What is abstract thinking?

What are the skill levels of abstract thinking?

Remembering, Discriminating, Prioritizing, Informing These are basic skills of critical thinking:

• Remembering facts
• Telling the differences between ideas (discrimination)
• Deciding what’s most important (prioritizing)
• Informing others of your thoughts

Inferential reasoning

• To tell the relationships between two or more ideas
• To have understanding of the nature of the relationship(s)

Goal setting

• Making an aim that you want to achieve and work towards it
• This aim is an abstract idea in your thought

Application of knowledge

• Using whatever you know in solving problems in your life
• You may need to change, inform, demonstrate or teach others to get what you want
• You may make changes in the environment also to achieve your goals

Evaluation of predicted outcomes

Once you pick an action, think of the possible consequences to see if the action that you have picked will be likely to be successful in reaching you goal.

What happens if you have a problem with abstract thinking?

You have difficulty:

• Understanding new concepts and ideas, especially theoretical ideas
• Understanding jokes and comments that are abstract
• Understanding information and relationships that is unclear
• Following reasoning provided in lessons or discussions
• In generalizing answers, strategies and ideas to new situations because you cannot see the relationship
• In transferring knowledge learned from one contact to another
• In determining whether an idea in practical or impractical
• With multistep activities and multitasking
• In sustaining goal-directed activities

If you have problems with abstract thinking, you may have:

• A specific learning disability
• Learning difficulties
• Autistic tendencies (a kind of learning disability)
• Traumatic brain injury involving frontal lobe

Please speak to your teachers, parents/guardians or doctor if you have any of the difficulties listed above or difficulties understanding the above points.  

What can you do to help others cope with abstract thinking difficulties?

• Avoid using unclear language
• Avoid being sarcastic
• Provide concrete and clear examples to explain new and difficult ideas
• Use simple and direct language
• Provide learning material that is simple and clear
• Break down difficult tasks into smaller more manageable steps leading to the goal
• Think about a single case and then generalize it to other cases

Please see a special education teacher, clinical or educational psychologist for help when needed.