The Psychology of Thinking: Reasoning, Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

by John Paul Minda

How do we define thinking? Is it simply memory, perception and motor activity or perhaps something more complex such as reasoning and decision making? This book argues that thinking is an intricate mix of all these things and a very specific coordination of cognitive resources. Divided into three key sections, there are chapters on the organization of human thought, general reasoning and thinking and behavioural outcomes of thinking.

These three overarching themes provide a broad theoretical framework with which to explore wider issues in cognition and cognitive psychology and there are chapters on motivation and language plus a strong focus on problem solving, reasoning and decision making – all of which are central to a solid understanding of this field.

The book also explores the cognitive processes behind perception and memory, how we might differentiate expertise from skilled, competent performance and the interaction between language, culture and thought.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2015

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, generally easy-to-read textbook with memorable examples and occasional visual aids. Glossary is helpful, though some definitions seem incomplete (e.g. law of large numbers, exchangeable events). A little repetitive for my liking -- the word "squash" appears 50 times! -- but other students may find that the repetition enhances their learning. May have benefitted from a professional editor for occasional spelling and concision issues, though these were not overly common. Theory in the Real World sections were a nice feature.