Critical thinking Is the process of conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and
evaluating information gathered by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or
communication, as a guide to belief and action. When I apply critical thinking more ideas
are develop, fewer mistakes are made and better decisions are reached. Instead of using
critical thinking act on beliefs or without giving it a second thought, the end results are poor
decisions and as a result have a disaster at hand. Critical thinkers are fair and focused. They
are rational and not impulsive while making a decision. Critical thinkers have high
awareness that also plays an important role. Thinking out of the box has resulted in many
great inventions as well ideas. Creative thinkers are modest and humble. Being modest can
make you become a better critical thinker.Thinking critically in my past life has always
became a rise and fall for me, having doubts, being questionable but at time thinking
through and reasoning my doubts and reflecting on my experiences. Observing and
analyzing the negative and eventually evaluating all my problems and turning it into
positive. Basically, all the “I can’t” and “I won’t” gave me strength to look and think better
of myself. I would describe critical thinking evaluating and researching something. In order
to make a clear judgment. I would have never thought grocery shopping would have been
considered as critical thinking until I watched the video. When I grocery shop I have to
consider what my family likes and things that my family is allergic to.Good characteristics
of a good critical thinker are effective communication, open mindedness, flexibility,
tolerance for ambiguity, and problem solving. I work as a phlebotomist a lab. In order to
work in a hospital you have to be flexible. Schedule can change at anytime. There are many
barriers to critical thinking such as resistance, avoidance, anger, denial ignorance,
conformity, and distractions. I sometimes can get easily distracted when it comes to
completing my assignments. Motherly duties, social media, tv , and playing on my phone.
sometimes gets the best of me. So to keep from getting distracted by my phone. I put it on
airplane mode while I study. It's good to know which barriers affect you most. So you can
work on them.I never realized how much critical thinking played a major part in my
everyday life. It is something I do everyday naturally on my own. The videos made
understand more about critical thinking. I know now I need to work more on open
mindedness. Sometimes I can really be blunt. Don't be meaning to cause harm. But at times
I hurt people feelings. That's why it's always to think before I speak. Critical thinking is
important in many ways because it helps us to become better thinkers. One way people can
overcome barriers is by being open to new thoughts from other. Another way is not by
judging a person based on their thoughts and opinions. Knowing that everyone is entitled to
an answer, with no right or wrong answers. Everyone opinion should matter. I found that in
the learning activities very interesting that there are different stages of cognitive
developments that college students can relate to along with different characteristics of a
thinker that me myself can relate to. Also on how it can effect a person mind and ability to
be a critical thinker. I think this critical thinking course is really going to help to me. Fear of
challenge is one that really caught my eye. Because sometime a person can feel a certain
way about something and once they hear others thoughts on it, it can easily make them
change they mind out of fear. Being a critical thinker you should always stick to how you
feel about something because it pieces of your thoughts could he helpful to someone else. I
would define critical thinking as a combination of skills that we use daily that we need for
our full intellectual and personal development. It's important to learn so not only do we
know what to think, but how to think as well.A critical thinker is effective at
communication, has analytical skills, possesses research and inquiry skills, has flexibility
and tolerance for ambiguity, has open-minded scepticism, creative problem solving, are
attentive, mindful, and curious, and is a collaborative learner.
Barriers many of us face are exactly what you'd expect them to be. Resistance being one,
comes in different types such as anger, avoidance, cliches, denial, ignorance, conformity,
struggling and distractions. Also, narrow mindedness and the inability to see anything
besides your own opinion and thoughts. Absolutism, egocentrism, anthropocentrism, stress,
and ethnocentrism. We can overcome these barriers by learning and practicing the skills of a
critical thinker. A critical thinker to me is someone who is very observant and not biased
because when giving advice or help to a situation you'll need a very strong minded person
intake, Being misunderstood and lacking knowledge can be a problem when having a
conversation with someone who has a hard time understanding a topic of conversation you
know very well about. Critical thinking is putting your thought and ideas together and
analyzing what needs to be done to make a well thought out conclusion to your thought.
Being smart and thought out about an idea is how you apply critical thinking.Main
characteristics of critical thinking are being thorough about ides, being conscience about the
idea and apply the "who,what,where,why" of the topic .I believe the biggest barrier that
people have is themselves. They get an idea in their heads and that is what they need, want,
or must have. This is not how you approach critical thinking at all, in fact it is the exact
opposite .I found that the "Self-evaluation Questionnaire" was the best activity. Anytime we
can try and analyse how we think and how we approach our thinking process is a step in the
right direction. Being able to answer questions about hope we look at something and how we
put thought into something is good for us to see hoe we approach the ideas. We can find out
a lot about ourselves when we are forced to answer questions of how we approach an idea or
thought. I would define critical thinking as being open-minded when presented with a
situation, issue or statement and is able to gather the information, use logic, analysis and
evaluate then being able to come up with a conclusion or a plan of action.
Some characteristics of a critical thinker is being an effective communicator; flexible and
have a tolerance for ambiguity; open – mindedness; ability to problem solve.
Some common barriers to critical thinking narrow mindedness and resistance. You can
encounter narrow mindedness when you have your own personal experiences that can block
our ability to see another position. Another barrier is of resistance in which there are several
types such as avoidance of seeking information from other sources or people. Anger comes
into play when you have people who are steadfast in there way and want to persuade
another. People can overcome or avoid these barriers by being open – minded and willing to
seek other information and positions .I honestly never realized how very important critical
thinking is and not learning these concept can make getting along with peers, family and
relationships very difficult, in fact in some instances detrimental. According to Boss (2016),
some skilled critical thinker characteristics are:
• The ability to demonstrate good analytical skills
• Possess effective communication skills and technique
• Be well informed and have excellent research skills
• Present flexibility and the tolerance to handle ambiguity and uncertainty
• Adopt a position of open-minded skepticism
• Be a creative problem solver
• Be attentive, mindful, and intellectually curious
• Engage in collaborative learning
After this week's reading assignment, I can identify numerous common barriers to critical
thinking. According to Boss (2016), resistance is recognized as a common barrier. Most
people do not like to proven wrong or challenged. Resistance, defined as "the use of
immature defense mechanisms that are rigid, impulsive, maladaptive, and nonanalytical,"
can act as a barrier to critical thinking. Resistance becomes a problem when it is used as a
habitual way of responding to issues.
There are different types of resistance. Common barriers of resistance are:
• Avoidance
• Anger
• Cliches
• Denial
• Ignorance
• Struggling
• Conformity
• Distractions
• Absolution
• Fear of challenge
All of these barriers all have negative consequences and block or hinder one from
developing critical thinking skills. Based on this week's assigned reading, I'd define critical
thinking as the process of trying to analyze your own bias and the bias of others in relation
to information, in order to obtain a clearer understanding of that information.
Critical thinkers tend to have a healthy level of self esteem, and are usually pretty in touch
with their own thoughts and feelings. This is because of their ability to view themselves and
their actions critically, without the normal cloud of personal bias.I think fear is the greatest
barrier to critical thinking, and it comes in many forms. Fear of failure, fear of disappointing
others, fear of disappointing oneself, fear of not fitting in, and so on. In many situations, fear
can excite people and make them jump to conclusions, or make them take an unusual
thought process. For example, a child afraid of not fitting in might assume that anyone
whispering is gossiping about them, even if all logic points to it being an unrelated
conversation. Critical thinking would tell the child that the people whispering around the
corner aren't talking about them - but fear presents an obstacle to that critical thinking and
sends them down another thought process.The multi-level analysis of how to properly define
critical thinking was a really enjoyable read for me. It was broken down just enough to be
digestible without being broken down so much as to be unengaging or dry. I would define
critical thinking as the process needed to absorb life around us; in fact the reading this week
stated it is a set of skills needed to live your best intellectually. Without the development of
critical thinking achieving goals can become very difficult. Learning how to think rather
than just what to think will ensure your making the best decisions for you personally. A
critical thinker will be able to problem solve and get past obstacles. The common
characteristic of a critical thinker that is noted in the reading is logic. A critical thinker will
base decisions on evidence and facts rather than emotion. Due to a defense mechanism,
stubbornness, also known as resistance, can become a barrier. Avoidance was a form of
resistance I could relate with. I realized I also lean on some of the mechanisms in my
everyday life. I found it very interesting that I am not as much of a critical thinker as I
thought. The quiz that was included in the reading did bring to light how much I let
emotions affect my choices. I have learned I need to practice on some of my critical thinking
skills. I define critical thinking as something you have a strong mind set on, you have to
think wisely about your decisions. Some characteristics of a critical thinker are Logic,
Opinions, Cognitive Development, Analytical Skills, they all have they own opinion on
critical thinking. The barriers i think that's common to critical thinking are Absolution and
Fear of Challenge, because most people act before they think, and the things they say or do
effect that person they acting on. fear of challenge some people are scared of they own
shadow, some will hide in that shell for a long time, because they fear what other people
might think of them. I have learned a lot, I mean critical thinking is really a good
motivation, I know I use to act before I think, but I'm way smarter, aware, and wiser, I think
before I do anything. Critical thinking can help solve problems and arguments if you all
have the same concept of the situation, I learn so much in this lesson and psychology listen
that I know how to move, set schedules, and etc. I love the fact i choose to come back to
school and finally can make it through a course. I plan on learning more, I enjoy handling
my priorities. I would define critical thinking as our way of making rational decisions in a
timely manner under some sort of pressure. At some point every day we all use critical
thinking as a skillset, whether it be parenting, school, work, I mean the list goes on.
Thinking critically requires our minds to almost immediately have a solution to a problem,
without fully even understanding the problem at hand and in doing so we make decisions
that are sometimes good and sometimes can be bad but in that moment not having the time
to process we may not consider the outcome.Some characteristics of a critical thinker
include open mindedness, attentive, and even well informed and flexible. Which I believe all
ties together in a way, but can also not tie together so well. There have been times when I've
had an open discussion about my sexuality with my family I had to remain open minded but
wasn't very attentive because in all reality their opinions meant nothing to me. Those type of
conversations with my family always present themselves which allows me to use critical
thinking to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. I also have moments when I
want to be irresponsible and purchase some shoes or a bag knowing I have a bill to pay. I'll
use critical thinking to help me make the best decision and it typically helps because I end
up being responsible and paying my bills on time because I'm well informed on why it's
important to not be flexible at times. These are two very different examples of my
understanding of critical thinking.One common barrier of a critical thinker that I know
affects us all is being narrow minded. When we are well informed about something and
someone or something presents us with a counter argument about that something we tend to
hear nothing. I'll give an example, I know if my grandmother sent me to the store for some
collard greens not to come back with a can of pre-cooked collard greens and she doesn't
have to elaborate as to why because I absolutely know that she expects fresh collard greens.
If I get to the store they're sold out of fresh collard greens and only have pre-cut bagged
collard greens and pre-made collard greens in the can. The fact that I know if I bring home
the pre-cooked canned collard greens I'd never hear the end of it is what makes me narrow
minded to that option. So I know to go with the pre-cut bagged collard greens because they
are the closet to what I know my grandmother is expecting. When she cooks she expects to
make everything from scratch and does not look for short cuts so her narrow mindedness
towards those pre-cooked collard greens rubbed off on me over the years and now I don't
care how convenient the canned collard greens are my mind is going to always eliminate
them as an option, if the store is sold out of fresh collard greens I will check every store until
I find them or go with the pre-cut bagged collard greens (critical thinking). Not sure if in this
situation I can ever overcome this barrier but there is a work around so I guess I have
because the bagged greens are still convenient. I enjoyed the videos the most this week on
critical thinking because there were examples used for the questions that needed to be
answered that helped me with the answers for the discussion which I feel I executed well.
I'm always very critical on my responses because I want to know that I'm answering the
question properly. So that really helped. Based on this week's readings and activities, I
would define critical thinking as a way of reasoning and analysing daily decisions that affect
your life on a daily basis. Some characteristics of a critical thinker are analysing and
flexibility. Being a critical thinker means to analyse every factor that will lead to a decision.
For example, deciding what to wear for work; is it dress code appropriate? Do I look good?
will it keep me warm or cool throughout the day? Flexibility means to be flexible to the
possibilities if your decision. What I see as a common barrier to critical thinking is Anger.
Anger can become a huge barrier, because when you are angry, you let your emotions take
over critical thinking. We tend to act on those decisions when angry and not think of the
consequences that come after. People might be able to overcome this barrier by just being
angry, let the anger out before making a decision. And after one is more calm, them we can
analyze and decide what we will do. There are certain situations that you may be able to
avoid that might make you angry.
