Inferential Thinking: What It Is And How To Develop It
When we read a text, as well as when we look around us, our mind carries out a series of activities or tasks that allow us to understand their content beyond the explicit information that we receive from them.
This process of perception and elaboration of information that produces a series of conclusions as a product It is known as inferential thinking In this article we will talk about the characteristics of this procedure, as well as the different types that exist and how to enhance its development.
By inferential thinking we understand the ability or ability to interpret, combine ideas and draw up a series of conclusions based on certain data or perceived information. Thanks to this ability, we can determine or identify certain information that is not explicitly found in the source
To do this, the person uses their own cognitive schemes and previous experiences, as well as a series of scripts and models provided by their own culture.
That term comes from the field of psycholinguistics, which attributed it to the second level that the person reaches in a reading comprehension process. Within which it allows the reader to draw conclusions beyond the information obtained directly from the text.
This skill consists of a very complex process in which the reader carries out a cognitive elaboration of the information obtained in the text, which is combined with one’s own mental schemas to result in the representation of the meaning of a piece of writing.
However, this meaning given to the information does not come directly from the written words but from the reader’s own cognition. This means that inferential thinking crosses the limit of understanding the information expressed in the text explicitly since it forces the reader to use their own scripts or cognitive schemes in order to achieve said understanding.
The components of this psychological process
In order to carry out the entire process of inferential thinking, the person needs the correct functioning of three essential elements:
1. Sensory system
It allows us to perceive and process the information we receive through sight and hearing.
2. Working memory
Processing and integration of information is carried out while it is received
3. Long-term memory
Its main function is to store the mental schemes thanks to which we can carry out inferential thinking.
In conclusion, achieving the correct functioning of inferential thinking not only helps us understand the information, but also helps us understand the world around us All this without having to resort to the direct or explicit information that it provides us.
What types exist?
As we mentioned, inferential thinking allows us to develop representations or cognitive images based on sensory and using our own mental schemes The product of this process is known as inference, and there are various types of these depending on their degree of complexity.
1. Global inferences
Also called “coherent inferences”, they are the product of an inferential thinking process in which the information is organized into large thematic units that allow us to associate textual information with the information in our memory.
This means that the reader draws up a series of general conclusions or resolutions following the entire text you have just read.
An example of global inferences is found in understanding the moral of a story or when we think about the intention that the writer of the work had.
2. Local inferences
Also known as cohesive inferences, these inferences They help us understand and draw conclusions from a text while we are reading it In them, interpretations are made based on specific information from a specific paragraph or phrase,
Thanks to them we can give meaning to the information read, during the same moment of reading.
3. Inferences after reading
These types of inferences occur once the person has finished reading the text and their main function is to understand the reason for certain events or facts that are reported in the text.
For example, refer to the interpretation of some causal consequences that may appear in the narrative. That is, the person can understand the reason for the specific events that occur in the text.
How can we develop it?
Because inferential thinking is a skill, it develops throughout a person’s life and as such, it is susceptible to training and development through a series of techniques or strategies.
This ability can already be observed in children as young as three years old Therefore, from this age we can enhance the development of inferential thinking and thus promote both the child’s reading comprehension and the understanding of what is happening around him.
To do this, we can use some tools or strategies specially developed to develop this skill. However, since this is gradual progress, We must take into account the level of development of the child and adapt these techniques to your capabilities.
Some of the tools that promote inferential thinking are:
1. Choice of appropriate texts
Choosing texts whose level of difficulty is appropriate for the child’s abilities is essential as a first step when developing inferential thinking.
The texts should pose a little challenge for the reader. That is, they can give rise to a certain level of inference but without being too complicated, since otherwise it can generate feelings of frustration or boredom.
2. Ask questions about the text
Create questions about the text that require a certain degree of inference, that is, Do not ask about things that are explicitly stated as well as asking the student to make their own observations and draw conclusions about the narrative.
3. Make predictions
Another option is to ask the child to try to predict what will happen next, while he or she reads. Ask them to develop their own theories and hypotheses and explain on what basis these conclusions are based.
4. Learning by modeling
Finally, in younger children or those with fewer abilities, the educator themselves can serve as a model when carrying out differential thinking. To do this, he must describe the mental process that he is carrying out, in this way the child is provided with an example of a pattern that he can imitate.
