Boss5 ppt ch01_ada (1)
- 1. Chapter 1 Critical Thinking: Why It’s Important The aim of this tutorial is to help you learn the basics of critical thinking and be able to identify common barriers to effective critical thought. Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
- 2. © McGraw Hill 2 Critical Thinking: A Vital Skill Critical thinking provides us with a crucial set of skills we need to make decisions and resolve issues that arise in our everyday lives. Critical thinking, like logic, requires learning how to think rather than simply what to think. • The word “critical” is derived from the Greek word kritikos, which means “discernment,” “the ability to judge,” or “decision making.”
- 3. © McGraw Hill 3 Milgram Experiment Courtesy of Alexandra Milgram
- 4. © McGraw Hill 4 Logic • Logic is a crucial part of critical thinking and requires good analytical skills. • Logic is defined as “the study of the methods and principles used in distinguishing correct (good) arguments from incorrect (bad) arguments.” • Critical thinking requires applying the rules of logic as well as gathering evidence, evaluating it, and coming up with a plan of action.
- 5. © McGraw Hill 5 Logic versus Opinion In contrast to arguments based on logic, arguments based on opinion are defined as “beliefs based solely on personal feelings rather than reason or facts.” While we are all entitled to our opinions, arguments based solely on opinions are not necessarily reasonable and may encourage us to make poor choices or act in ways we may later regret. • Sometimes uninformed opinions can be harmful, both to us and to society.
- 6. © McGraw Hill 6 Cognitive Development in College Students Educational researcher William Perry, Junior (1913 to 1998) identified several stages of cognitive development in college students. • Later researchers simplified his findings into three separate developmental stages: dualism, relativism, and commitment.
- 7. © McGraw Hill 7 Stage One: Dualism Dualism is the first stage of cognitive development and is common among freshmen and many sophomores. • It involves the assimilation of knowledge and experience in a simple, “dualistic” way, viewing issues as either right or wrong. • Dualistic thinkers see knowledge existing outside themselves and look to authority figures for answers. • When researching an issue, dualistic students often exhibit confirmation bias, which involves only seeking out evidence that supports their views and dismissing or ignoring contradictory evidence.
- 8. © McGraw Hill 8 Stage Two: Relativism • Rather than accepting that ambiguity may be unavoidable, relativistic thinkers reject the dualistic viewpoint and move to the opposite extreme arguing that all truth is relative or just a matter of opinion. • People at this stage believe that stating one’s opinion is the proper form of communication, and they look down on challenging others’ opinions as judgmental and even disrespectful. • Despite their outward relativism, they still look to authority figures, such as professors, to confirm their opinions.
- 9. © McGraw Hill 9 Stage Three: Commitment 1 As students mature, they come to the realization that not all thinking is equally valid. • Not only can authority figures be mistaken, but a certain level of uncertainty and ambiguity is unavoidable. When students at this stage experience uncertainty, they are now able to make decisions and commit to particular positions on the basis of reason and the best evidence available.
- 10. © McGraw Hill 10 Stage Three: Commitment 2 At the same time, as independent thinkers, they are open to challenge and are flexible enough to change their positions as new evidence becomes available.
- 11. © McGraw Hill 11 Characteristics of a Good Critical Thinker 1 Critical thinking is a collection of skills that enhance and reinforce each other. • Analytical skills: Your ability to analyze and provide logical support for your beliefs. • Communication and reading skills: Your ability to listen, speak, and write effectively and the awareness of your own communication style. • Research and inquiry skills: Your ability to gather, evaluate, and synthesize supporting evidence. • Flexibility and tolerance of ambiguity: The ability to flexibly adapt to changing situations.
- 12. © McGraw Hill 12 Characteristics of a Good Critical Thinker 2 • Flexibility and tolerance of ambiguity: The ability to flexibly adapt to changing situations. • Open-minded skepticism: The ability to overcome personal prejudices and biases and critically examine an issue before coming to a decision; this often involves the method of doubt, first proposed by French philosopher René Descartes (1596 to 1650). • Method of doubt involves setting aside our preconceptions and adopting a default position of skepticism.
- 13. © McGraw Hill 13 René Descartes Collection/Getty Images
- 14. © McGraw Hill 14 Characteristics of a Good Critical Thinker 3 • Creative problem-solving skills: The ability to view problems from multiple perspectives and come up with original solutions to complex problems. • Attentiveness, mindfulness, and curiosity: The ability to remain curious and attentive to the world and consider multiple opinions. • Collaborative learning skills: The ability to recognize and anticipate the reactions of others and a willingness to collaborate with others to share and gain knowledge.
- 15. © McGraw Hill 15 Multiple Potentially Deadly E F3 Tornadoes, Causing Millions of Dollars of Damage Stewart F. House/Getty Images
- 16. © McGraw Hill 16 An MP3 Player Vicki Beaver/Alamy Stock photo
- 17. © McGraw Hill 17 Critical Thinking and Self-Development Critical thinking is not just about abstract thought. • It is also about self-improvement and your whole development as a person. • Self-examination is an important part of this process. Good critical thinkers take charge of their lives and choices. • By contrast, poor critical thinkers allow themselves to be controlled by circumstances and often deal ineffectively with problems, which often results in depression, anger, or other emotional problems. • Developing a rational life plan is an effective way of avoiding these problems.
- 18. © McGraw Hill 18 Age Differences in Depression Source: Data courtesy of SAMHSA Access the text alternative for slide images
- 19. © McGraw Hill 19 A Life Plan Is Like a Flight Plan Geoff Tompkinson/Getty Images
- 20. © McGraw Hill 20 Other Features of a Good Critical Thinkers Effective critical thinkers exhibit other traits and characteristics. • These include: • The ability to challenge social injustices as well as being able to respond intelligently and thoughtfully to challenges to our own belief systems. • The cultivation of high self-esteem, proactive attitude, and self-direction, traits common in autonomous critical thinking. • The involvement in democratic politics and the ability to critically analyze political actors and issues.
- 21. © McGraw Hill 21 Sally Ride Everett Collection/CSU Archives/Newscom King was willing to go to jail, rather than back down on his goal of equality for all people.
- 22. © McGraw Hill 22 Elizabeth Cady Stanton Bettmann/Getty Images
- 23. © McGraw Hill 23 Barriers to Effective Critical Thinking • Effective critical thinking involves sharpening our resistance to irrational or narrow-minded arguments. • Recognizing these irrational or narrow-minded arguments can sharpen our critical thinking skills and help devise effective strategies to counter them.
- 24. © McGraw Hill 24 Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Shane T. McCoy/U.S. Navy/Getty Images
- 25. © McGraw Hill 25 Tiananmen Square, China Jeff Widener/AP Images
- 26. © McGraw Hill 26 The Three-Tier Model of Thinking The processes used in critical thinking can be broken down into three tiers or levels: experience, interpretation, and analysis. • Experience, the foundational level of critical thinking, involves firsthand experience as well as empirical facts derived from other sources. • Interpretation involves trying to make sense of our experiences. • Analysis involves raising our level of thinking and critically analyzing our interpretations of an experience.
- 27. © McGraw Hill 27 The Three Levels of Thinking Access the text alternative for slide images
- 28. © McGraw Hill 28 Resistance • None of us likes to be wrong and when we are challenged, we often exhibit resistance, which is defined as “the use of immature defense mechanisms that are rigid, impulsive, maladaptive, and nonanalytical.” • Resistance acts as a barrier to effective critical thinking.
- 29. © McGraw Hill 29 Types of Resistance 1 There are several types of resistance; they include avoidance, anger, clichés, denial, ignorance, conformity, struggling, and distractions. • Avoidance involves escaping or intentionally avoiding certain people and situations. • Anger involves responding to challenges with threatening physical or verbal cues. • Clichés are often-repeated statements that sidetrack the real issues and prevent effective critical thought. • Denial involves ignoring or refuting challenging viewpoints or evidence.
- 30. © McGraw Hill 30 Types of Resistance 2 • Ignorance is a type of resistance where we intentionally avoid learning about a particular issue. • Conformity involves going along with group or peer viewpoints even when you disagree with them. • Struggling involves getting so caught up in the minute details of an issue that nothing gets accomplished. • Distractions are hindrances that prevent clear thinking and effective critical analysis.
- 31. © McGraw Hill 31 Is Ignorance Bliss? Amos Morgan/Getty Images
- 32. © McGraw Hill 32 Narrow-Mindedness 1 Like resistance, narrow-mindedness and rigid beliefs, such as absolutism, egocentrism, fear of challenge, ethnocentrism and anthropocentrism, act as barriers to effective critical thinking. • Absolutism is a perspective that sees the world in “black and white” absolutes. • Fear of challenge involves reluctance to stand up to others who we believe may have different opinions.
- 33. © McGraw Hill 33 Narrow-Mindedness 2 • Egocentrism is a perspective that sees the self as the center of all things. • Ethnocentrism is an uncritical and unjustified belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own group or culture. • Anthropocentrism is a belief that humans are the central or the most significant entity in the universe.
- 34. © McGraw Hill 34 Statue of Buddha Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images According to Buddhist teaching, mental hindrances like distractions keep us from clear understanding.
- 35. © McGraw Hill 35 Stephen Hawking David Silverman/Getty Images
- 36. © McGraw Hill 36 Funeral of Sunando Sen Matthew McDermott/Polaris/Newscom
- 37. © McGraw Hill 37 Rationalization and Doublethink When we are faced with difficult choices or decisions, we often engage in rationalization to justify our decisions made on the basis of personal opinion or bias. Because rationalization involves ignoring competing claims, people who engage in it often get caught up in doublethink. • It is defined as holding two contradictory views, or “double standards,” at the same time and believing both to be true.
- 38. © McGraw Hill 38 Cognitive and Social Dissonance • We are most likely to modify or critically analyze our views when we encounter cognitive or social dissonance, which occurs when we encounter new ideas or social behavior that contradicts or conflicts with our worldviews. • Evidence suggests that when people change their behavior, changes in their beliefs follow.
- 39. © McGraw Hill 39 U.S. Median Income by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender, 2017 Michael Poehlman/The Image Bank/Getty Images Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2018. The wage gap between women and men, especially between white and Asian men and black and Hispanic women, continues to be significant with women earning only about 80 percent of what men earn. Access the text alternative for slide images
- 40. © McGraw Hill 40 Conclusions • As explored in the previous slides, effective critical thinking requires development of a collection of skills, including attentiveness, open-mindedness, strong communication, and effective analytical, research, and problem-solving skills. • Critical thinkers also need to be aware of barriers to effective critical thinking, such as habitual use of resistance and different types of narrow-mindedness.
- 41. © McGraw Hill 41 Perspectives on Affirmative Action in College Admissions Bill Pugliano/Getty Images