History Main / ThinkingTic

* Bridge Carson, the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and Green Ranger of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', does a full handstand when he wants to do some serious thinking. He claims having the blood rush to his head makes him think better.

* ''Franchise/DocSavage'': The eponymous character is known for making an eerie trilling sound when in deep thought.

* Obi-Wan in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars frequently rests his elbow on his arm and strokes his beard when he is thinking.

-->-- [[Series/{{Scrubs}} J.D.]], [[LampshadeHanging hanging a lampshade]] on his day dreaming pose.

* ''Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'':

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': L bites his nails, particularly the nails on his thumb.

* [[WrenchWench Avril Mead]] from ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown]]'' will often stare at her hand and run her thumb over her pointer finger when contemplative.

* Most major ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' characters have a thinking sprite that is used whenever they're pondering something. Phoenix holds his chin in one hand, Maya looks up and to her left, Edgeworth crosses his arms, Apollo pokes his forehead, Mia covers her mouth...

* Gladys Glover, in the film ''ItShouldHappenToYou'', needs to take off her shoes in order to think clearly.

* Most ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' have a thinking sprite that is used whenever they're pondering something. Phoenix holds his chin in one hand, Maya looks up and to her left, Edgeworth crosses his arms...

* HoratioHornblower ''paces'' up and down when deep in thought - on a quarterdeck for preference, but anywhere of sufficient length will suffice. On one occasion he did so while staying at an inn, to the annoyance of the occupant of the room below him.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' characters do this a lot: Phoenix holds his chin in one hand, Maya looks up and to her left, Edgeworth crosses his arms...

Also see PuttingOnMyThinkingCap. Can be TruthInTelevision.

->“All you have to do is tilt your head to the left, close your eyes, and let your mind soar like an eeeeeagle.”

* In ''Film/SurvivorStyle5+'', the commercial director blinks her eyes rapidly when she's coming up with a new idea.

* Rodney from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' starts snapping his fingers rapidly whenever he's having an epiphany.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Whenever he's having one of his [[CutawayGag fantasies]], J.D. tends to tilt his head to the left.
* ''Series/YoGabbaGabba'': The Gabbas tend to scratch their heads whenever they think, especially Brobee. Muno often strokes his chin whenever he thinks.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': Sora tends to cross his arms across his chest when he's thinking, typically accompanied by tilting his head to the side while looking down. Aqua does something similar, though she props her left arm up on her folded right one and places a hand over her mouth.
* CluelessInspector Hildibrand of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a rather [[LargeHam hammy] thinking tic. Twisting to the right at the hip, bending his knees to tilt his body at an angle, Hildi flexes his arms and simultaneously points to his head while his eyes are closed in thought. If inspiration strikes, he splays his hands with a smile on his face.

* Seeing that the series is about murder mystery and class trial, ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' has a lot of this especially for the main trial leaders. Asahina crosses her arms while glancing up to her right, Hinata and Komaeda put their index finger on their chin, Nanami scratches her chin while looking up like she's wondering. Kirigiri got a special mention; her angry pose is the same as her thinking pose (crossing her left arm under her chest while her right arm propped over it), just with a different expression. She only uses that pose when the situation is utterly ridiculous but nevertheless is the truth, as if she's trying so hard to think but it could never make sense.

* All 3 of the human characters in WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}} have one of these. Matt plays with a yo-yo, Inez stands on her head and Jackie paces (usually prompted by her stating "Make room! I gotta pace!"). Interestingly none of these are perceived as annoying by those around them and the trio often does their own tics side by side while trying to work out their problem of the day.
* WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat's famous tic of walking back and forth with his hands behind his back.
* ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'': Og, when in deep thought, usually sits down while flicking his nose ring until he hits on something.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' Dipper has the irritating habit of clicking his pen when thinking.

* Sir Denis Nayland Smith of the ''FuManchu'' books tugs on an earlobe when thinking--even if he's in disguise at the time.

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Whenever he's having one of his [[CutawayGag fantasies]], J.D. tends to tilt his head to the left