If you'd rather not read the short introduction to the behavioral logic theory on intelligence, I made a video version. You can also get a good overview in the glossary.

Behavioral Logic tl;dr

Behavioral Logic is the mechanism for choosing actions to accomplish a goal.

The three main ways to choose beneficial actions (that increase the probability of a goal being achieved) and avoid harmful ones (that decrease chances of success) are: reflexes, habits, and decisions.

Reflexes

The simplest procedure to choose an action is the reflex. These are actions performed when specific environmental conditions are met.

Reflexes are simple, predictable, and effective, but lack the ability to improve or adapt to changing conditions.

Habits

How could reflexes improve thought experience? Here is a simple method:

1. Start with an initial variation in reflexive actions.
2. Have an indicator of harm or benefit. (A sense of pleasantness or unpleasantness)
3. Increase the probability of beneficial behaviors and decrease those associated with harm.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is known as operant conditioning. Sensations of pleasantness or unpleasantness can also be improved from experience by remembering conditions correlated to harm and benefit (classical conditioning.)

Using behavioral conditioning, an intelligent creature can increase the benefit of its behaviors even in changing environments. But it requires first hand attempts at actions with risky consequences. What if there were a way to predict the outcome of an action without having to try it first?

Decisions

If information about the consequences of previous actions were saved, an intelligent creature could use this to make an educated guess of the effects of an action in similar situations. It could propose multiple possible action and evaluate the harm or benefit of their consequences using classical conditioning information, then make a decision to act on which one it determines to result in the most positive outcome.

I would call this process of decision making conscious thought.