In order to be aware of their surroundings, critical thinkers are constantly observing
and assessing different situations. They also are able evaluate these situations in
order to find their own plan of action. Critical thinkers aware of their own thoughts
and are confident in their own opinions but are also open to others opinions.
However, they still question their own, and others opinions in order to make the
most accurate judgments. Last but not least, they are able to look past now and
make decisions based on what will be best for the future. One of the biggest
barriers to critical thinking is self-confidence. If one does not possess confidence
to interject their opinion and thoughts into discussions and everyday life, they will
never be critical thinkers. If one does not have confidence in themselves they will
also not believe that their opinions are correct because they think they are not
good enough to produce logical thoughts and opinions. Self-confidence is a hard
skill to develop. It takes time and patience, but it is a skill that one will need to
become a critical thinker. In order to overcome self-doubt or a lack of self-
confidence, one must develop a growth mindset. A growth mindset allows one to
recognize their weaknesses and have the mindset that the weakness can get better
and better, until it is a strength. With the growth mindset, one must start to believe
that one day they can be confident in themselves. One Great way to develop self
confidence is affirmation in oneself. Every day a person will look themselves in
the mirror and tell themselves that hey are confident in themselves. If that thought
is constantly in ones mind, they will become that.The reading on cognitive
development helped expand my knowledge of critical thinking. I found out that I
am in the stage of transition to commitment. I knew people problem solved in
different ways, but I didn’t know that this is a stage of cognitive development.
Because I am diving further into critical thinking and into a college career, I will
soon be to the third stage of cognitive development. Critical thinking is a thought
process that is based around evidence that is not physically presented in the topic.
I like to think of critical thinking as "reading between the lines". In almost any
situation, there is more to understand than exactly what is said in the first place.
Whether it is finding an underlying meaning, a connection to be made, or problem
to be solved, critical thinking is just going beneath the surface to fully understand
the topic at hand. To become a true critical thinker, one must have attributes of
analytical thinking as well as a great understanding of language and tone of voice.
A great way to test someones critical thinking is a riddle. The whole point of a
riddle is to listen and try to look at the question in a different light, or think
about how connections to be made that are not readily apparent. In the TED talk
from this week, Margaret talks about how two people with two very different
personalities, which leads to different ways of thinking, are able to work well
together. Having another set of eyes on a piece of work makes it easier to spot
inconsistencies or issues that one person may not have picked up originally.
Someone who is a great critical thinker is able to look at something as if they
had another set of eyes and still get the same results as two people working on
it would. Critical thinking is a way of thinking about any topic and using evidence
and analyzing it with logical support to form judgment of belief or action.Some
characteristics that a critical thinker should have good analytical skills, effective
communication skills, participate in collaborative learning and open-minded
scepticism. Some common barriers to critical thinking are resistance and
narrowmindedness. Resistance is the repeated use of premature defense mechanisms
when your viewpoint is argued. Some types of resistance include avoidance,
conformity, and denial. Narrow-mindedness is the inability to change your belief or
views. Some types of nrrow mindedness include egocentrism, fear of challenge,
and absolutism. Some ways to overcome or avoid these barriers are to think for
yourself, evaluate existing evidence, and question things. Something that expanded
my ideas about critical thinking this week was the milgram experiment and the
Stanford Prison experiment. These experiments showed me that without good critical
thinking skills we are more likely to listen to authority figures. We might think
authority figures are always right, and we should do what they want without asking
questions or challenging them. Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate, organize
and develop a plan, to resolve challenges that arise. It provides the tools to help
develop the skills needed to make decisions with thought and effectiveness to
stimulate self-development by encompassing reasoning and rationality. A critical
thinker has developed several distinctive characteristics. They have the capability to
differentiate opinions from truths analyzing the situation. Another characteristic is
the ability to listen, gather and evaluate the information by using effective
communication. A critical thinker must also be flexible and open minded to assess
challenges from different views. Critical thinking does not lack barriers. Many
individuals are resistant to change. They believe in the phrase “If it isn’t broke, it
doesn’t need fixing”. Other individuals are non-confrontational. They would rather
remain silent than challenge a view. Additionally, stress is another barrier that limits
the ability to evaluate a situation and make a sound decision. To overcome these
barriers individuals need to invest in the development of healthy self-esteem and
self-improvement. These characteristics boast the ability to strategize and react to
challenges in a reasonable productive manner.
In the reading assignments this week, the Critical Thinking and Self Development
section gave me insight to the importance of self-improvement and the development
of a rational life plan. I consider myself a planner however, I never take into
consideration my own self health. I learned that I must address areas of weakness
instead of avoiding them. This will help me to improve my self-esteem and create
a rational pathway to my long-term success. Critical thinking is being able to
dissect a situation or problem from all angels; as well as having an open mind in
regards to possible solutions . Asking a lot of questions and being able to analyze
and gather data.Some characteristics of a critical thinker would be, being able to
analyze and provide logical support and not rely on feelings or opinions.
Communicating effectively when listening, speaking and writing. Knowing how to
communicate with others styles of communication is highly imperative. Researching
is vital to critical thinking implementing evidential information helps to evaluate an
action plan. Being open-minded is highly necessary to critical thinking especially
when working with others; which is when tolerance comes into play for critical
thinking, learning to value others opinions and knowledge. Many people have
common barriers when it comes to critical thinking, resistance comes in many forms
such as avoidance, anger and denial. People often do not want to be wrong and
often times have issues with being wrong which is a huge barrier in critical
thinking.When learning to overcome the resistance barrier it would be helpful to
understand that it is ok to not to have all the answers and not have to be right
all of the time. Learning to have an open mind and understanding that, often times
stress creates resistance especially to change can help one overcome resistance.For
me the passage in the reading about Buddhist's concept of the "beginner's mind"
reminded me that being a critical thinker is an awesome quality to have and
wanting to learn and seek out wisdom about our own thoughts, feelings and what
is happening around us is something most everyone needs to be doing. Critical
Thinking; by definition, is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order
to form a judgement. My definition would be the ability to solve a problem
utilizing all the skills that provide an outcome not based on bias or outside
influence. This definition doesn't allow one to be influenced by opinions or
friendships, but merely by, what is the best solution. A critical thinker raises vital
questions; they gather and assess all relevant information, they think open-mindedly
with alternative systems of thought, they communicate effectively with others in
figuring out solutions to complex problems. The problems I see to critical thinking
are peoples emotions, lack of knowledge of the subject, lack of willingness to
understand , misunderstanding of the truth and being close-minded. I believe that
people can overcome these barriers by understanding that "they don't know
everything there is to know about anything." I try to do that everyday in my job;
I am not the most knowledgeable, smartest or a know-it-all, I prefer to find the
best answer (option) to fix our current problem - even if it isn't my way. The
book reading about stress a barrier helped me expand my ideas about critical
thinking; it makes one wonder, why one subject is able to be so completely "cool
under pressure" yet others tend to fail miserably and blame others for their
incompetence. Own it. I say it all the time; you must not be afraid to fail to
learn. Critical thinking is a type of thinking that is in depth and not at a surface
level. Critical thinking is being able to put aside bias and to look at problems
from all angles to come up with the best solution. Some characteristics of a critical
thinker would be able to analyze information, be able to find evidence, and be
able to problem solve while looking at all sides of the problem. Barriers to critical
thinking would be ignorance and avoidance. Thinking critically requires research and
avoiding a problem does not allow for it to be solved. I think these barriers can
be overcome by making sure to thoroughly inform yourself when you take a stance
on a topic. Find evidence and evaluate both sides. Perhaps find someone with an
opposing view and have a mature argument. Consider their side and adjust yours
accordingly. Overcome avoidance by realizing how certain situations effect you and
the world around you. Learn more about things to be motivated and passionate
about topics. I thought the study about how people deal with authority was very
informative. How people tended to do things they knew was wrong because of
being in a lower position. It reminds me to use critical thinking to determine if
something, even if someone is in a position of power above me. Critical thinking
is the ability to absorb information, listen to differing views from outside sources,
weigh differing opinions, and process various pieces of information with an open
mind. During her “Dare to Disagree, TEDTalk,” Margaret Heffernan discusses the
fascinating ability of two colleagues working with one another in such a close
manner, despite have nearly polar opposite behavioral styles. One being extremely
analytical and introverted, and the other encompassing more of an outgoing and
unmethodical approach to life. Despite the differences, they embraced each other’s
styles and together achieved their research goal. In many (even large) organizations,
being able to embrace differing opinions among work groups is not as common as
it should be.
Being a critical thinker will take some key attributes. Solid communication, effective
research, sound reflection ability, being collaborative, and possessing analytical skills
are all essential attributes to being able to process various pieces of information in
order to arrive at a sound conclusion. Milgram’s study was an incredible example
of people not practicing critical thinking and sound judgement. Despite the actor’s
clear agony, many of the test subjects continued to cause pain to the actor, simply
because an authoritative figure was directing them to do so.
Another topic that really connected with me in the reading, was “avoidance.” I
work for a large company and despite us having a large management group that
should challenge each other, and be more vocal in “critical thinking sessions,” the
tone of the meetings generally just are too acceptant. Only afterward, in more
individual settings, behind closed doors, do differing opinions, concerns, or thoughts
arise. I conclude that critical thinking is the ability to be able to evaluate a
situation and then come to a decision on to how you feel about it, as well as,
how others may feel. I feel like there are many characteristics that make up a
critical thinker. In order to be a critical thinker, you must be open-minded. If you
are not open-minded you may be quick to judge or assume. This is not good
because people may see situations differently from you. I also feel that in order
to be a critical thinker you must also be creative you must be able to think of
more than one way to solve a problem or a situation. Lastly, I think every critical
thinker must have compassion. When you have compassion, you must think of all
possible reasons why people do what they do. This would destroy any bias. I feel
like the main barrier people may face when it comes to critical thinking is bias.
The way people can avoid this is by reminding yourself that everyone is in fact,
different. Not everyone will think the exact same as you. You as a person, already
have set beliefs and opinions, but not everyone has been through the same things
that have led you to feel the way you feel. It may be hard to overcome your
bias, but in order to be the best critical thinker you can be, you must. The reading
assignment this week that expanded my ideas the most about critical thinking was
the reading on the Milgram experiment. I constantly though to myself about what
I would do in the situation that the subjects were in. I tried to think about all
the possible reasons why the subjects were just complying. I tried to remove any
bias that I had towards the reading by reminding myself that I knew fully what
the experiment was about. I used critical thinking myself while reading about it
