HowtoDevelopCriticalThinkingSkills.docx

HowtoDevelopCriticalThinkingSkills.docx

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HowtoDevelopCriticalThinkingSkills

How-to-Develop-Critical-Thinking-Skills

isarecommendationtoexercisethepowerofthoughttoestablishclarity.Ambiguityisoftenasymptomofsloppy,incomplete,orirrationalthinking.Whenyouexperiencesuchastate,itistimecarefullytoexamineyourpremises,yourprinciples,yourknowledge,andtheefficacyofyourthinkingprocess.Knowledgeistheprogressiveretrievalofclarityfromuncertaintyandconfusion.

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Avoidthebandwagon. Whenanotionbecomespopular,manypeoplewilljumponthebandwagontoembraceit.Thisisusuallymoreafunctionofconformitythanitisofcriticalthought.Look（andthink）beforeyouleap.

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Distinguishbetweenobservationandinference,betweenestablishedfactsandconjecturesthatfollow.

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Withholdjudgmentuntilyouaresureyouhaveadequateinformation. Itmaybetemptingtojumptoconclusions,butyoumayendupinaholeyoudidn'tsee.Ontheotherhand,onceyouhaveadequateinformation,donothesitatetomakejudgmentsbaseduponit.Judgmentispartoftheprocessofthinking,theapplicationofyourabilitytocometoconclusionsaboutreality.

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Maintainasenseofhumor. Youcan'tthinkstraightifeverythingseemslikeamatteroflifeanddeathtoyou.Theabilitytolaughatyourselfandtoseethehumorinsituationscanoftenhelpyoumaintainclarityofthoughtandperspective.However,bewareoflaughterusedasaweapontodenigratewhatyouvalueorasapsychologicaldefense;suchusesrequireaseriousresponse.

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Cultivateintellectualcuriosity. Theworldisfullofthingsyoudon'tyetknowabout.Curiosityisthesignofamindthatisfreeandopentothewondersofreality,unafraidtofacetheunknowninordertograspnewknowledge.Acuriousthinkerwillexplorenewmannersoflookingatthingsanddoingthings.Learningcanbeanadventureofconstantandexcitingdiscoveryifyoucultivateacuriousmind.

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Don'ttakethingsatfacevalue. Atanearlyage,mostofuslearnnottobelieveeverythingwehear.Imaginehowdisappointedyouwouldbeifyoubelievedalltheclaimsyouhearintelevisionadvertising!

Thissameprincipleshouldbeappliedtotheotherinformationthatcomesthroughthemedia,evenwhatispresentedas"news."Itismeanttobechewed（andsometimesspitout）,notswallowedwhole!

Bewareofpackagingthathidesthetruth.Sometimesabigboxwithafancypictureonthefrontbearslittlerelationshiptowhatishiddeninside.Openitupandtakealookforyourself!

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Challengeconventionalwisdom. Everycultureisbaseduponcertainassumptionsthatgolargelyunquestioned.GalileoGalilei,theItalianastronomerandmathematician,wasbroughtbeforetheInquisitionbecausehedaredtoquestionthe"truth"thattheEarthwasthecenteroftheuniverse.Eventoday,membersoftheFlatEarthSocietyaresaidtobelievethattheworldisasflatasapancake!

Youcannotassumewhatiscommonlyacceptedastruthisindeedtrue.Truthisestablishedbyrationalthought,notbyapublicopinionpollorpastpractice.

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Resistappealstoemotion. Emotioncansometimescloudyourreason.Ifyouareangryorecstatic,yourthoughtprocesseswillnotworkinthesamewayaswhenyouareinamoredispassionatemood.Bewareofsituationsinwhichyouremotionsarebeingintentionallystimulated（byflattery,fear,oranticipationswhileyouarebeingaskedtomakeadecision.Itmaybeastrategytomanipulatetheoutcome.

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Donotautomaticallyacceptauthority. Theappealtoauthorityisafavoriteadvertisinggimmick:

Hollywoodstars,sportsfigures,andpopularcultureheroesareusedtopromoteeverythingfrombreakfastcerealtounderwearandunderarmdeodorant.Weareencouragedtothinkthatifhe（orshe）saysthisisgreatstuff,itmustbe!

Thefactthatsuchanauthorityisgettingpaidmillionsofdollarsforhisorherendorsementmightbeenoughtomakeyouquestionhimasanobjectiveauthority.

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Bewareothers'egopleasingbehavior. Flatteryisatimehonoredmethodofpersuasion.Ifsomeonestartswithflattery,theymayintendtoendwithyourthinkingoryourmoneyintheirpocket.It'snotalwayseasytotellthedifferencebetweenasincerecomplimentandastatementdesignedtomanipulateyou.

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Beawareofyourownegoenhancingbehavior. Decisionscanoftenbeinfluencedbyhowyouwanttoappeartoyourselfortoothers.Ifyouareoverlyconcernedaboutmaintainingagivenimage,youmaybedoingandsayingthingsthatarenotreallyinyourownbestinterest.Asyouachieveauthenticselfesteem,behaviorbasedonappearancesoftenlosesitsappeal.

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Maintainasenseofperspective. Whenyouareinthemidstofanimportantmatter,itiseasytoloseabalancedviewofthesituation.Itcanoftenbeagoodpracticeto"zoomout"andviewthematterinalargercontext.Onemethodtoestablishperspective:

Onascaleofonetoten,withonebeingthedeathofabladeofgrassandtenbeingworldwidenuclearannihilation,whatdoesyoursituationrate?

Isittrulyascriticalasitseemsatthemoment?

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Beawareofunspokenrules. Sometimeshowwebehaveisdictatedbyhiddenrules.Ifyouarenotawareofsuchunspokenrules,youwon'thavetheknowledgeyouneedtomakeawisedecision.Ifyouareinafamiliarsituation,chancesareyouknowtherules（forexample:

don'trocktheboat,don'tquestiontheboss,don'tchallengetheprofessor）.Ifyouareinanunfamiliarsituation（oraforeignculture）,itmaypaytobeunusuallyobservantandtoquestionthosemorefamiliarwiththesituation.Thisisnottosaythatyoushouldbelimitedbysuchrules,onlythatanawarenessofthemisadvisable.

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Beawareofnonverbalbehaviorclues. Theimpactofverbalcommunicationislessthanhalfofthemessageyoureceivefromothers.Therestofthemessageiscommunicatedbynonverbalbehavior.Youwillbeinfluencedbyboth.Ifsomeoneisactingfriendlywhilepainfullysqueezingyourhandinahandshake,youmayhavereasontoquestionwhatheorshearesaying!

Thesamewouldapplyifsomeoneisstretchedbackinhischairandyawningwhiletellingyouhowinterestedheisinyourideas.Thecleareryourperceptionofthefactsofthesituation,thecleareryourthinkingwillbe.

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Whenunderpressure,stopandthink. Impulsivedecisionmakingoftenresultsinpoordecisions.Asthepressureforadecisionincreases,thetemptationtomakeanimpulsivedecisionalsoincreases.Youmayrationalizethisbythinkingthatanydecisionisbetterthanindecision;thisisrarelytrue.Indecisionisoftentheresultofpoordecisionmakingskills.Impulsivenessonlyassuresthatyou'llreaptheconsequencesofpoordecisionsthatmuchsooner!

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Seebeyondlabelsandstereotypes. Labelsandstereotypesareatypeofmentalshorthandthatcanfacilitatethinkingandcommunication.Ifyouareinneedofafourleggedpieceoffurnituredesignedforsitting,itiseasiertoaskforachairandtoignorethemanypossiblevariationsofdesignandmaterials.However,ifyouareinvestigatingapossiblecareerchoice,youshouldnotbesatisfiedwithastereotypicaldescriptionoftheoccupationsinvolvedyouwanttoknowexactlywhatitreallymeanstobeapoliceofficer,brainsurgeon,orfinancialanalyst.Likewise,dealingwithpeoplefromdifferentbackgroundsorculturesisseriouslyhamperedbyprejudicialstereotypesthatobscurethetruth.

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Weedoutnegativeselftalk. Muchofwhatpassesforthinkingisreallyself-talk–subvocalconversationsyouconstantlyholdwithyourself.Thisself-talkoftentakestheformofcriticaljudgmentsandattitudesaboutyourself.Yourthinkingskillsmaybeunderminedbyselftalkthatconveysnegativemessagesoverandoveragain,reinforcinganegativeselfimage（"Ican'tdoanythingright,""I'mjustnotassmartaseveryoneelse"）orattitudes（"Ibetternottrustanyone,""Schoolisawasteoftime"）.Unlessthiskindofnegativethinkingischallengedandreplacedbymorepositiveselftalk,itwilltendtoinfluenceyourdecisionsinanundesirablemanner.Thefundamentalelementinsuchchangeisthecultivationofselfesteem.Counselingisagoodsolutiontothiskindofproblem.

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Lookforconsistency. RalphWaldoEmersononcewrote:

"foolishconsistencyisthehobgoblinoflittleminds."Athoughtfulconsistency,however,isthehallmarkofcarefulandthoroughthinking.Consistencyandlogicarecriteriathatshouldbeappliedtowhateveryouconsider.Inconsistencyisoftenusedtoobscurethetruth.

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Practiceempathy. There'sanIndiansayingthatyoushouldwalkamileinanotherperson'smoccasinsbeforepassingjudgment.Inotherwords,youshouldnotjudgeothersuntilyoufullyunderstandtheirsituation.Bypracticingthistypeofempathy,youwilldecreasethelikelihoodofmakingsnapjudgmentsthatyoumaylaterregret.Youmayalsofindthatalittleunderstandingfacilitatesadeeperinsightintootherpeopleandtheirbehavior.Thedeeperyourinsightintoyourselfandothers,thewiseryourdecisionswillbe.

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Taketimetocheckthefacts. Ifyoudon'thavethefactsstraight,yourdecisionsarelikelytobeskewed.Inimportantmatters,youshouldtrytoobtainfirsthandaccesstotherelevantfacts.Ifyouaretryingtomakeacareerdecisionandwanttoknowsomethingaboutyouroccupationalskills,itisbettertotakeanaptitudetestthantoaskyourbuddieswhattheythink"you'regoodat."Likewise,itisbettertofindoutthenatureofworkforagivenoccupation,basedonacceptedreferencesandworkerinterviews,thantorelyonstereotypesthatmaybefullofpartialtruthsandsignificantomissions.Checkthereliabilityofyourinformation.Diditcomefromareliablesource?

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