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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