mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

MTMT: Consolidating Multiple Thinking Modes to Form a Thought Tree for Strengthening LLM

arXiv 2412.03987 ↗First posted 5 Dec 2024cs.CL cs.AIcited by 3

On the map: LLM reasoning → Prompting and chain-of-thought reasoning

Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) have shown limitations in tasks requiring complex logical reasoning and multi-step problem-solving. To address these challenges, researchers have employed carefully designed prompts and flowcharts, simulating human cognitive processes to enhance LLM performance, such as the Chain of Thought approach. In this paper, we introduce MTMT (Multi-thinking Modes Tree), a novel method that interacts with LLMs to construct a thought tree, simulating various advanced cognitive processes, including but not limited to association, counterfactual thinking, task decomposition, and comparison. By breaking down the original complex task into simpler sub-questions, MTMT facilitates easier problem-solving for LLMs, enabling more effective utilization of the latent knowledge within LLMs. We evaluate the performance of MTMT under different parameter configurations, using GPT-4o mini as the base model. Our results demonstrate that integrating multiple modes of thinking significantly enhances the ability of LLMs to handle complex tasks.

Key facts. Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Prompting and chain-of-thought reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 15 of its 36 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 5 Dec 2024.

Builds on

15 of 36 references.

Closest ancestors · 6

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024Distilling System 2 into System 18 Jul
  2. 2023Take a Step Back: Evoking Reasoning via Abstraction in Large Language Models9 Oct
  3. 2023Let's Do a Thought Experiment: Using Counterfactuals to Improve Moral Reasoning25 Jun
  4. 2023Beyond Chain-of-Thought, Effective Graph-of-Thought Reasoning in Language Models26 May
  5. 2022Least-to-Most Prompting Enables Complex Reasoning in Large Language Models21 May
  6. 2022Self-Consistency Improves Chain of Thought Reasoning in Language Models21 Mar

Other references · 9

  1. 2023GPT-4 Technical Reportcited by 18,396
  2. 2024Gemini 1.5: Unlocking multimodal understanding across millions of tokens of contextcited by 3,224
  3. 2021TruthfulQA: Measuring How Models Mimic Human Falsehoodscited by 2,975
  4. 2023GPQA: A Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A Benchmarkcited by 2,879
  5. 2023Self-RAG: Learning to Retrieve, Generate, and Critique through Self-Reflectioncited by 1,839
  6. 2024TextGrad: Automatic "Differentiation" via Textcited by 273
  7. 2023System 2 Attention (is something you might need too)cited by 89
  8. 2023Tree-of-Mixed-Thought: Combining Fast and Slow Thinking for Multi-hop Visual Reasoningcited by 17
  9. 2024An Examination on the Effectiveness of Divide-and-Conquer Prompting in Large Language Modelscited by 12

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Cited by year

Citing papers per year: 2025: 3.

3 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2025Chain or tree? Re-evaluating complex reasoning from the perspective of a matrix of thought
  2. 2024RATT: A Thought Structure for Coherent and Correct LLM Reasoning
  3. 2023Tree of Thoughts: Deliberate Problem Solving with Large Language Models
  4. 2025THiNK: Can Large Language Models Think-aloud?
  5. 2025Mapping the Minds of LLMs: A Graph-Based Analysis of Reasoning LLM
  6. 2023Why Can Large Language Models Generate Correct Chain-of-Thoughts?
  7. 2024On the Empirical Complexity of Reasoning and Planning in LLMs
  8. 2025Breaking Thought Patterns: A Multi-Dimensional Reasoning Framework for LLMs