Return to Critical Thinking

The objective of this essay is to articulate and demonstrate (1) a working knowledge of what is critical thinking by both definition and practice, (2) Validate through a series of articles, books, and scholarly documents on how critical thinking has individual and societal benefits and hindrances.

What is Critical Thinking?

Socrates is considered among many scholars to be the “Ideal critical thinker.” His method of questioning and cross-examining positions was known as the ‘Socratic Method’ and was characterized after the technique he used in Plato’s (470-347 BC) earliest dialogues. In one of Plato’s most famous works, Apology, where Socrates is on trial for impiety, and corrupting the youth of Athens “He assures his accusers that his death sentence would guarantee that the world would know that he was executed for the crime of thinking for himself and encouraging others to do the same” (Carroll, p.3). Critical thinking affords us the opportunity to seek truth in a systemic manner rather than rely on opinions, which are beliefs or conclusions held with confidence but not substantiated by knowledge or proof. A more recent definition says, “Critical thinking is the careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true” (Parker& Moore, Critical Thinking, 2005). Linguist and cognitive scientist, Noam Chomsky (1928) says this about truth; “the search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can and should engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others to do so as well, seeking to free ourselves from constraints imposed by coercive institutions, dogma, irrationality, excessive conformity and lack of initiative and imagination, and numerous other obstacles”. To engage in the level of “truth seeking” the aforementioned authors and scholars cite, often requires a significant shift in the lens by which we view the world and ourselves.

The Practice of Critical Thinking

There is no easy way to develop the intellectual traits of critical thinking.

Thus, a deliberate effort must be made to acquire the inherent skill and ability to understand how to apply this new way of thinking. This process begins with becoming familiar with the foundational tools, qualities and methods that facilitate the practice of this discipline. Robert Todd Carroll (b.1946), PhD, an American writer and academic outlines in his book “ Becoming A Critical Thinker” (2005), the three most important areas of philosophy related to critical thinking. They are logic, epistemology and ethics. He defines them as follows:

• Logic: studies the principles of valid and invalid reasoning

• Epistemology: studies the origin, nature and limits of knowledge

• Ethics: evaluates of the morality of actions

These foundational constructs are inextricably linked to qualities all critical to be put into practice. These qualities include:

Truth seeking: Critical thinkers want to know the truth. In their quest,

they are willing to consider and even accept ideas that undermine there

assumptions or self-interest. These thinkers follow reason and evidence

wherever they lead.

Open-minded: A skilled critical thinker not only recognizes that

people disagree—she values this fact. She respects the right of others to

express different views. Beyond seeking out a variety of viewpoints,

critical thinkers check their speaking and thinking for signs of bias.

Analytical: The critical thinker recognizes statements that call for

evidence. He is alert to potential problems. In addition, the critical

thinker foresees possible consequences of adopting a point of view.

Systematic: Staying organized and focused are two more qualities of a

critical thinker. She’s willing to patiently gather evidence, test ideas,

and stay with a tough or complex question.

Self-confident: This quality of a critical thinker supports the others.

Since he trusts his intellectual skills, the critical thinker is willing to

seek the truth, listen with an open mind, and do the hard and useful

work of thinking.

Inquisitive: The critical thinker wants to know. She is hungry for facts

and concepts. She is willing to explore the universe of ideas even

before she knows how to apply the insights she gains.

Mature: As a mature person, the critical thinker possesses wisdom

born of experience. He understands that a problem can have several

solutions—even solutions that seem to contradict each other. He resists

the desire to reach quick, superficial answer, and he is willing to

suspend judgment when evidence is incomplete. At the same time, he

recognizes that human beings are often called to act before all the facts

are in.

Benefits and Hindrances of Critical Thinking

Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) respected author and theologian is quoted as saying, “Change your thoughts…you change your world.” The practice of critical thinking has transformational capability and is beneficial to both the individual and society. Individuals are more open –minded, skeptical yet tentative and are less likely to allow emotions to rule. Critical thinking fosters self-confidence, humility and resolve to search for truth regardless of where it may lead. Critical thinking makes you more self-aware. It causes you to see the world not just though your eyes but through those whose arguments you are evaluating. A society that trains its people to critically think raises the bar on “truth seeking”. Arguments in the media that are more rhetorical than substance, more opinion that truth, will crumble under the weight of public debate and discourse. Inaccuracies in reporting would be discovered more readily resulting in a higher level of accountability of media sources. This kind of progressive change would potentially invalidate Walter Lippmann’s (1928-1974) thesis in his book “Public Opinion” (1921), where he reason’s that the media and ultimately the masses lacked the ability to think critically. This lack of capability was due to media misinformation and the inability of the public to reconcile the mental models in their head to reality.

With all the stated benefits there are also hindrances; Carroll says” We should not expect critical thinking to lead to universal agreement on all issues, even on important ones about which there is abundant information and general agreement on the facts.” Ignorance, bias, Self –handicapping (Berglas, 1990), and fixed intelligence (Dweck, 2002), are barriers to exercising critical thinking individually and in society at large. Michael Scriven (1928), author and academic reminds us, “critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any additional individual, everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined and irrational thought”. (Francis A. Kerns, Suzanne M. Bean, 2009,p.261)

Conclusion:

Critical thinking in essence is “truth seeking” built on the foundations of Logic, ethics and epistemology. The practice of critical thinking requires characteristics such, truth seeking, an open-mind, analytic capability, self-confidence, inquisitiveness, and maturity. Hindrances to critical thinking also exist.

Ignorance and bias are impediments and every individual is subject to episodes of irrational thought. Building capability in the discipline of critical thinking benefits individuals in a number of ways that include, improving self-awareness, self-confidence and a framework to consciously consider alternative arguments other your own. Critical thinkers help to create a more enlightened public that can help society at large. Since embarking on this area of study, my personal habits with respect to critical thinking have changed. My recent tendency is to be more attentive and listen for both the argument of media sources or advertising to try and ascertain someone is trying to get me to do believe.

As a Media psychologist the importance of practicing critical thinking is a skill that must be continually nurtured and developed, because for me the benefits far out weigh the barriers we often face when putting critical thinking into action.

References:

Carroll, Robert Todd (2003, The Skeptic’s Dictionary: A collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions & Dangerous Delusions. Wiley & Sons.

Dweck, Carol S. (2002), “ Beliefs that make smart people Dumb. ”In why Smart People Can be can be So Stupid, ed. Robert J. Sternberg. Yale University Press.

Ellis, David B. (2009). Becoming a master student, 12^th edition, p. 207. Houghton, Mifflin.

Kerns, Francis A, Bean, Suzanne M. (2009). Methods, and materials for teaching the gifted: “Critical thinking. Scriven, Michael, Paul, Richard. Prufolk Press.

Moore, Brooke Noel. (2005). Critical thinking, 9^th edition. McGraw HIll

Social Media and Education

here is little doubt that the use of social media tools such as wikis, blogs, and Facebook to name a few, are transforming the way we communicate and collaborate from business to education. I want to use this week’s blog to focus on the use of social media tools in education. The video featuring Will Richardson was very instructive,Understanding instructional technologies. Mr. Richardson, an educator, who calls himself an “evangelist” for the use of internet related technologies in the classroom, and who talks about the“ Read/ Write Web,” says in his book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcast and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, (2009), that “while 90% of our connected students who have access to the internet use social Web technologies in their personal lives, only a small fraction of teachers and educators, have begun to understand fully how a networked learning environment could assist them in teaching students”.

Social media tools create a meeting place, either in or out of a traditional classroom setting, where teachers and students can connect, read/ write, create content, and publish in a continuous cycle. This constant communication and collaboration allows the student and the teacher to switch roles where the focus is on “everyone learning and everyone teaching.” Additionally, Richardson says, teachers and educators have to also learn together about on-line communities and then connect their students with these communities, inspiring them to learn while emphasizing the teachers’ way is not the only way. These on-line communities may provide alternative solutions and ideas that are both creative and useful. Familiarity of social media tools should be part of a teacher’s professional development. This point was further illustrated by comments made in a 2009 report by the The Knowledgeworks Foundation titled: The Knowledgeworks Foundation Presents: 2020 Forecast, Creating The Future of Learning. the authors of this report stated:

“ If you think that the future will require better schools you’re wrong! The future of education will call for entirely different learning environments.”

“If you think that we will need better teachers you’re wrong! Tomorrow’s learners will need guides who take on different roles.”

This phenomenon of social media in education is taking place at the college and post–graduate level as well. In a recent New York Times article entitled “Universities Use Social Media to Connect,” (A. Pfeiffer, New York Times, March 30, 2010), Alice Pfeiffer writes that ArXiv.org which emerged as far back as 1991 at Cornell University allows free world-wide access and response to 600,000 on-line research papers in physics, math, computer science and was one of the earliest applications of academic social networking. This open-source platform created by researchers as an information and communications vehicle had other benefits, including allowing scientist to conduct peer-to peer research validation prior to submitting for publication.

Other examples include New York University, one of many academic institutions using Blackboard, a website that facilitates the sharing of materials and ideas and Fielding’s use of FELIX. These tools are helping students learn in ways that were not possible in the past. What is clear is that social media’s impact on education will become even more pervasive as time goes on and digital literacy among teachers and educators will no be an longer an option. Their future in education will require it.

Consumer Psychology: turning persuasion into sales

Advertisers are dependent on the their ability to persuade you to buy their product or service. Advertising expenditures continue to rise, however, I am not convinced that actual sales are following a similar trajectory. One advertising medium that seems to be most successful in turning persuasion into sales is the informercial. This extended television commercial which airs anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes informs the viewer about a product in an entertaining manner and makes the consumer aware this is paid programming. It is considered effective advertising because:

• The products advertised tend to have everyday practical application ( Proactive skin care, George Forman Grill, etc.)
• The product and its benefits are described in great detail using customer testimonials, industry experts, and celebrity endorsers
• Provides the consumer with the value proposition and usually urges you to buy now, offering a bonus of some kind with the purchase.

The biggest difference between the infomercial and a standard 30 second ad, is that product sales can be directly linked to how well the infomercial persuaded the consumer to buy. As an example, since its introduction in 1994, The George Forman Grill has sold more that 80 million units, with unofficial estimates suggesting that revenue has exceeded the cost of producing and airing its infomercials by 20 times. In contrast, traditional television ads have many of the same elements that informercials deploy, however;

1. they are condensed into a smaller time frame (30 seconds), leaving less time to persuade
2. provide no viable means of correlating the expense to produce and air the advertisement to sales.

To provide context, let's examine one of the most sought after and expensive ad spaces is Super Bowl advertising. To highlight the performance of one its advertisers, the cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1977 was approximately $438, 000. To run a similar spot in the most recent Super Bowl ( XLIII), the cost was $3M. The Coca-Cola Company spent over $6M on its Super Bowl advertising, but according to TiVo research, didn't place among the top 10 of the most favorite ads aired during the telecast. This is an important measure because the higher the rank the more likely it is that consumers watched your ad, connected with your product and hopefully will purchase. These results lead you to conclude that the commercials didn't do a very good job of persuading consumers and thus its less likely that incremental sales will be linked to the airing of these ads. Since Coke probably spent at least $500, 000 to produce these two 30 second ads and over $6M to air them, you have to conclude that this was a poor investment. To further accentuate the point, for Coke to reach a break-even on its Super Bowl ad-buy excluding production cost, Coke would have to sell 229, 357, 798, cases of 20 ounce product at $ 1.09 per bottle at retail.

The math in this example may seem like an extreme illustration, but it illuminates the point, that not only was Coke unable to persuade consumers, but its unlikely that enough sales will be generated to make this investment viable.

Author Kevin Dutton recently coined the phrase " supersuasion." He describes this as "a brand new kind of influence that disables our cognitive security systems in seconds." He outlines six characteristics of those who master " supersuasion." They are:

• Simplicity
• Perceived self interest
• Incongruity
• Confidence
• Empathy
• Humor.

Even before the term "supersuasion" was invented, I think the Coca-Cola brand embodied these characteristics starting with the ad " Hilltop" which was released in 1971. During the time the "Hilltop" campaign was in market, Coke enjoyed robust growth in both sales and earnings for its flagship brand. It certainly paid its own way. However, I don't think very many brands or products have mastered the techniques described by Dutton, and in fact I believe most won't! Apple may be one of the more notable exceptions.

After all that I've read and reviewed on "persuasion," there is no doubt it is at the core of advertising and is more sophisticated in its various executions than I have described here. However, persuasion is not really scientific. As infomercials seem to bear out, if an advertiser does an effective job of telling the consumer about a product or service that has practical application, provides them with a reasonable explanation of the value proposition, and keeps the message simple, they may have a better chance of actually turning persuasion into sales!

References: The Power to Persuade; How masters of " supersuasion " can change your mind.

Kevin Dutton ( 2005)

Infomercials and Advertising Effectiveness,: An empirical Study, Brett, A. S. Martin, Andrew Bhimy, Tom Agee, Journal of Consumer Marketing; 2002. Volume 19., Issue 6: P.468-480.