Critical Thinking
E Villalba, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Ispra, Italy
ã 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Glossary
Convergent thinking Whereas divergent thinking allows
the individual to find numerous and original ideas,
convergent thinking allows the individual to find the one
correct or conventional idea.
Divergent thinking This refers to the process of finding
different solutions and answers to one problem.
Evaluation Evaluating involves the determination of the
adequacy of a solution to a problem. It will play a major
Introduction
For some time, creative thinking was seen almost as syn-
onymous with divergent thinking. Divergent thinking tests
provided a sound alternative to the, by that time popular, IQ
tests. Their validity and predictive power for creativity made
them a widely used tool in creativity research, to the point
that divergent thinking tests were seen as criteria for crea-
tivity. However, nowadays it is generally accepted that crea-
tive thinking also entails convergent and critical thinking.
While divergent thinking involves the generation of ideas,
convergent thinking refers to the capacity to provide a single
(or few) adequate idea(s). Creativity is usually associated
with the capacity to produce something new and adequate.
Divergent thinking would be needed to generate ideas, and
convergent thinking would be used for choosing adequate
ideas. Critical thinking can be considered as a part of conver-
gent thinking. It involves the evaluation, analysis, synthesis,
and interpretation of something to provide a judgment. Criti-
cal thinking, thus provides the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of choosing
one idea. In this sense, as creativity, it is always seen as a
higher-order skill.
Aspects of Critical Thinking
As in the case of creativity, there is a lack of an agreed upon
operational definition of critical thinking. However, there are
certain aspects that are commonly addressed within research
on critical thinking. Research in critical thinking is usually
associated with two main traditions, one more psychologically
oriented and focused on teaching meta-cognition skills –
thinking how to think – and one more philosophically
oriented, more interested in the ontological nature of the
phenomena of thought and judgment.
In general terms, critical thinking is seen as a purposeful
skill. This means that critical thinking is related to dispositions.
As in the case of creativity, to be a critical thinker involves not
only specific cognitive abilities, but also willingness to assess
and evaluate information in a critical manner. In other words,
the intention of a person to be critical is crucial to developing
role in determining what is and what is not considered
creative.
Stage model of creativity This model maintains that the
creative process involves different stages in a sequence.
Critical thinking might be more important in later stages of
the processes than at the beginning.
Valuation This process is selective, but it is not critical, nor
evaluative. It involves mainly the identification of specific
criteria.
critical thinking skills. In this sense, critical thinking has been
seen as self-regulatory judgment.
Second, critical thinking generally involves the analysis
and identification of central issues and assumptions. That is
to say, critical thinking requires analyzing how arguments and
thoughts are constructed and if they are robust in their for-
mulation. Linda Elder and Richard Paul from the critical think-
ing community divide the elements of thought into point of
view, purpose, questions at issue, information, interpretation
and inference, concepts, assumptions and implications, and
consequences.
Third, these elements of thought are evaluated in order
to provide a judgment. This judgment, a single ‘correct’ answer,
is generally based on the application of logical thinking.
Because of this, certain advocates of critical thinking have
maintained that critical thinking is about providing standards
of thought. Judgments should be evaluated in terms of clarity,
credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, and
significance.
Finally, critical thinking is always associated with the iden-
tification of bias in ideas or statements.
From the above aspects, it can be seen that critical thinking
can be considered a specific form of convergent thinking.
Critical Thinking in Relation to Creativity
Critical Thinking and the Stage Model of Creativity
Critical thinking and creative thinking have different con-
ceptualizations. For this reason there are diverse perspectives
on the relationship between critical thinking and creativity.
A sequence or stage model of creativity would involve the
idea that critical thinking is used in specific stages of the
creative process, while it would, in fact, inhibit creativity in
other stages. It is generally agreed that the first phases of the
creative process involve divergent thinking and should not
involve critical thinking. This is the case, for example in brain-
storming techniques. In the first stage, brainstorming session
participants are only asked to generate ideas, irrespective of
their quality and without being critical about them. This idea
relies on the assumption that the human mind adopts ‘modes’
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of thought for action, and that if one is set to use divergent
thinking, without use of a regulatory mechanism that blocks
inadequate ideas, these will flow more freely and easily. This
is also the basis of some other creativity techniques developed
by Edward de Bono, such as ‘six thinking hats.’ The technique
consists of making people in a group work with imaginary hats
on. Each of the hats determines what type of mental process
the person is allowed to carry on at that specific time. A white
hat, for example, involves the collection of facts and informa-
tion, a red hat deals with the feelings and emotions associated
with the problem, a black hat represents critical judgment,
a yellow hat represent positive judgment, a green hat stands
for new ideas, and a blue hat represents the mode of seeing the
big picture. There is however no conclusive evidence on the
claim that this is the way the mind works, and it is not clear if
in a creative process a clear separation between divergent and
convergent modes of thinking is strictly necessary.
First, providing a creative solution might involve critical
thinking from an early stage. If critical thinking is understood
as the capacity to produce self-regulatory judgment that results
in interpretation of a phenomenon, then critical thinking is
crucial for problem identification. As Mark Runco indicates
in the conclusion to the book Problem Finding, Problem Solving
and Creativity, problem finding skills constitute an important
aspect of creativity. Problem identification derives from critical
thinking, and thus creativity would be enhanced by it from the
beginning. Even further, it may also be the case that critical
thinking fosters the creative process during phases of generat-
ing ideas. Creativity involves the combination of complex,
sometimes opposed cognitive, personality, and social char-
acteristics, and it seems that the creative process is nurtured
by movement between these opposite extremes. If this were
the case, critical and convergent thinking might play a role
in each of the phases of the creative process, and not just the
final stages.
Critical Thinking and Intelligence
Another possible interpretation of the relationship between
creative and critical thinking relates to intelligence. In most
cases tests of intelligence involve convergent thinking skills.
Items on tests of intelligence frequently have only one correct
answer. It is thus necessary to critically evaluate the options
provided. There seems to be evidence that the relationship
between creativity and intelligence involves some sort of
threshold, below which no creative performance is possible.
Individuals above the threshold might or might not be crea-
tive. Below the threshold individuals lack basic information
processing skills and are relatively uncreative. In this view, criti-
cal thinking will relate to creativity, but only above a certain
threshold. That is to say, individuals without some threshold
level of critical thinking will not be able to be creative.
Critical Thinking and Persuasion
There is another possible interpretation of the relationship
between critical thinking and creativity. More and more, crea-
tivity research is acknowledging persuasion as an important
component of the creative process. Creative individuals are
those who are not only capable of producing new adequate
ideas, but who also have the capacity to ‘sell’ their ideas, so that
the idea is taken further. This type of interpretation of creativity
is more prominent in research related to innovation and eco-
nomic perspectives on creativity. According to this approach,
critical thinking is crucial in order to provide adequate argu-
ments that make the idea attractive. This relates very much
to the critical thinking movement, which calls for certain
standards of thinking involving clarity, credibility, accuracy,
precision, relevance, depth, breadth, and significance. It is
likely that creative individuals with good persuasive abilities
employ some of these elements when making an idea appeal-
ing to others.
Critical Thinking and the System Theory of Creativity
Yet another possible relationship between creativity and criti-
cal thinking can be taken from the system theory perspective.
In this theory, Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi proposes that creativity
can only be understood in terms of the interrelationship
among three elements: the individual, the domain and the
field. The domain refers to specific areas in the ‘culture’ where
the creative product has been constructed: mathematics,
poetry, music, etc. Thousand of domains compound the cul-
ture. The field refers to all the individuals who act as gate-
keepers to the domain. They evaluate whether a product is or
is not creative. The actor refers to the individuals who pursue
the creative action. In this theory, critical thinking will also
play a role not only in the individual who carries out the
creative action, but in the validation of what constitutes crea-
tivity and what not. If creativity is, as understood by Cziksent-
mihalyi, “a post-hoc social attribution to new ideas and objects
that find favor in the marketplace of ideas or of commodities”
then critical thinking is important for creativity. In fields where
the gatekeepers have limited critical thinking capacity, the
acceptance of innovative ideas might be easier than in those
where critical thinking is prominent. These aspects relate to the
distinction between evaluation and valuation. Evaluation will
mainly look at what is wrong with the options, while valuation
will focus on the positive sides of the idea. These two (evalua-
tion and valuation) are important in assessing whether a prod-
uct can be regarded as creative or not. It is likely that valuation
plays a major role in the determination of the originality of a
product, while evaluation will be more important in determin-
ing its adequacy.
Critical Thinking in Education
Creativity and critical thinking are usually seen as cross-
curricular competencies included explicitly in the syllabus
or in the national curriculum. The promotion of both creativity
and critical thinking has been made a political priority in
many countries. However, it is less clear if creativity and critical
thinking are actually being encouraged in education.
It seems reasonable to think that convergent thinking has
an advantage over divergent thinking in educational settings.
Group work might require conformity and convergence among
individuals. The form of education still most prominent

usually involves a teacher giving a talk in front of the students
and asking questions that have only one adequate answer.
Traditional teaching has usually been done in a transmission
manner, where teachers ‘pass’ knowledge to their students. In
addition, convergent skill tasks are also easier to grade in a
traditional manner, since they involve one correct answer.
Within this traditional pedagogy, however, critical thinking
has had a certain amount of support, probably more than
creativity. From a philosophical tradition, the so-called Socratic
system involves a series of questions and answers between the
teacher and the student. Through the creation of a dialectic
process between the teacher and the student, the latter can
discover new knowledge as he or she is guided critically through
his or her assumptions and structures of thought. In this way,
students can learn to be critical thinkers.
However, some people maintain that increasing critical
skills will be associated with a constraint in providing original
ideas. As has been explained above, however, this is not neces-
sarily the case. It is likely that critical and creative thinking are
not independent, but it also seems likely that there is some
interaction between the two, since the creative process most
probably involves some aspects of critical thinking.
Conclusions
Critical thinking can be seen as part of the more general con-
vergent thinking skills that involve the production of one
correct answer. The relationship between creativity and critical
thinking will depend on the different conceptualizations of the
constructs and what aspects of each of the processes are taken
into account. The stage model approach to creativity helps to
resolve the apparent paradox between creativity involving
both, critical thinking and divergent thinking. In different
moments, the creative process involves different cognitive
tools. Critical thinking might play a role, not only at the end
but also during the creative process. Furthermore, critical
thinking involves valuation and evaluation, which are neces-
sary for problem identification and persuasion, as well as for
determining the originality and usefulness of ideas.
Critical Thinking 3
Further Reading
Csikszentmihalyi M (1996) Creativity. New York: HarperCollins.
Csikzentmihalyi M (2009) A system perspective on creativity and its implications
for measurement. In: Villalba E (ed.) Measuring Creativity. Luxembourg:
OPOCE.
De Bono E (1999) Six Thinking Hats. Toronto: MICA Management
?Resources Inc.
Ennis RH (1996) Critical Thinking. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Facione PA (ed.) (1990) Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes
of educational assessment and instruction. American Philosophical Association,
ERIC ID 315 423.
Fluellen JE (1992) Unpacking Richard Paul’s strong sense of critical thinking. In:
Reflection on the Annual International Conference for Critical Thinking at
Sonoma State University. Paper presented at the Mid Atlantic Regional Council
for Critical Thinking.
Griggs RA, Jackson SL, Marek P, and Christopher AN (1998) Critical thinking in
introductory psychology texts and supplements. Teaching of Psychology 25:
254–265.
Halpern DF (1996) Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking,
3rd edn. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
McMillan JH (1987) Enhancing college students’ critical thinking: A review of studies.
Research in Higher Education 26: 3–29.
Moore BN and Parker R (2008) Critical Thinking, 9th edn. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Paul R (1990) Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly
Changing World. Foundation for Critical Thinking: Santa Rosa, CA.
Paul R and Elder R (2002) Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your
Professional and Personal Life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Runco M (1994) Conclusions concerning problem finding, problem solving and
creativity. In: Runco M (ed.) Problem Finding, Problem Solving and Creativity,
pp. 272–290. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Runco MA (ed.) (2002) Critical Creative Processes. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Relevant Websites
http://www.criticalthinking.org – The Critical Thinking Community.
http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/ – Critical Thinking Web.
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm – Critical and Creative Thinking - Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
http://lateralaction.com/articles/critical-thinking/ – Why Critical Thinking Is Not a
Creativity Killer.