Analytic, creative, and practical thinking across cultures and lifespan development

Psychology Concerns for Today

There are a couple of key distinctions found between analytic, creative, and practical thinking. Moreover, culture can influence the extent to which these respective types of thinking are esteemed. Analytic thinking is perhaps best aligned with the notion of critical thinking. This type of thinking requires individuals to discern the structure and format of something, how it relates to the whole, and which of its individual facets correlates to what facets of its entirety. It is somewhat similar to practical thinking, which is largely different in that this thinking is based on trying to determine a pragmatic objective that is typically basic in functionality. Analytic thinking can be much more advanced. Creative thinking is at variance with both types of thinking because it involves thinking outside of the conventions associated with the other two. It requires considering things from a different perspective, one that values novelty and expression. Culture influences the value of these different types of thinking by associating various rewards with them. Analytic thinking is associated with monetary compensation in jobs, for example.

Individual traits such as personality and societal factors influence resistance to stress and overall health. Individual attributes such as personality and constitution provide the foundation for one\'s ability to resist or even counteract the effects of stress. However, they tend to do so within a social context in which societal factors play a great part. Society and social interactions factor significantly into the stress which individuals experience. They can provide the means to either increase or decrease stress through social mechanisms such as respites at work or periods of heightened emotional and physical activity. When these factors are conducive to stress resilience, they are able to aid one\'s overall health. However, when they are not conducive to stress resilience and actually add to existing stress, they are detrimental to one\'s overall health.

There are a couple of different characteristics endemic to centenarians. Most of them have issues with their teeth and with their oral hygiene. In fact, it is not uncommon for centenarians to have false teeth or significant dental work. Another characteristic shared between centenarians is issues with their vision. Typically, people who have lived this long need supplementary measures for their eyesight. These measures might very well take the form of glasses or perhaps even monocles. Some centenarians may have also had eye surgery performed on them. Additionally, most centenarians do not walk exceedingly swiftly. They typically take their time as they ambulate, due to the number of years they have lived. Also, centenarians tend to have a sense of humor that they have had a long time to foster. Living as long as they have gives them a perspective on life others do not have.