A person has an ability when he is able to do something effectively. Thus, ability can be understood as the dexterity or willingness to perform an action correctly. If we apply this definition to human reason, we can talk about the ability or skills of thinking, which would be the mental processes that allow us to adapt to reality or the ability to solve problems.
Basic and higher skills
Our mind is capable of developing intelligence as long as two circumstances occur: a developed brain in a healthy individual and adequate learning. With these two premises it is possible to activate basic skills and gradually more complex or superior skills.
The fundamental basic skills are the following: the capacity of observation, the identification of information, the distinction between similar and different, etc. Gradually, the individual incorporates more sophisticated superior skills, such as hypothesis elaboration, strategies to solve complex situations, critical approaches or the individual's own self-evaluation.
Each type of thinking is related to skills
The act of thinking and the abilities associated with each individual depend on various ways of understanding human thought. There is critical, divergent, convergent or creative thinking and each of them is accompanied by a series of skills.
- Critical thinking implies using intelligence autonomously and outside the opinions of the social environment.
- Divergent thinking consists of the ability to create alternatives for solving problems.
- Convergent thinking is based on the ability to give the most suitable response in a normalized situation.
- Creative thinking is one that moves away from the ordinary and is capable of developing unusual solutions that are different from the conventional ones.
The different ways of thinking serve as mental strategies, but they can be insufficient if they are not accompanied by emotional intelligence, that is, the ability to properly manage personal emotions. A person with emotional intelligence is one who knows how to find the best strategy to solve a situation.
Photos: Fotolia - SergiyN / Contrastwerkstatt
