Our mind is an information-processing unit. It means that it continually receives information from the world and works on it to produce mental phenomena. The sense organs are the devices of this reception. After sensation, our mind organizes and interprets the data to give it meaning. In this way, we get meaningful information from the world. Thinking is the cognitive process when our mind works on this information and turns them into mental representations. These mental representations are the elements of our thoughts and can take several forms. Let’s take a look at some of these mental constructs:
Concept: In one aspect of thinking, the mind categorizes information and changes them into concepts. A concept is a mental category of objects, events, ideas that have things in common. “Animal” is a concept in our mind referring to a group of beings with particular characteristics. A “square” is a concept that includes shapes with four equal sides and excludes all circles. We can have a concept of “red,” which can include a drop of blood, the traffic light and lipstick. The concepts need not have a tangible presence in the world; they can be abstract. For example, justice or courage are abstract mental concepts.
Schema: Another mental construct that forms a part of our thinking is the schema. A schema is a generalization about one or more concepts. For example, we may have the concept of “grandma,” which helps us distinguish it from other beings, like “mother” or “aunt,” which are different concepts. Based on our experience from the world, we can also develop the schema that “grandmas are always old.” Like concepts, schemas help us understand the world better. Schemas also give us a sense of familiarity and predictability. The schema of a restaurant causes us to expect what a restaurant looks like. For example, when we go to a restaurant, we expect to see tables, chairs and people eating. As children grow up, their minds develop tons of concepts and schemas.
Scripts: Sometimes, we have some general schemas, but we don’t exactly know the details. For example, we have the schema that airplanes fly in the air. With this schema, we don’t expect an aircraft to travel in the water. Nevertheless, we don’t exactly know how it flies. On the other hand, we may have the schema of going to work by bus. We know where to get tickets, where to wait for the bus and where to get off the bus. These schemas of familiar, everyday tasks are called scripts.
Proposition: Proposition is another mental representation that expresses how concepts are related to each other. For example, the idea that “dogs like bone” is a proposition. It announces how the concept of dog and the concept of bone are related. “Liking” is the relation between the two concepts. Please note that it is not the phrase “dogs like bone” that is the proposition but the idea behind it. The same proposition can be expressed with other sentences, like “Dogs are fond of bones.” Propositions may be false or true.
Mental model: This is another element of thinking. Our minds can use concepts and prepositions to make a mental model. This mental model works as a guide for thinking and is another way of understanding the world. It is very much like when someone describes a room for us; we get an idea of how the room looks. The pre-modern idea that “Sins make god angry and a certain disease is the punishment of the sins” is a mental model to understand how illness and healing may occur. Correct mental models can lead to proper interpretation and action, and the incorrect ones result in blunders.
Image: Another thinking component that our mind may use is working with pictures and making mental pictures. This act of imagery is what helps us find our way when we are looking for a location. This thinking capacity could have a considerable impact on dealing with past experiences or expecting the coming events.
Concepts, scripts, schemas, propositions, mental models and images are the elements that make our thoughts. The work of thinking uses these elements to form a thought, an idea or a view, just like an artist using different paints or a cook who uses varied ingredients. How beautiful the painting is or how delicious the dish tastes depends on how skillfully we use the elements and parts.
