Organization Organizing things into abstract categories. You can think of an object that you just saw, think philosophically, keep a set of principles in your head, and so on. Rather, something’s may have both a concrete meaning and an abstract meaning and neither the author nor the reader may be aware of that. “It is what it is.” You want a real example. Concrete thinking will only consider the literal meaning while abstract thinking goes deeper than the facts to consider multiple or hidden meanings. They think of objects that are not in front of them, known as object permanence. Some people never develop the ability to think on an abstract level and are said to be “concrete” but these are a minority of people. With that being said, there are still some primary types of thinking that we can divide thoughts into. How we use abstract and concrete thinking. Have you ever met someone who seems to take everything too literally? Concrete thinkers see a physical object and just think of what's in front of them. Concrete Thinking vs. Abstract Thinking. “Use the Right Word” that has subtleties of meanings between similar words. An abstract object is an object that does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a typeo… Concrete thinking is the opposite of abstract thinking. This makes sense, as babies and toddlers are all about the here and now, and don't think anything of the object when it's gone. concretum). I hope my examples regarding abstract and concrete thinking were at least a little helpful to you. There are stories where the good guy is all good, and the bad guy is all evil, but there are also stories in which the protagonist does questionable things while the villain is more sympathetic. It is important to know the difference between the concrete aspects of things and the abstract aspects of things as it relates to Jesus teaching’s in the Bible. Here are the parts that make up the styles: Concrete – You’re dealing with the here and now and processing information based on what you see, hear, think, feel, and taste. We will look throughout life to increase the number of successes and reduce the number of failures as much as possible. Abstract thinking is a level of thinking about things that is removed from the facts of the “here and now”, and from specific examples of the things or concepts being thought about. Read This To Build Healthy Self Esteem, Overwhelmed In Life? In Study 2, we tested the prediction that abstract thinking leads to worse decision-making outcomes relative to concrete thinking. One of the primary benefits of utilizing online therapy is that you can utilize it anytime, anywhere – there’s no need to worry about taking extra time or money to commute to an appointment. They can read body language and generallyare able to identifyboth verbal and nonverbal social cues. They learn about people's emotions and soon realize how complex people can be. It's important to learn how to become a more abstract thinker if you want to have a better understanding of and potentially improve the circumstances in your life. It's a spectrum. In contrast, an abstract thinker will understand that this is a common metaphorical phrase that is used to describe … People with good abstract reasoning skills are able to make more informed decisions based on the possibilities that exist beyond concrete details. Concrete thinking involves only those words or events which hold a face value and can be recorded, quoted or provide some evidence at least. Simply while some people think in a particular way, others think in a different way. If you want to ask me another question it will ensure me being notified to get back to you. I used to work as a Registered Nurse on psychiatric units in hospitals plus have the equivalent of a Master’s Degree in course work but not that degree. Thinking is not purely binary; abstract and concrete are just two of the main types of thinking. This is why many people who travel to other locations and cultures tend to have an easier time with abstract thinking, as they’ve exposed themselves to many new ideas, perspectives, and ways of life. For more information, please read our. 5. Also known as holistic thinking, this is when you can see the entire picture in front of you and see how everything connects. Concrete thinking, on the other hand, is very concrete and definite as the name suggests. A concrete thinker may take words literally. I accidently cut off about 3/4 of my comment to you and did not do you the justice you deserved. Pinterest. How To Better Understand Yourself Via Character Survey. It's purely physical. I always end each session with a sense of calmness. It's there. No one has the same way of thinking. A person who has not developed the ability to think and understand things that are abstract will never be able to understand this parable except on an a concrete level. Imagine that a concrete thinker and an abstract thinker both attend a webinar on generating Facebook engagement. A person with concrete thinking does not think beyond facts. Multiple Meanings. While abstract thinking pays attention to the hidden meaning which cannot be grasped by a lay person, concrete thinking denotes a different meaning. Concrete Thinking. An example of concrete versus abstract thinking is the response to the phrase, "It's raining cats and dogs." Of course, most of us use a mixture of concrete and abstract reasoning at different times and in different situations. The Analyst: Analytical and Abstract Thinking. One of the books I used to have but want to try to get again is a Readers Digest book. They also like many of us, had many frustrations. This is an offshoot of creative thinking. 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