
Analytical Thinking | Artistic Sense |
Big Picture Thinking | Cognitive Presence |
Communication Strengths | Concentration |
Conceptual Understanding | Confidence |
Counterfactual Thinking | Creative Thinking |
Critical Thinking | Cultural Competence |
Curiosity | Data Analysis |
Decision Making | Design Sense |
Design Thinking | Detail-Oriented Thinking |
Emotional Intelligence | Empathy |
Ethical Awareness | Flexible Thinking |
Focus | General Intelligence |
Grit | Imagination |
Inference | Intuition |
Inventiveness | Knowledge |
Language Strengths | Logical |
Long-Term Memory | Mathematical Reasoning |
Mindfulness | Multitasking |
Observant | Playfulness |
Pragmatic Thinking | Problem Solving |
Rational Thinking | Scientific Reasoning |
Selective Attention | Self-awareness |
Self-regulation | Sense of Humor |
Situational Awareness | Social Cognition |
Spatial Reasoning | Spiritual Awareness |
Strategic Thinking | Sustained Attention |
Systems Thinking | Tacit Knowledge |
Thinking Under Pressure | Tolerance for Ambiguity |
Visual Thinking | Win-win Thinking |
Wit | Working Memory |
Critical Thinking
In practice, the term critical thinking is used as a catch-all for cognitive strengths that are beneficial to academic pursuits. This includes analysis, questioning assumptions, hypothesis formation and other thinking processes that are rational and disciplined.
Social Thinking
Cognitive strengths that are beneficial to social processes such as collaboration, relationship building and influencing. This includes general social perceptiveness, social skills and specific cultural capital such as being able to speak a language well.
Creative Thinking
The ability to tackle open-ended problems where there is much difference in value from one solution to the next. This requires a rare mix of inspired originality and a pragmatic sense for what will be valuable in the real world.
Summary
Cognitive strengths are abilities, talents and character traits that are beneficial to modes of thinking. This can include abilities such as mathematical reasoning, talents such as languages, knowledge such as industry experience and character traits such as openness.