Since my last name begins with an H, I will discuss directed and undirected thinking as concepts of problem solving. An article authored by Latinjak et al. (2014) defines directed thinking as a goal-oriented approach to problem solving while undirected thinking is described as spontaneous or self-talk. Seemingly, the authors suggest that directed thinking is a consequence of the conscious whereas undirected thinking is a result of the unconscious. According to Selst (2013), a prominent example of undirected thinking is daydreaming, a process which plays a significant role in creativity.
I have used the two types of problem solving skills when I was on internship in a local health facility. I was working in a department that dealt with patients who were suffering from mental disorders. A middle-aged man was brought to the facility by relatives for what they suspected to be a mental problem. The first step was to apply the concept of directed thinking, where I asked the patient about how he felt and when his condition had started. Unfortunately, he was incomprehensible. The relatives that had brought him also did not understand the genesis of his condition. I tried the second step, which involved letting the patient sleep in a quiet room. After about two hours, I heard what sounded like hallucinations from the patient. From his screams, I learnt that the man had witnessed a tragic accident, which certainly had affected him. It was from this discovery that I devised a plan of therapy sessions for the patient.
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Evidently, the two problem solving methods are crucial. Directed thinking in health centers (especially on patients that have mental problems) is helpful when the patient can talk. On the contrary, undirected thinking is best applied on patients who cannot express themselves well (Baumeister & Bargh, 2014). Therefore, I find directed and undirected thinking very beneficial in my career as a psychologist.
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Bargh, J. A. (2014). Conscious and Unconscious. Dual-process theories of the social mind , 35.
Latinjak, A. T., Zourbanos, N., López-Ros, V., & Hatzigeorgiadis, A. (2014). Goal-directed and undirected self-talk: Exploring a new perspective for the study of athletes' self-talk. Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 15 (5), 548-558.
Selst, M. (2013). Cognition: Problem Solving. (2018). Retrieved 2 August 2018, from http://www.sjsu.edu/people/mark.vanselst/courses/p135/s1/Kellogg_c9_fall2013.pdf
