Review for Chapter 1

Critical thinking Critiquing our own thinking and thinking of others; avoiding irrelevant
information or being ruled by emotion or speculation
What is a “conclusion” A belief, opinion, claim, or statement
Objective claim Claim that is either true or false, independent of what people think: Mars
is a planet, the earth is round, beef comes from cows, God exists; 7-11 is
open 24 hours. That movie scared me.
Subjective claims Based on personal preferences and cannot be “argued” true or false: That
movie was scary.
Factual opinion Another name for an objective opinion; again, can be either true or false
Issues A topic is the subject of conversation; an issue is a topic that is in question
or has some controversy. (Is there too much violence on TV? Do
vaccinations cause autism? Is addiction a medical disease)
Cognitive development The process by which we acquire knowledge and increasingly complex
thought and problem-solving throughout our lives
Three stages of cognitive development Dualism, Relativism; Commitment
Stage 1: Dualism Seeing the world in absolutes; things are either right or wrong; looking
to authority for answers (mom/dad, police, teachers, etc.); unable to
tolerate uncertainty or ambiguity
Stage 2: Relativism Rejection of dualism and going in opposite direction; Nothing is right or
wrong; belief that all truth is “relative.” Who am I to judge what other
people say or do? “Everyone has the right to their opinion, and every
opinion is equally valid”
Stage 3: Commitment Realization that not all thinking is valid; able to make decisions even
when things are uncertain and ambiguous; maintain a position based on
reason and evidence, but able to change positions if someone presents
better evidence
Confirmation bias Our dislike for being wrong leads us to ignore (filter out, not see) any
information that contradicts what we believe to be true and only see what
confirms our beliefs.
Characteristics of a good critical thinker Analytical, flexible, tolerant of ambiguity, open-minded, attentive,
mindful and curious
Open-minded skepticism We can look at ideas in two ways: one is to be open to believing what
opposing views have to say; the other is to be a little skeptical of
believing any ideas (until they are proven to us)
Socrates Said the unexamined life is not worth living (I’ll leave this up to you to
decide what it means)
Democracy Means “rule by the people”; Requires us to: 1) be informed about
policies and issues; listen to opposing points of view; have open
discussions of different ideas; demand clarity and reasonableness in our
leaders; stand up to blind authority and irrational thinking; value
freedom of speech, even when it is offensive or uncomfortable
The Three-Tier Model of Thinking Model of thinking that included three sections: experience, interpretation
and analysis; the model is dynamic: we move back and forth between
tiers (i.e., interpretation can be modified in light of analusis
Experience Includes first hand experiences and knowledge—events we observe or
“facts” that we learn. This is the foundation of critical thinking. The
broader our experiences, the better able we are to think critically
Interpretation Second level of pyramid. Making sense of our experience based on our
worldview. Interpretations can be well-founded or based on prejudice—
which is often unconscious--unfounded opinions, emotion,
Analysis Third level of pyramid. Critical examination of our interpretations.
Asking questions; eliminating interpretations that are too narrow or too
broad
Resistance Sits between interpretation and analysis. Interferes with ability to get
out of our narrow mind-set that leads to erroneous interpretations. The
use of defense mechanisms that are rigid, immature impulsive,
maladaptive and/or non-analytical; interferes with self-development
Types of resistance Avoidance, anger, denial, using clichés, confirmation bias, agonizing,
ignorance, conformity, distractions, absolutism, egocentrism,
ethnocentrism, anthropocentrism, fear of challenge, rationalization,
doublespeak
Avoidance Avoiding people, situations and ideas that oppose our own (Handing
around with like-minded people, reading only newspapers with our
viewpoint, etc.)
Anger Getting angry when confronted with opposing views rather than listening
or thinking or counter-arguing (especially when we can’t convince them
of our “rightness”
Denial Refusing to believe ideas that are uncomfortable to us or we don’t agree
with
Using clichés Falling back on clichés instead of thinking: “Things always work out for
the best. It is what it is.”
Confirmation bias Ignoring information that contradicts our world view and only paying
attention to information that conforms to our beliefs
Agonizing Getting so caught up in minute details that nothing gets done and no
decisions or conclusions are made
Ignorance When we don’t want to know about something important; we intentionally
avoid learning about the issue—used as excuse for inaction
Conformity Going along with the group’s opinion
Distractions Paying attention to unimportant things(like shopping, or social media) in
order to keep us from clear understanding or acting
Absolutism Regarding all information as either right or wrong; and being certain “our”
viewpoint is right
Egocentrism Having little regard for others’ beliefs, interests or thoughts; belief that
your beliefs and values are the best
Ethnocentrism Belief that your group is inherently superior to other groups and
cultures; using confirmation bias to maintain this worldview
Anthropocentrism Belief that humans are the most important or valuable entities in the
universe
Fear of challenge Fear that others will challenge our beliefs; leads to belief that it’s a sign of
weakness to change positions in light of new information (I can’t change
my mind, even when I have new information, because others will think
I’m weak)
Rationalization Justifying our behavior or decision based on self-serving explanations,
especially when decisions were based on personal preference or gain
rather than critical analysis (I only cheated because the teacher didn’t give
us enough time to finish the test)
Doublespeak Holding two contradictory views or double standards and believing both
are true (Men and women are equal, but it’s okay if men are paid a little
more than women because more men head households than women do)
Cognitive and social dissonance When there is a difference between our behavior and our attitudes; creates
tension (dissonance); we usually reduce tension by changing our
attitudes rather than our behavior