6th November 2023

What is Thought?

‘A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.’

– Mahatma Gandhi

As human beings, we have thoughts every day; in fact, this is something that makes us quintessentially human and differentiates us from other living things. Our thoughts range from the mundane to the genius. They are an expression of our individual self.

Thought content is an essential element of the mental state examination (MSE). The content of others’ thoughts manifests in two ways: firstly, observing behaviour (another element of the mental state examination), and secondly, listening to their communication. However, the relationship between thought and observable behaviour is complex. The content of the patient’s thoughts may be expressed directly by the patient, or it may require probing by the examiner during an interview in the form of focused questions. Some psychologists view thought as an internal monologue involving a separate language of the mind. However, others view language and thought as highly interlaced. This is a very interesting topic, but for the purposes of the MRCPsych papers, we do not need to delve into this too much.

Before we look at what happens when thinking ‘becomes disturbed’, let’s first consider ‘normal thinking’.

References

• Gosney, P., & Kumar, S. (n.d.). Thought. Trainees Online (TrON). Available online at: https://mylearning.rcpsych.ac.uk/d2l/home/7589 [Accessed Jan 2023]