Thinking | Class 11 Psychology Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 4 min read
Thinking – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Thinking from Class 11 Psychology, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Nature and Process of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking involves producing novel and original ideas or solutions that are appropriate and constructive within a context. It is not merely thinking differently but includes originality and usefulness.
Creative thinking is seen in everyday activities such as cooking, teaching, storytelling, problem solving, and organizing activities, not only in extraordinary achievements like scientific discoveries or artistic masterpieces.
J.P. Guilford distinguished between convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking seeks a single correct answer (e.g., next number in a series), while divergent thinking is open-ended, generating multiple possible answers (e.g., various uses of cloth).
Divergent thinking abilities include:
- Fluency: Producing many ideas.
- Flexibility: Variety in thinking.
- Originality: Producing rare or unusual ideas.
- Elaboration: Adding details and implications.
Edward de Bono's concept of lateral thinking complements divergent thinking by encouraging alternative ways of defining and interpreting problems. His 'Six Thinking Hats' technique promotes different modes of thinking: information gathering (white), emotions (red), caution (black), optimism (yellow), creativity (green), and process control (blue).
Creative thinking involves stages: preparation (understanding the problem), incubation (subconscious processing), illumination (insight or 'Aha!' moment), and verification (testing the idea). Strategies to enhance creativity include sensitivity to problems, generating many ideas, and using brainstorming techniques that separate idea generation from evaluation.
📊 Diagram: Fig.7.4 : Thinking Divergently; Fig.7.5: The Creative Process
🧪 Activity: Activity 7.3: Frame divergent thinking questions on social issues like pollution or corruption.
🔗 Connection: Leads to the exploration of the relationship between thought and language.
Frequently asked questions
Problem 1 Anagrams: Rearrange the letters to form a word. (You can also construct some similar words) NAGMARA BOLMPER SLEVO STGNIH TOLUSONI
The answers to the anagrams are:
1. NAGMARA → ANAGRAM 2. BOLMPER → PROBLEM 3. SLEVO → LOVES or VOLES 4. STGNIH → THINGS 5. TOLUSONI → SOLUTION
Explanation: Each scrambled word is rearranged to form a meaningful English word related to the chapter on thinking and problem solving. For example, 'NAGMARA' rearranged gives 'ANAGRAM', which is a word puzzle. 'BOLMPER' rearranged gives 'PROBLEM', which relates to the topic of problem solving. Similarly, others are rearranged to form words relevant to
Problem 2 Joining dots: Without lifting your pencil from the paper, connect all nine dots by drawing four straight lines.
To connect all nine dots arranged in a 3x3 grid with four straight lines without lifting the pencil, follow these steps:
1. Start from the bottom left dot. 2. Draw a line diagonally up through the middle dot in the second row to the top right dot. 3. Continue the line beyond the top right dot to extend outside the square. 4. Draw the second line diagonally down through the middle right dot to the bottom middle dot. 5. Draw the third line horizontally left through the bottom middle dot to the bo
Problem 3 Try out the 'water in three bottles' activity with your friend. There are three bottles, A, B, and C. Bottle A can hold 21 ml., B can hold 127 ml., and C can hold 3 ml. The task for your friend is to get 100 ml of water with the help of these three bottles. There are six more problems like this. These seven problems are given below.
To get exactly 100 ml of water using bottles A (21 ml), B (127 ml), and C (3 ml), follow these steps:
1. Fill bottle B completely (127 ml). 2. Pour water from B into A until A is full (21 ml), leaving 106 ml in B. 3. Empty bottle A. 4. Pour water from B into A again until A is full (21 ml), leaving 85 ml in B. 5. Empty bottle A. 6. Pour water from B into A again until A is full (21 ml), leaving 64 ml in B. 7. Empty bottle A. 8. Pour water from B into A again until A is full (21 ml), leaving 43
1. Explain the nature of thinking.
Thinking is a mental process that involves manipulating information, forming concepts, solving problems, reasoning, and making decisions. It is an active cognitive process that enables individuals to understand, analyze, and respond to their environment. Thinking helps in organizing experiences, making judgments, and planning actions.
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Clear NCERT-aligned notes on अभिप्रेरणा एवं संवेग for Class 11 Psychology.
- अभिप्रेरणा एवं संवेग | Class 11 Psychology Notes
Clear NCERT-aligned notes on अभिप्रेरणा एवं संवेग for Class 11 Psychology.
- अभिप्रेरणा एवं संवेग | Class 11 Psychology Notes
Clear NCERT-aligned notes on अभिप्रेरणा एवं संवेग for Class 11 Psychology.