return-on-equity is below 25% and (4) Evaluate effectiveness of the strategy
earnings per share of less than Rs. 2.00 implementation process.
(2) A price set by the firm higher than its Answer: (1)
rivals
(3) A declining market share, poor product 100. Strategy evaluation at
quality and few sales in market the_____________ level involves using
(4) Lower revenues and profit margin and specific performance measures-qualitative
narrow product line than the market and quantitative-for each functional area.
leader (1) organizational
Answer: (3) (2) operational
(3) functional
97. It directs at developing new products (4) production
before competitors do at improving Answer: (3)
product quality or at improving
manufacturing processes to reduce costs. 101. According to Flavell (1977),
(1) Marketing perception, thinking and reasoning about
(2) Opportunity analysis humans and human affairs is known as:
(3) Research and development (1) Social Cognition
(4) Management (2) Social Perception
Answer: (3) (3) Conceptualization
(4) Socialization
98. “Identifying and evaluating key social, Answer: (1)
political, economic, technological and
competitive trends and events”. Which of 102. When children recognize that each
the followings best describes this individual is aware of other people’s
statement? thoughts and feelings, it is called:
(1) Developing an effective mission (1) Self-reflection
statement (2) Mutual role taking
(2) Conducting an internal audit (3) Social information role taking
(3) Performing an external audit (4) Social and conventional system role
(4) Formulating strategy taking
99. What is the central purpose of strategic 103. The shared emotional responses
evaluation? which the child experiences on perceiving
(1) Evaluate effectiveness of strategy to other’s emotional reactions is known as:
achieve organisational objectives. (1) Empathy
(2) Evaluate effectiveness of control (2) Epathy
system to measure achievements. (3) Mood
(3) Evaluate effectiveness of strategies to (4) Emotional Trauma
be implemented efficiently. Answer: (1)

(1) L(2) Watson

104. “Mutual Role Taking Stage” is found (2) (5) (2) Titchener
among children: (3) Sigmund Freud
(1) Between the ages 10 and 12 (4) Kohlberg
(2) Between the ages 18 and 24 Answer: (4)
(3) Between the ages 6 and 8
(4) between the ages 2 and 6 109. Moral Development is related to and
Answer: (1) dependent upon:
(1) Intellectual Development
105. In which “role taking stage”, children (2) Socialization
realize that there are integrated networks (3) Learning
of perspectives such as American or a (4) Perception
catholic point of view? Answer: (1)
(1) Social and Conventional System of Role
Taking 110. Genetic studies of children over
(2) Mutual Role Taking varying lengths of time have emphasized
(3) Self-reflection the persistence of the two elements of the
(4) Social Informational Role Taking personality pattern:
Answer: (1) (1) The self-concept and traits
(2) Moral development and socialization
106. Who concluded in his theory that (3) Language development and concept
from ages 5 to about 12, a child’s concept formation
of justice passes from moral realism to (4) Prenatal development and play
moral relativism? Answer: (1)
(1) W. (2) Watson
(2) Sigmund Freud 111. According to Freud, the period from
(3) Jean Piaget the end of the oedipal stage around 6
(4) Karniol years is called:
Answer: (3) (1) Genital Stage
(2) Latency Period
107. Around age 11, children think that (3) Phallic Stage
everyone has equal right to justice and (4) Oral Stage
consideration. It is called: Answer: (2)
(1) Moral Relativism
(2) Moral Realism 112. A system of learning which was first
(3) Moral Biting demonstrated by Tolman in 1932 is known
(4) Moral Consequence as:
Answer: (1) (1) Latent Learning
(2) Trial and Error Learning
108. Stages of moral development for (3) Conditioning
children were emphasized by: (4) Insightful learning

Answer: (1) which has subsequently split to develop as

two independent Fetus are known as:
113. A girl who is sexually attracted to (1) Monozygotic Twins
members of her own sex is called: (2) Fraternal Twins
(1) A lesbian (3) Separated Twins
(2) A sexologist (4) Socialized Twins
(3) A haterosexual girl Answer: (1)
(4) A homosexual girl
Answer: (1) 118. The condition in which an adult is
sexually attracted to children and can only
114. The term originally used by Freud to achieve sexual arousal with them is
refer to sexual energy which is derived popularly known as:
from the id and is available to power (1) Pedophilia
mental and physical activity is known as: (2) Astabia Abasia
(1) Ego (3) Amnesia
(2) Super ego (4) Phobia
(3) Libido Answer: (1)
(4) Instinct
Answer: (3) 119. A term is frequently used in
experiments for the level at which a
115. A simplified form of speech that person or animal or a child performs on a
adults adopt when talking to very young particular task. What is it?
children is called: (1) Variable
(1) Motherese (2) Performance
(2) Mothering (3) Hypothesis
(3) Matter (4) Problem
(4) Maturation Answer: (2)
Answer: (1)
120. The words that children seem to use
116. Bowlby’s original idea of the way in in the earliest stage of language acquisition
which attachment develops between the are known as:
young infant and its mother is called: (1) Symbols
(1) Maternal Drive (2) Pivot words
(2) Monotrophy (3) Gestures
(3) Socialization (4) Concepts
(4) Affection Answer: (2)
Answer: (2)
121. An approach for studying language
117. The identical twins who are which concentrates on the functions that
developed from the same fertilized ovum language performs rather than on the
structure of the language itself is called:

(1) Pragmatics Answer: (1)

(2) Psycholinguistics
(3) Concept formation 126. A retreat under stress to an earlier
(4) Symbolism psychosexual stage is called:
Answer: (1) (1) Aggression
(2) Regression
122. The study of personal space and the (3) Rationalization
use of touch as nonverbal cues in (4) Rehearsal
communication is known as: Answer: (2)
(1) Concept
(2) Proxemics 127. “One’s expectations can have an
(3) Symbol effect on an outcome that is being
(4) Gesture observed.”—who has given the above
Answer: (2) statement?
(1) Rosenthal
123. The study of psychological aspects of (2) Wilhelm Wundt
language and the relationships between (3) W.(b) Watson
language and other psychological (4) Jean Piaget
processes is known as: Answer: (1)
(1) Psycholinguistics
(2) Concept formation 128. The process by which our senses
(3) Verbal learning adjust their sensitivity to the surrounding
(4) Verbal Accommodation environment is called:
Answer: (2) (1) Perception
(2) Attention
124. The stage of physical growth during (3) Sensory Adaptation
which the child becomes capable of (4) Distraction
reproduction is called: Answer: (1)
(1) Puberty
(2) Maturation 129. The process by which a child becomes
(3) Menstruation integrated into society by adopting its
(4) Adolescence norms and values, acquiring the necessary
Answer: (1) skills of social interaction is known as :
(1) Socialization
125. The extent to which a message does (2) Social Interaction
not provide new information in (3) Sociability
“Information Theory” is called: (4) Affiliation
(1) Redundancy Answer: (1)
(2) Concept
(3) Construct
(4) Hypothesis

130. The process by which two people or (3) Down’s Syndromde

animals directly each other’s behaviour is (4) Schizophrenia
called: Answer: (1)
(1) Social Interaction
(2) Socialization 135. An irrational and excessive fear of
(3) Affiliation strangers is known is:
(4) Sociability (1) Oglophohia
Answer: (1) (2) Acrophobia
(3) Xenophobia
131. Yerkes-Dodson Law is associated with: (4) Agrophobia
(1) Socialization Answer: (3)
(2) Affiliation
(3) Social Facilitation 136. A rigid and inflexible notion of right
(4) Social Interaction and wrong in which “justice is
Answer: (3) subordinated to adult authority” is known
as:
132. The study of social forms of language (1) Moral Realism
and the ways in which language is used in (2) Moral Relativism
society is known as: (3) Moral Consequences
(1) Sociolinguistics (4) Moral Biting
(2) Psycholinguistics Answer: (1)
(3) Bilingualism
(4) Trilingualism 137. Developmental Psychology studies
Answer: (1) the description, explanation and prediction
of:
133. A device to convert a biological signal (1) Child Behaviour
such as heart-beat or skin resistance into (2) Adult Behaviour
an electrical signal suitable for recording is (3) Old age problems
known as: (4) School problems
(1) Transducer Answer: (1)
(2) Trans-sexual
(3) Galvanometer 138. In which period, children were forced
(4) Transdoctor to behave and act like adults and according
Answer: (3) to adult standards?
(1) Ancient Period
134. A genetic disorder in which the (2) Medieval Period
individual has one fewer chromosome (3) Vedic Period
than normal resulting in sexual (4) Modern Period
abnormalities is called: Answer: (1)
(1) Turner’s Syndrome
(2) Brown’s Syndrome

139. According to the preformationist (4) Century of women

concept, all adult qualities are found at: Answer: (1)
(1) Birth
(2) Death 144. The “Questionnaire technique” was
(3) Adulthood made popular by famous American
(4) Adolescence Psychologist:
Answer: (1) (1) G. Stanley Hall
(2) J. (2) Watson
140. The society during previctorian era (3) Rayner
was: (4) (2) F. Skinner
(1) Adult-centred Answer: (1)
(2) Child-centred
(3) Adolescent-centred 145. At Yale University, who introduced
(4) Old men-centred the “Moving Picture Camera” as an aid to
Answer: (1) observe young children?
(1) Gessel (1926)
141. In a book “EMILE” (1962), it was (2) Wallace (1961)
depicted that the child is gifted with an (3) Wyalt (1959)
innate moral sens(5) Who is the author of (4) Spitz (1965)
that book? Answer: (1)
(1) J. J. Rousseau
(2) Pestalozzi 146. The clinic for the treatment of
(3) Tiedmann “problem children” was first established
(4) John Locke by:
Answer: (1) (1) Goodenough (1949)
(2) Wittmer (1896)
142. Maximum number of Baby (3) Hunt (1961)
Biographies was published in: (4) Wilt Enborn (1956)
(1) The 19th century Answer: (2)
(2) The 20th century
(3) The 18th century 147. The behaviour and activities of the
(4) The 16th century child are expressed quantitatively through
Answer: (1) the:
(1) Behaviour Rating Method
143. Because of large number of studies on (2) Projective Technique
“Child Behaviour” and tremendous empha- (3) Follow up Method
sis on Child and Developmental (4) Psychophysical Method
psychology, 20th century is called the : Answer: (1)
(1) Century of Adults
(2) Century of the child 148. The testing method for studying
(3) Century of men and women children was first introduced by:

(1) Binet (1905) (1) First 15 to 30 minutes of life

(2) Piaget (1960) (2) First 15 days of life
(3) Gesell (1949) (3) First three hours of life
(4) Hoffman (1967) (4) First ten days of life
149. Which method is generally used when 154. Normally the neonate sleeps for:
it becomes necessary to find out if the (1) 24 hours a day
disease or behaviour problems of the child (2) 18 to 20 hours a day
have relapsed after treatment? (3) 6 hours a day
(1) Psychophysical Method (4) 2 hours a day
(2) Follow-up Method Answer: (2)
(3) Behaviour Rating Method
(4) Method of Individual Diagnosis 155. The Period of Partunate refers to the
Answer: (2) first 15 to 30 minutes of life, until the
infant is cut from:
150. The progressive series of changes of (1) The umbilical cord
an orderly, coherent type towards the (2) The internal world
direction of maturity is called: (3) The external world
(1) Growth (4) The environmental pressure
(2) Development Answer: (1)
(3) Maturation
(4) Adolescence 156. Darwinian Reflex decreases gradually
Answer: (2) due to:
(1) Cross connectivism
151. Among the periods of prenatal (2) Transfer
development, the period of fetus is: (3) Interference
(1) Most lengthy (4) Atrophy through disuse
(2) Dangerous Answer: (4)
(3) Called the period of zygote
(4) Very short 157. If an object is placed in the baby’s
Answer: (1) palm, the fingers are closed so strongly
that the neonates can support their entire
152. The period of Ovum is called the: weight by their hands. This prenatal
(1) Period of Zygote posture is retained by most infants for 3 to
(2) Period of Embryo 4 weeks after birth. This is popularly
(3) Period of fetus known as:
(4) Period of Disturbances (1) Darwinian Reflex
Answer: (1) (2) Luckian Reflex
(3) Pavlovian Reflex
153. Period of Partunate refers to the: (4) Watsonian Reflex

Answer: (1) (3) Intellectual Development

(4) Emotional Development
158. When the infant is placed on his back, Answer: (3)
he will throw his legs and hands upward as
if he is going to embrace somebody. This is 163. Who said —”I propose to show in this
popularly known as: book that a man’s natural abilities are
(1) Moro Embrace Reflex derived by intelligence under exactly the
(2) Sucking Reflex same limitations as the form and physical
(3) Ocular Reflex features of the whole organic world”?
(4) Foot Reflex (1) Galton
Answer: (1) (2) J.(2) Watson
(3) Binet
159. The development of the ability to (4) Ravens
walk upright is called: Answer: (1)
(1) Locomotor Development
(2) Sensorimotor Learning 164. The first part of “Preoperational
(3) Transfer of Training Period” (Piget) is known as:
(4) Bilateral Transfer (1) Preconceptual Period
Answer: (1) (2) Internal Mental Period
(3) Tertiary Circular Reactions
160. Ames and Shirley have emphasized (4) Secondary Circular Reactions
the relative stability of the locomotor Answer: (1)
sequence as an indicator of a function of:
(1) Learning 165. During Pre-operational Period,
(2) Maturation Children are found to be extremely:
(3) Emotion (1) Benevolent
(4) Intelligence (2) Egocentric
Answer: (2) (3) Clever
(4) Intelligent
161. Who is the author of the famous book Answer: (2)
“Hereditary Genius”?
(1) Watson 166. Syrup can be made with water and
(2) Galton sugar. Again syrup can reduced to sugar by
(3) John Locke putting it in fir(5) When the child is to
(4) Binet understand this, he is said to have the
Answer: (2) capacity of:
(1) Reversibility
162. Schiff (1978) has examined the role of (2) Conservation
genetics in: (3) Seriation
(1) Sensory Development (4) Casuality
(2) Motor Development Answer: (1)

Answer: (1)
167. The mental ability to arrange things in
order is known as: 172. The concept of “Structure of intellect”
(1) Seriation was proposed by:
(2) Casuality (1) Blewett (1964)
(3) Reversibility (2) Guilford (1961)
(4) Conservation (3) Jensen (1969)
Answer: (1) (4) Bayley(1969)
Answer: (2)
168. The concrete operational stage is
responsible for the stability and 173. According to the model “Structure of
integration of the child’s: Intellect”, Guifford revealed that
(1) Emotional System intelligence can be broken into:
(2) Cognitive System (1) 100 factors
(3) Learing System (2) 120 factors
(4) Memory System (3) 50 factors
Answer: (2) (4) 55 factors
Answer: (2)
169. The concepts of children are generally
developed during the period of: 174. Who is the author of the article “How
(1) Intuitive Thought much can we boost I.Q. and Scholastic
(2) Preoperational Stage Achievement”?
(3) Secondary Circular Reactions (1) Prof. Arthur Jensen (1969)
(4) Tertiary Circular Reactions (2) Blewett (1954)
Answer: (1) (3) Venkatachar (1930)
(4) Bayley (1969)
170. Mental Age (MA) is a measure of the Answer: (1)
absolute level of:
(1) Emotion 175. Jensen’s findings indicate the role of
(2) Intelligence heredity on the development and growth
(3) Creativity of:
(4) Learning (1) Creativity
Answer: (2) (2) Emotion
(3) Learning
171. The process of classifying all (4) Intelligence
intellectual abilities into a systematic Answer: (4)
frame work is called:
(1) Structure of Intellect 176. Who has evaluated the findings of
(2) Structure of Emotion “Project Head Start” conducted as a
(3) Structure of Feeling contemporary project to help the socially
(4) Structure of Creativity

disadvantaged Negroes and Asiatic origin

lower class people ? 181. Violent outbursts of anger is called:
(1) Arthur Jensen (1969) (1) Tempertantrum
(2) Shields (1962) (2) Frustration
(3) Blewett (1954) (3) Mood
(4) Holzinger (1937) (4) Imprinting
177. While E.(2) Titchener holds emotion 182. Tempertantrum reaches its peak at
as an effective state of the organism, Carr the age of:
(1925) views emotion as a form of: (1) 3 to 4 years
(1) Energy mobilization (2) 7 years
(2) Creativity (3) 20 years
(3) Feeling (4) 25 years
(4) Daydream Answer: (1)
Answer: (1)
183. Under inhibited response of anger,
178. Emotional response is weakened if: the child may withdraw to himself as a
(1) Uverlearning takes place result of:
(2) Reason is applied (1) Frustration
(3) Interference is there (2) Learning
(4) Goal is achieved (3) Achievement motivation
Answer: (2) (4) Distant goal
Answer: (1)
179. The most systematic study on the
development of emotion in children from a 184. Which mechanism of dream work
state of general excitement found at birth makes the dream coherent and
has been made by: meaningful?
(1) Robert Bridges (1932) (1) Secondary Elaboration
(2) J. Hunt (1961) (2) Displacement
(3) Hurlock (1978) (3) Sublimation
(4) Kagan (1962) (4) Dramatization
Answer: (1) (5) Condensation
Answer: (1)
180. Impulsive responses of anger are
otherwise known as: 185. Tempertantrum comes to an end by:
(1) Aggression (1) 7 years
(2) Regression (2) 19 years
(3) Sublimation (3) 2 years
(4) Repression (4) 22 years

opportunities for involvement, practice

186. The bright example of self destruction and interaction with teachers and other
and self aggression is: children. Motivating and facilitating
(1) Frustration conditions certainly make a difference in
(2) Suicide creative functioning but differences seem
(3) Projection to be greatest and most predictable when
(4) Introjection deliberate teaching is involved Teachers,
Answer: (3) though their behaviour is an instructional
setting can make a lot of difference in the
187. Jealousy is an outgrowth of: cognitive and affective life of children but
(1) Repression they must be sure of their objectives,
(2) Regression whether they count to foster creativity in
(3) Anger pupils or their own self-ful- filling
(4) Fear prophecy.”
Answer: (1) Who has made this statement?
(1) Torrance
188. The systematized set of vocal habits (2) Jensen
by means of which the members of a (3) Binett
human society interact in terms of their (4) J.W. Taylor
culture is called: Answer: (1)
(1) Language
(2) Concept 191. Moral Development is intimately
(3) Thought linked with stages of:
(4) Vocabulary (1) Intellectual Development
Answer: (1) (2) Emotional Development
(3) Creativity
189. When children show resistance to (4) Imitation
adult authority and does just the opposite Answer: (2)
of what they ask him to do is called:
(1) Negativism 192. Who have shown how the ability to
(2) Rivalry moral judgement behaviour that conforms
(3) Bullying to approved social standard follow a
(4) Quarreling predictable pattern related to the
Answer: (1) sequence of stages in intellectual
development?
190. “It does indeed seem possible to (1) Jensen and Binett
teach children to think creatively. The (2) Piaget and Kohlberg
most successful approaches seem to be (3) Watson and Reynor
those that involve both cognitive and (4) Blanton and Blatt
emotional functioning, provide adequate Answer: (1)
structures and motivation and give

193. Who viewed that moral development 198. Sometimes a child’s iris fails to
occurs in two clear-cut stages—Morality by develop, visual acuity becomes poor and
constraint and morality by Reciprocity? there is rapid involuntary movement of
(1) Jean Piaget eye ball. Here the child is affected by:
(2) Jensen (1) Anaphathaimia
(3) Ravens (2) Oxycephaly
(4) Binett (3) Antridia
Answer: (1) (4) Microphathalmia
Answer: (3)
194. Guilt is a negative:
(1) Self evaluation 199. Schiller Spencer theory of play is
(2) Attitude otherwise known as:
(3) Creativity (1) Preparation for Future Adult Activities
(4) Sociability (2) Surplus energy theory of play
Answer: (1) (3) Recapitulation theory
(4) Instinct Theory
195. Childhood schizophrenia is otherwise Answer: (2)
known as:
(1) Autism 200. Who was the propounder of “Instinct
(2) Tempertantrum Theory of Play”?
(3) Antridia (1) Staneley Hall
(4) Anaphathalmia (2) McDougall
Answer: (1) (3) Patrick
(4) Spencer
196. If a child’s eye ball is abnormally Answer: (2)
small, he is supposed to be affected by:
(1) Oxycephaly 201 Which is the most basic and common
(2) Antridia obstacle to problem solving ?
(3) Microphathalmia 1 Confirmation bias
(4) Anaphathalmia 2 Fixation
Answer: (2) 3 Functional fixedness
4 Mental set
197. If a child’s eyes do not develop at all, Answer: Fixation
he is supposed to be affected by:
(1) Anaphalmia 202 The child who says “Milk gone” is
(2) Oxycephaly engaging in ________. This type of
(3) Anaphathalmia utterance demonstrates that children are
(4) Microphathalmia actively experimenting with rules of
Answer: (1) ________.
1 Babbling; syntax
2 Telegraphic speech; syntax

3 Babbling ; semantics seconds and after that he/she is asked to

4 Telegraphic speech; semantics recall the non-sense syllabus. What
Answer: Telegraphic speech; syntax memory storage is being measured in this
experiment ?
203 Problem solving comprises of four 1 Sensory memory storage
stages. Choose the correct sequence of 2 Working memory storage
stages 3 Short term memory storage
1 Incubation, preparation, verification, 4 Long term memory storage
illumination Answer: Short term memory storage
2 Preparation, incubation, illumination,
verification 206 When the previously learned task
3 Incubation, preparation, illumination, affects the retention of task being
verification currently acquired, the phenomenon is
4 Preparation, illumination, incubation, referred to as:
verification 1 Retroactive interference
Answer: Preparation, incubation, 2 Proactive interference
illumination, verification 3 Retroactive effect
4 Proactive effect
204 Given below are two statements, one Answer: Proactive effect
labelled as Assertion (S) and the other
labelled as Reason (R). 207 Assertion (1) : Positive psychology
Assertion (S) : Thinking about objects draws its strength from humanistic
brings change in attitudes. psychology.
Reason (R) : Attitudes toward complex Reason (R) : Both humanistic and positive
issues and objects are typically a mixture psychology believe in positive human
of positive and negative feelings. qualities.
Codes: Codes:
1 Both (S) and (R) are true and (R) is the 1 Both (S) and (R) are true and(R) is the
correct explanation of (A). correct explanation of (A).
2 Both (S) and (R) are true, but (R) is not 2 Both (S) and (R) are true, but (R) is not
the correct explanation of (A). the explanation of (A).
3 (S) is true, but (R) is false. 3 (S) is true, but (R) is false.
4 (S) is false, but (R) is true. 4 (S) is false, but (R) is true.
Answer: Both (S) and (R) are true and (R) is Answer: Both (S) and (R) are true, but (R) is
the correct explanation of (A). not the explanation of (A).
208 The basic difference between classical
205 A subject is presented four non-sense conditioning and instrumental learning is
syllabus one by one each for two seconds. of
After presentation of the four items, the 1 Presentation of stimulus
subject is asked to count backward aloud 2 Emitting of response
by threes from some number for fifteen 3 Temporal contiguity

4 Mechanism 4 Oval window – Anvil Hammer – Stirrup –

Answer: Mechanism Eardrum
Answer: Eardrum – Hammer – Anvil –
209 Major criticisms of Thurston’s theory Stirrup – Oval window
of intelligence are based on
I. Use of subjective measures 212 We can cope with stress by becoming
II. Restricted heterogeneity in sample aware of our irrational, upsetting thoughts
III. Method of factor analysis and replacing them with rational, calming
1 I and II are correct. thoughts. This view represents.
2 I and III are correct. 1 Cognitive behavioural approach
3 II and III are correct. 2 Psychoanalytical approach
4 I, II and III are correct. 3 Socio-cultural approach
Answer: II and III are correct. 4 Bio-social approach
Answer: Cognitive behavioural approach
210 Given below are two statements, one
labelled as Assertion (S) and the other 213 An instrumental response
labelled as Reason (R). Indicate your isconditioned only when organism
answer using the codes given below : interprets the reinforcement as being
Assertion (S) : Heritability of intelligence controlled by its response This view is
explains variations due to genetics for supported by
individuals within a given population. 1 Tolman
Reason (R) : Earlier the children from 2 Skinner
deprived families were adopted, the higher 3 Seligman
their intelligence score will be. 4 Beck
Codes: Answer: Seligman
1 Both (S) and (R) are true and (R)
2 Both (S) and (R) are true, but (R) is not 214 When a child gets two chocolates once
the correct explanation of (A). every week for its performance in the class
3 (S) is true, but (R) is false. it is an instance of
4 (S) is false, but (R) is true. 1 Fixed ratio, variable interval
Answer: Both (S) and (R) are true, but (R) is 2 Fixed ratio, fixed interval
not the correct explanation of (A). 3 Variable ratio, fixed interval
4 Variable ratio, variable interval
211 What is the correct sequence of ear Answer: Fixed ratio, fixed interval
parts given below ?
1 Eardrum – Hammer – Anvil –Stirrup – 215 In a study on ‘Career Aspirations of
Oval window Students’, the respondents were required
2 Oval window – Hammer – Eardrum – to state their career aspirations in about
Anvil – Stirrup sixty words. This would be an example of
3 Eardrum – Anvil – Stirrup – Hammer – 1 Fixed-alternative item
Oval window 2 Scale item

3 Open-end item (2) Observing the behaviour of adults

4 Checklist item (3) Belief in immanent justice
Answer: Open-end item (4) Reinforcement by teachers and parents
Answer: (1)
216. Which of the following implications
cannot be derived from Piaget’s theory of Question6. According to Jean Piaget,
cognitive development? schema building occurs as a result of
(1) Acceptance of individual differences modifying new information to fit existing
(2) Sensitivity of children’s readiness to schemes and by modifying old schemes as
learn per new information. These two processes
(3) Discovery learning are known as:
(4) Need of verbal teaching (1) assimilation and adaptation
Answer: (4) (2) accommodation and adaptation
(3) equilibration and modification
217. According to Lev Vygotsky, the (4) assimilation and accommodation
primary cause of cognitive development is: Answer: (4)
(1) stimulus-response pairing
(2) social interaction 220. According to Piaget, children’s
(3) adjustment of mental schemas thinking differs in .......... from adults than
(4) equilibration in ..........
Answer: (2) (1) size, correctness
(2) amount, kind
218. In the context of Kohlberg’s stages of (3) kind, amount
moral reasoning, under which stage would (4) size, type
the given typical response of a child fall? Answer: (3)
“Your parents will be proud of you if you
are honest. So you should be honest.” 221. According to Vygotsky, children learn
(1) Social contract orientation (1) by maturation.
(2) Punishment-obedience orientation (2) when reinforcement is offered.
(3) Good girl-good boy orientation (3) by imitation.
(4) Law and order orientation (4) by interacting with adults and peers.
Answer: (3) As a teacher, who firmly Answer: (4)
believes in social constructivist theory of
Lev Vygotsky, which of the following 222. Kohlberg has given
methods would you prefer for assessing (1) the stages of cognitive development.
your students? (2) the stages of physical development.
(3) the stages of emotional development.
219. According to Jean Piaget, which of the (4) the stages of moral development.
following is necessary for learning? Answer: (4)
(1) Active exploration of the environment
by the learner

223. According to the pre-conventional

level of Kohlberg's theory, to which of the 227. In Vygotsky's theory, which aspect of
following would an individual turn when development gets neglected
making a moral decision? (1) Social
(1) Personal needs and desires (2) Cultural
(2) Individual values (3) Biological
(3) Family expectations (4) Linguistic
(4) Potential punishment involved Answer: (3)
Answer: (4)
228. Which of the following is based on
224. Which one of the following Vygotsky’s socio cultural theory?
statements about children would Vygotsky (1) Operant conditioning
agree with? (2) Reciprocal teaching
(1) Children learn when they are offered (3) Culture-neutral cognitive development
lucrative rewards. (4) Insight learning
(2) Children's thinking can be understood Answer: (2)
by conducting laboratory experiments on
animals. 229. Vygotsky emphasized the significance
(3) Children are born 'evil' and need to be of the role played by which of the
controlled through punishment. following factors in the learning of
(4) Children learn through social children?
interaction with peers and adults. (1) Moral
Answer: (4) (2) Physical
(3) Social
225. According to Piaget, a child between 2 (4) Hereditary
to 7 years is in the _________ stage of Answer: (3)
cognitive development.
(1) Formal operational 230. A teacher makes use of a variety of
(2) Concrete operational tasks to cater to the different learning
(3) Sensorimotor styles of her learners. She is influenced by
(4) Preoperational (1) Gardner's multiple intelligence theory
Answer: (4) (2) Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory
(3) Piaget's cognitive development theory
226. In Lawrence Kohlberg's theory, which (4) Kohlberg's moral development theory
level signifies the absence of morality in Answer: (1)
the true sense?
(1) Level III 231. According to Kohlberg, a teacher can
(2) Level IV instill moral values in children by
(3) Level I (1) giving strict instructions on 'how to
(4) Level II behave'
Answer: (3)

(2) involving them in discussions on moral

issues 236. Which of the following statements
(3) laying clear rules of behaviour describes Piaget and Vygotsky’s views on
(4) giving importance to religious teachings language and thought correctly?
Answer: (2) (1) According to Vygotsky, thought
emerges first and according to Piaget,
232. According to Piaget’s stages of language has a profound effect on thought.
Cognitive Development, the sensori-motor (2) Both view language as emerging from
stage is associated with the child’s thought.
(1) ability to solve problems in logical (3) According to Piaget, thought emerges
fashion first and according to Vygotsky, language
(2) concerns about social issues has a profound effect on thought.
(3) ability to interpret and analyse options (4) Both view thought as emerging from
(4) imitation, memory and mental the child’s language.
representation Answer: (3)
Answer: (4)
237. The concept of ‘private speech’ of
233. "Children actively construct their children as proposed by Vygotsky
understanding of the world" is a statement (1) shows that children are stupid and thus
attributed to need guidance of adults.
(1) Piaget (2) illustrates that children are egocentric.
(2) Kohlberg (3) shows that children love themselves.
(3) Pavlov (4) illustrates that children use speech to
(4) Skinner guide their own actions.
234. The 'insight theory of learning' is 238. According to Vygotsky, learning

promoted by cannot be separated from
(1) 'Gestalt' theorists (1) its social context.
(2) Jean Piaget (2) perception & attentional processes.
(3) Pavlov (3) reinforcement.
(4) Vygotsky (4) a measurable change in behaviour.
235. Four distinct stages of children's 239. In a constructivist classroom as

intellectual development are identified by envisioned by Piaget and Vygotsky,
(1) Erikson learning
(2) Kohlberg (S) is constructed by the students
(3) Skinner themselves who play an active role.
(4) Piaget (2) is offering of reinforcement by the
Answer: (4) teacher.

(3) is dictated by the teacher and the (1) Typically automatic

students are passive recipients of the
same. 243. Automatic processes ______________
(4) happens by pairing of a stimulus and a motivations.
response. 1. Influence
Answer: (1) 2. Are influenced by
3. (1) & (2)
240. What is a major criticism of Kohlberg's 4. Neither (1) or (2)
theory? Answer:
(1) Kohlberg did not give clear cut stages of (3) (1) & (2)
moral development.
(2) Kohlberg proposed a theory without 244. Proceduralized judgments are:
any empirical basis. 1. Developed without practice
(3) Kohlberg proposed that moral 2. Preemptive over non-proceduralized
reasoning is developmental. judgments
(4) Kohlberg did not account for cultural 3. Slower than non-proceduralized
differences in moral reasoning of men and judgments
women. 4. Deliberate and thoughtful
Answer: (4) Answer:
(2) Preemptive over non-proceduralized
241. Which one of the following judgments
statements best summarizes the
relationsib between development and 245. Judgments about others’
learning as proposed by Vygotsky? ____________ are often automatic.
(1) Learning and development are parallel 1. Traits
processes. 2. Behavior
(2) Development is synonymous with 3. (1) & (2)
learning 4. Neither (1) or (2)
(3) Development process lags behind the Answer:
learning process. (1) Traits
(4) Development is independent of
learning. 246. Automatic and controlled processes
Answer: (3) can be triggered by:
1. Subliminal primes
242. The choice between automatic and 2. Supraliminal primes
controlled processes is: 3. (1) & (2)
1. Typically automatic 4. Neither (1) or (2)
2. Typically controlled Answer:
3. Always automatic (3) (1) & (2)
4. Always controlled
Answer: 247. An ironic rebound effect:

1. Occurs during the period of time 3. Unconscious thought

when one is asked to suppress 4. Default network deactivation
thoughts Answer:
2. Occurs when one is no longer (2) Stimulus-independent thought
attempting to suppress thoughts
3. Can be prevented by substituting 252. ____________ is a thought-sampling
different thoughts for the unwanted technique frequently used outside the
thoughts laboratory:
4. B and C 1. Experience sampling
Answer: 2. Think-aloud paradigm
(2) Occurs when one is no longer 3. Videotaping
attempting to suppress thoughts 4. A and C
Answer:
248. Goal-directed automaticity is: (1) Experience sampling
1. Adaptive
2. Maladaptive 253. It is possible to study people’s
3. (1) & (2) thoughts in a useful way when:
4. Neither (1) or (2) 1. People report on their thoughts
Answer: while they are happening
(3) (1) & (2) 2. People report on the content of their
thoughts
249. The conscious will is an example of: 3. People report on their thought
1. Automatic process processes
2. Controlled process 4. (1) & (2)
3. Intention Answer:
4. Behavior (4) (1) & (2)
Answer:
(2) Controlled process 254. The human need to belong preempts:
1. The need for understanding
250. First-order consciousness necessarily 2. The need for social control
involves: 3. Controlled processes in social
1. Being mindful cognition
2. Having self-esteem 4. All of the above
3. Thinking about one’s own thoughts Answer:
4. Causing one’s own behavior (1) The need for understanding
Answer:
(1) Being mindful 255. The dual-process model and
continuum model of impression formation:
251. Mind-wandering is an example of: 1. Do not depend on motivation
1. Stimulus-dependent thought
2. Stimulus-independent thought

2. Both propose stable cognitive 259. When the muscles necessary for
representations at different stages speaking are paralyzed then—
of impression formation (1) Thinking cannot go on
3. Both suggest distinct rules for (2) Verbal thinking cannot go on
proceeding to each stage of (3) Verbal thinking can go on
impression formation (4) Problem solving ability is hampered
4. Both involve an interplay of Answer: (3)
automatic and controlled processes
Answer: 260. The symbols used in thinking are—
(4) Both involve an interplay of automatic (1) Images
and controlled processes (2) Languages
(3) Concept
256. Cognitive structures, according to (4) All of the above
Piaget’s theory, are all of the following Answer: (4)
except—
(1) Concept, beliefs, abilities or perceptual 261. A condition which is not favourable in
styles reasoning is—
(2) Physiological organs (1) Suggestion
(3) End results of continuous interrupting (2) Interest
between maturation and experience (3) Attention
(4) Foundation stones of child’s intellectual (4) Motivation
development. Answer: (1)
Answer: (2)
262. The rules used in problem solving
257. What is the example of thinking fan, are—
car, radio as alive things by child? (1) Algorithm
(1) Inappropriate thinking (2) Heuristics
(2) Imaginative thinking (3) Both (1) and (2)
(3) Animism (4) Theoreurs
(4) Egocentrism Answer: (3)
Answer: (3)
263. According to Guilford creative ability
258. Distinctive feature of a concept is—
varying from concept to concept is known (1) Highly specified associated with
as— particular subject matter or disciplines.
(1) Concept value (2) Somewhat general which can be
(2) Concept attribute applied to a variety of tasks.
(3) Concept quality (3) A composite of primary mental abilities
(4) Concept uniqueness as found by Thurstone
Answer: (2) (4) A developed mental capacity of highly
abstract nature.

Answer: (2) (4) Functional concept

Answer: (2)
264. Which is not an attribute of the
concept? 269. Who had proposed the concept of
(1) Concreteness, observability and goal gradient in problem solving?
measurability (1) Kohler
(2) Psychological meaningfulness (2) Hull
(3) Intrinsic, functional and formal (3) Brich
properties. (4) Wertheimer
(4) Abstractness, inclusiveness or Answer: (2)
generality
(5) Structure 270. All of the following factors influence
Answer: (1) concept formation except—
(1) Distinctiveness
265. Concept of food including bread, (2) Manipulability of material
butter, milk et(3) is based on— (3) Instructions
(1) Formal properties (4) Psychological variables
(2) Intrinsic properties Answer: (4)
(3) Psychological meaningful property
(4) Functional properties 271. Who demonstrated that negative
Answer: (4) examples are of no use in concept
learning?
266. The best way of problem-solving is— (1) Smoke, 1932
(1) Rigidity (2) Hovland and Weiss, 1953
(2) Chance (3) Both of these
(3) Insight (4) None of these
(4) Trial and error Answer: (3)
Answer: (3)
272. Which of the following is not a
267. Which is not the structural attribute method or procedure of concept learning?
of the concept? (1) Method of reception
(1) Conjunctive (2) Method of recitation
(2) Associative (3) Method of selection
(3) Disjunctive (4) Both method of reception and method
(4) Relational of selection
268. Religion is a— 273. All of the following are kind of

(1) Conjunctive concept reasoning except—
(2) Disjunctive concept (1) Deductive reasoning
(3) Relational concept (2) Inductive reasoning

(3) Creative reasoning (3) Disjunctive concepts

(4) Evaluative reasoning (4) Functional concepts
(5) Analogical reasoning Answer: (1)
Answer: (3)
279. Most of creative thinking activity
274. Three of the following mean same occurs during the stage of—
thing while one does not— (1) Preparation
(1) Productive thinking (2) Illumination
(2) Reproductive thinking (3) Incubation
(3) Creative thinking (4) Evaluation
(4) Divergent thinking Answer: (3)
Answer: (2)
280. The smallest unit of meaning in
275. A symbol has an/a— speech perception is—
(1) Universal meaning (1) Morphemes
(2) Innate meaning (2) Phonemes
(3) Natural meaning (3) Words
(4) Arbitrary meaning (4) Syllables
276. Creative thinking involves the 281. In a typical memory experiment,

phenomenon of— participants are asked to recall stimuli in
(1) Deduction which phase?
(2) Insight 1. presentation
(3) Induction 2. test
(4) Decision making 3. material
Answer: (2) 4. distinction
Answer: (2)
277. Spoken language is—
(1) An ability found among all animals 282. Participants are NOT told that they
(2) A species specific ability limited to will be tested on a list of words presented
Home Sapiens in an experiment. This provides evidence
(3) An ability confined only to the primates of
(4) An innately determined mechanism in 1. intentional learning
all animals 2. a practice effect
Answer: (2) 3. incidental learning
4. masked learning
278. The concepts of taller, older, up- Answer: (3)
down, north-south etc are examples of—
(1) Relational concepts
(2) Conjunctive concepts

283. A test where participants are asked to 4. manipulating what happens at the
retrieve in any order stimuli previously presentation phase
presented is Answer: (1)
1. cued recall
2. implicit memory 287. Which is NOT typically used to test
3. explicit memory memory retrieval?
4. free recall 1. dot probe task
Answer: (4) 2. word stem completion
3. cued recall
284. Participants take part in an 4. serial position effects
experiment where they learn a number of Answer: (1)
words and are told that they will be tested
later on what they have learnd This is a 288. With immediate testing, recall
test of accuracy is poorest for items that occur in
1. explicit memory which position of a list?
2. recognition 1. beginning
3. implicit memory 2. middle
4. interference 3. end
Answer: (1) 4. no difference
Answer: (2)
285. Storage is
1. the stage of memory where 289. Immediately testing recall can lead to
information is interpreted and greater recall for words at the end of a list.
transferred This is
2. the stage of memory where 1. recency effect
information is committed 2. primacy effect
3. the stage of memory most affected 3. serial position effect
by direct manipulation in 4. superiority effect
experiments Answer: (1)
4. the stage of memory between
presentation of stimuli and before 290. The recency effect in memory
test retrieval can be reduced when
Answer: (4) 1. rehearsal is prevented
2. short- to long-term memory
286. Investigating what factors can affect interference is introduced
memory storage can be done by 3. a backwards masking task is used
1. manipulating what happens before 4. retention interval is increased
the test phase Answer: (4)
2. informing people that they will be
tested 291. Which authors proposed the modal
3. providing recall cues model of memory?

1. Lansdale and Baguley (2008) 1. overlap between memories at

2. Tulving and Thompson (1975) encoding
3. Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) 2. interference or decay
4. Craik and Lockhart (1972) 3. traces still in short-term memory
Answer: (3) 4. greater storage capacity
Answer: (1)
292. The modal model of memory was
challenged on the grounds that 296. ‘Specific operations […] determine
1. impaired short-term memory does what is stored, and what is stored
not disrupt long-term memory determines what retrieval cues are
2. Short-term memory has a limited effective’ refers to what term?
capacity 1. context-dependent memory
3. longer time in short-term memory 2. encoding specificity principle
predicts likelihood of long-term 3. levels of processing
memory 4. forgetting function
4. long-term memory has a limited Answer: (2)
capacity
Answer: (1) 297. Retroactive inhibition is a term of
memory
293. According to levels of processing, 1. decay
which of the following leads to the deepest 2. delay
level of memory? 3. retrieval
1. perceptual 4. interference
2. semantic Answer: (4)
3. associative
4. cue dependent 298. Having prior memory associations
Answer: (2) that make it difficult to form new memory
associations is termed
294. A critical issue with the ‘levels of 1. proactive inhibition
processing’ account of memory is 2. transfer appropriate processing
1. the distinction between perceptual 3. time-dependent decay
and semantic processing 4. encoding specificity
2. it is not compatible with the modal Answer: (1)
model
3. determining the level of processing 299. Which of the following was proposed
4. it does not explain how information by Keppel (1968) to be most likely?
is retrieved 1. prior learning may interfere with
Answer: (3) new learning only when items are
similar, but new learning interferes
295. Retrieval cues can improve recall with all old learning
because of

2. old learning can interfere with new 1. rationalizations

learning, but new learning interferes 2. distortions
with all old learning 3. omissions
3. all forgetting is caused by non- 4. intrusions
specific proactive inhibition Answer: (3)
4. old learning only interferes with new
learning when encoded in the same 304. The study of how the ‘War of the
modality Ghosts’ story accounts became altered at
Answer: (1) recall was carried out by
1. Bartlett (1932)
300. What explains the mathematical 2. Godden and Baddeley (1975)
forgetting curve? 3. Postman and Phillips (1965)
1. retroactive inhibition 4. Eysenck (1979)
2. serial position Answer: (1)
3. Jost’s law
4. consolidation theory 305. Eyewitness testimonies are an
Answer: (3) example of what kind of memory
experiment?
301. Lansdale and Baguley (2008) predict 1. intentional learning
that the probability of correct recall 2. context-dependent learning
depends on 3. incidental learning
1. proportion of correct memory traces 4. cue-dependent learning
2. encoding specificity Answer: (3)
3. context-dependent recall
4. retroactive inhibition 306. Which key academic is involved in the
Answer: (1) study of memory as a reconstructive
process?
302. Lansdale and Baguley (2008) argue 1. (1) Baddeley
that memory dilution occurs because 2. H. Eysenck
1. long-term memory capacity is 3. G. Hitch
limited 4. E. Loftus
2. the number of null traces decreases Answer: (4)
3. memories become indistinct from
similar memories 307. The accuracy of eyewitness
4. the memory becomes less testimonies can be improved with
temporally distinctive 1. recovered memories
Answer: (4) 2. cognitive interviews
3. noise reduction
303. Which element was NOT found to 4. neurofeedback
alter accounts of the ‘War of the Ghosts’ Answer: (2)
story?

308. What can help improve the accuracy

of eye witness testimonies?
1. serial position
2. context reinstatement
3. mnemonics
4. distributed practice
Answer: (2)
309. Memory can be improved when

information to be learnt is
1. organized
2. written
3. spoken
4. elaborated
Answer: (1)
310. Which is a good method of revision:

1. intense sessions
2. spaced learning
3. 1 hour on/1 hour off
4. late night sessions
Answer: (2)
311. Trying to predict your roommate is an

example of:
1. Operant thought
2. Respondent thought
3. (1) & (2)
4. Neither (1) or (2)
Answer:
(1) Operant thought

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UNIT-6 THINKING, INTELLIGENCE

What is Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Associationism is a theory that connects learning to thought based on principles of the

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realism in psychological explanation), gradual learning, and domain-general learning.

2. Associationism as a Theory of Mental Processes: The Empiricist Connection

3. Associationism as a Theory of Learning

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As stated, Hume’s associationism was mostly a way of determining the functional

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“unconditioned response” (UR). In Pavlov’s canonical experiment, the US was a meat

Classical conditioning is a fairly circumscribed process. It is a “stimulus substitution”

Thus, classical conditioning seemed to some to be too restrictive to explain the

Thorndike expanded the notion of associative learning beyond instinctual behaviors

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Associationism as a Theory of Mental Structure

Instead of such a highly intellectualized response, associationists have found a natural

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Associative structures are most naturally contrasted with propositional structures. A

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Associationism in Social Psychology

But the biggest contemporary stronghold of associationist theorizing resides in social

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An individual’s learning from a low-level of responding to asymptotic responding is very

The Problem of Predication

For a pure associationist, association is “semantically transparent” (see Fodor 2003), in

The problem of predication is explaining how a purely associative mechanism could

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Against the Contiguity Analysis of Associationism

Against the Necessity of Contiguity

Gestalt perspectives on thought processes:

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The development of Gestalt psychology was influenced in part by Wertheimer's

Gestalt is a decisive trend in psychology history. It was born in Germany at the

Gestalt Theory: Characteristics

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Information processing, Feature integration model

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The computer gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor, or analogy, to which they

Hence the information processing approach characterizes thinking as the environment

Information Processing and Selective Attention

One way of conceptualizing attention is to think of humans as information processors

Information processing models consist of a series of stages, or boxes, which represent

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 Output processes are responsible for preparing an appropriate response to a

1. The information processing models assume serial processing of stimulus inputs.

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Feature Integration Theory

Feature Integration Theory was parent to a family of subsequent models. Many of

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Feature Integration Theory

Supporting this assertion is a series of classic experiments by Treisman and her

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As attention is known to increase neural synchrony, theories based on synchrony are

Concept formation: Rules, Types

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Conceptual classification may be contrasted with another type of classification