Critical thinking can be impacted by emotions. Negative emotions such as anger and
fear can impede the process of critical thinking. On the other hand, positive emotions
can actually intensify critical thinking. For example, an emotion such as empathy has
the effect of making an individual more open-minded and more likely to consider the
viewpoints of others. By combining emotions with reasoning, we can make better
decisions. In order to balance emotion and reason, I avoid making decisions when my
emotions are running particularly high. When I make a decision, I consider all of the
pros and cons as well as the possible outcomes. I allow my emotions to compliment
my reasoning by searching for a happy medium between the two when I make a
decision. When I was working in human resources there was a situation in which a
young woman's husband had abruptly left her and their two small children. She was
struggling mightily with everything from the loss of her husband's income to caring
for the children as a single parent, not to mention the devastation which she must
have felt about losing her partner. My heart absolutely went out to this young woman,
and I could not help but feel empathy for her. However, her performance at work was
obviously suffering. She almost constantly arrived to work late and when she did
finally make it to the office she was distracted and made careless mistakes. In this
situation, I had to balance my emotions with reasoning. While I felt incredible
empathy for this employee, reasonably I could not allow her poor performance at
work to continue. The solution that I found was to invite her into my office for a
serious discussion. I was very direct and honest with her. I did not attempt to conceal
my emotions. Rather, I told her exactly how I felt. Then, I also explained to her that
logically we had to work together to improve her performance on the job. Her chronic
lateness turned out to be simply a problem of logistics. Getting her children ready in
the morning alone was taking longer than she had thought it would. She was able to
correct this by rising earlier and using better time management skills. Her poor
performance on the job was mainly due to the fact that she was distracted by the
lingering feeling of sadness while she was at work. To a large degree, just knowing
that she had a friend and ally in me helped her to be happier at work. She was better
able to focus on her work, and her performance improved.Through communication, we
learn another person's thought process and line of reasoning. Understanding another
person's thoughts and reasoning is a crucial element in critical thinking. For an
example of this, I will once again revisit the job which I once had in a human
resources department. In my role in human resources, I could almost predict which
employees would rise quickly in the company and which employees would struggle in
their jobs by considering their communication skills. Almost every time, employees
who possessed excellent communication skills were promoted quickly. Conversely,
employees who had substandard communication skills often ended up quitting, being
terminated, or remaining in the same position for a very long time. I believe that the
reason for this is that good communication enhances critical thinking, so those who
were outstanding communicators were more successful in my office, which required
the employees to work in teams much of the time. Also, whenever an employee came
to me with a concern, I was naturally better able to assist him or her if he or she
possessed good communication skills because there was less ambiguity. It was easier
for me to understand exactly what they were asking of me and what I needed to do
in order to help them be successful.For me, the most interesting concept that I learned
this week was that emotions can enhance critical thinking. I had never even
considered this before. In our society, emotions almost have a negative connotation,
and they are considered out of place in the professional world. I enjoyed learning that
emotions can, in fact, improve critical thinking.Emotions can cloud judgment and leave
you less than impartial. When reasoning takes a back seat our critical thinking can
becomes irrational when facts are pushed aside. If one is too empathetic to a given
situation it can make you unwillingly bias. Anger and fear in particular can lead
stereotyping and avoidance as stated in the reading.In making a fair assessment of a
situation that may lead to a termination I will always interpret the facts in an
unbiased manner. Intent, prior history, and if the outcome is a termination the delivery
no matter how factual is always empathetic. I take no joy, and in all cases understand
what it is to be on the other side of the table. High emotional intelligence balances
with strong critical thinking skills can strike the perfect balance.Language is very
nuanced, which is why inflection is very important. Often times phrases and words
carry different meanings in different situations. The words chosen, the tone, sense of
urgency and body language all play a factor on how one interprets a situation. Over
time I have understood that no conversation happens without a desired outcome by an
employee. Many times I receive what seems to be mundane information, by an
employee who ends with “I just wanted to make you aware”. The fact that there was
deliberate effort to come see me, and mention what seems to be mundane, usually
means there is something more to be known.The area of learning that I found most
interesting this week was the reading on the topic of faith and reasoning. Specifically
the three approaches to faith and reason – rationalism and critical rationalism. As I
interpret the definitions that seem to be purposely similar, is that critical rationalism
absorbs the argument for reason and knowledge as to dovetail with the religious
underlining needed to have both live in harmony. Emotion can negatively influence
critical thinking, because you could be angry and that could cloud your judgement.
This can cause many issues to arise and you may say or do things that you didn't
mean. Using emotion positively can be achieve by putting in work on a cause that
you are passionate about for example women's rights.A person can balance emotion
and reason by using the one that is relevant to the situation at hand. Reason can also
be used in an emotional conflict to help make a sound decision. I used reasoning
when I had to choose between good pay vs. location. I had to use emotion on the
day I got engaged.Critical thinking can be used in communication to help mus say the
right things or verbally give the right answer to a question. It can also help in a
professional setting like an interview or a public speaking.The most interesting concept
for this week was using emotion for during critical thinking I knew that it could
effect someone negatively, but I haven't realized that could be used positively. There
are many different situations in which critical thinking can be positive or negatively
influenced. For example, positive influence can be when you are more open to other
views, ideas, and there perspective which makes you a better critical thinker. Critical
thinking can also be negatively influenced when you are angry it clouds your
judgement so you cannot make a effective decision. I tend to not use any emotion
when I use critical thinking in everyday life. I like to use logic and see the benefits
and costs of different situations. An example when I had to use both was when my
grandmother passed away so I had to step up and help out and still make decisions
even though it was a emotional time. Communication is such a integral part of critical
thinking. It's how we receive and give information through one another through signs,
symbols, hand gestures, and language. Right now we are using this discussion post to
communicate. The most interesting concept this week was the questionaire where it
told us our styles of critical thinking. Emotions can positively and negatively influence
critical thinking in different situations. In an emotional situation like the passing of a
loved one there are lots of decisions that have to be made and when we are upset we
make decisions out of the hurt or anger we are feeling at the moment. An example of
a situation for myself is this time last year I lost my dear sweet aunt who I loved so
very much and I was so angry and upset I was emotional drained and when everyone
started talking money and funeral arrangements and the organ donors come to talk to
me I couldn’t for the life make decisions I couldn’t think clearly . Emotions can
positively influence your critical thinking of you aren’t going through a hard time not
upset having a great day. How I control my emotions and reasoning when making a
decision is I never make decisions out of anger or hurt because if you do those types
of things you end up saying and doing the wrong things. I believe that emotions can
positively and negatively influence critical thinking when dealing with certain
situations. Lets say you are involved in a situation a a decision has to be made and
you are upset and or angry, those feelings can cloud your judgement and thinking and
cause you to not make the right decision. Emotions may have a positive influence if
you are using those personal feeling to understand a situation without being bias.
Putting yourself in the situation and asking yourself how would I feel or what would
I do, and also using empathy can bring a positive outcome.We use communication in
critical thinking in the form of hand gestures, symbols, signs, verbal, and non verbal.
All of these forms can be used positively or negatively. In school we communicate
through a discussion board or messaging so when responding to others or even
expressing your own idea it is important to me that I effectively communicate my
thoughts with out offending anyone and to also achieve a good grade. I am able to
use empathy during my critical thinking process when responding my to classmates.
Emotions positively influence our critical thinking through empathy, moral indignation
or outrage, love, happiness and even guilt. These lead to making better decisions.
Critical thinking can be negatively influenced by other emotions that are based on
negative stereotypes and anxieties stemming from unresolved past experiences, such as
anger and fear of abandonment. We can end up in trouble when our actions are
governed solely by feelings.When it comes to balancing my emotion and reason when
making decisions, I find myself an emotional thinker. If I have anger or fear towards
a certain decision that’s being made in politics for example, I find myself not
balanced so I try to go back to neutral ground and see both sides of the argument
although I may not disagree.The role of communication in critical thinking can be
symbols, whether spoken, written or sign language. Some communication can be hand
without symbolic elements but include vocalizations such as babies in the state of
discomfort. When I was growing up, I was only 9 when I had to babysit my baby
brother during the summer so I had to quickly learn how he communicated that he
was content or not, and figure out how to fix it by communication through crying.The
use of language to manipulate and deceive through emotive language, rhetorical
devices and deception was eye opening to me. You can connect a lot of political
statements, along with a lot of advertisement to manipulative techniques used to drive
a specific agenda. Emotions can influence critical thinking positively by pre-disposing
us or motivating us to make better decisions, by being empathetic we can be more
flexible and open to others perspective making us a better critical thinker, Emotion
can influence us negatively when there is negative stereotypes and anxieties from
unresolved past experience. The way I balance my emotions and reasoning when
making a decisions is to stop and think if my decision is just base on how I feel and
if those feeling have the ability to change later on also is the reason just my emotions
or logic. An example was when I decided not to move to Texas do to a relationship,
I based that decision on logic and what would be better for me and my kids in the
long run. The role of communication in critical thinking is being able to learn how to
follow another person's thought process and line of reasoning. An example of a time
when language influence my critical thinking was when my sister after saying
something I disagree using different words and communicating her reasoning behind
her argument. Reflecting on the learning activities, concepts, ideas, and topics covered
this week, what was the most interesting concept I learned this week was how
emotions influence your critical thinking. Emotions can positively influence critical
thinking in situations where someone is going though a situation that you or someone
close to you may have gone through and it can cause you to have compassion which
may lead to you to help or assist someone. At the same time if your in a bad mood
It may cause you to not care about any negative effects your decision may have.
When making a decision i always try to think of the pros and cons that may come
with my decision and how it will effect me,i also do my best not to make important
decision when im upset. Recently I had to make the decision of rather or not to
travel to Georgia to go pick up my girls, I know my decision was based off reason
and emotions do to fearing they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Communication in critical thinking plays a big part in how a person receives what
reaction they may have. I enjoyed the think tank questioner and i really enjoy the
interactive videos. Emotions can positively influence critical thinking through
motivation. When we enforce a positive emotion into something we attach a sense of
satisfaction to want to do better, whether that is in overcoming an obstacle, being
motivated by family, kids, and even success. Because we hold these senses of values
so close to us, when it comes to making a decision or overcoming an obstacle, we
then think critically about our choices and the effect they have on those things we
cherish. On the other hand emotions can also play a negative factor in critically
thinking, through things like revenge, or personal biases. We tend to steer through the
same mistakes out of comfort and habit and through that bias we use critical thinking
to our negative affects.
