Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T23:33:19.091Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 7 - Critical Thinking Impacts Our Everyday Lives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

By
Heather A. Butler  and
Diane F. Halpern
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Diane F. Halpern
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Diane F. Halpern
Affiliation:
Claremont McKenna College, California
Get access

Summary

Critical thinking impacts many outcomes in our everyday lives, from making trivial decisions about whether or not to forward a news story on Facebook to making important decisions about which cancer treatment to undergo. This chapter defines critical thinking and gives readers a list of critical thinking skills and dispositions to aspire to. Outcomes in numerous domains of life such as science, health, education, politics, and social media, and how those outcomes might be impacted by critical thinking, are discussed. The chapter also touches on contemporary issues, such as echo chambers, which might limit thinking and the deep comprehension of important issues.

Keywords

critical thinkingeveryday outcomesreal-world outcomesreasoning
Type
Chapter
Information
Critical Thinking in Psychology , pp. 152 - 172
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AP Archive. (2015, July 23). Presidential address to congress on terrorism plus reax. AP Archive. Online video clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB145D3XJzEGoogle Scholar
Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2010). Academically adrift. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Bakshy, E., Messing, S., & Adamic, L. (2015). Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook. Science, 348, 1130–1132. DOI:10.1126/science.aaa1160CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butler, H. A. (2012). Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment predicts real-world outcomes of critical thinking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26, 721–729. DOI:10.1002/acp.2851Google Scholar
Butler, H. A., Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., Franco, A., Rivas, S. F., Saiz, C., & Almeida, L. F. (2012). Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment and real-world outcomes: Cross-national applications. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7, 112–121. DOI:10.1016/j.tsc.2012.04.001Google Scholar
Butler, H. A., Pentoney, C., & Bong, M. (2017). Critical thinking ability is a better predictor of life decisions than intelligence. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 24, 38–46.Google Scholar
Cook, M. B., & Smallman, H. S. (2008). Human factors of the confirmation bias in intelligence analysis: Decision support from graphical evidence landscapes. Human Factors, 50, 745–754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cressey, D. (2009, July 31). US alternative medicine spending reaches $33.9 billion. Nature Newsblog. http://blogs.nature.com/news/2009/07/us_alternative_medicine_spend.htmlGoogle Scholar
De Bie, H., Wilhelm, P., & Van der Meij, H. (2015). The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment: Toward a Dutch appraisal of critical thinking. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 17, 33–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bruin, W. B., Parker, B., & Parker, A. M. (2007). Individual differences in adult decision-making competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 938–956.Google Scholar
Digital Future Report (2017). The 2017 digital future report: Surveying the digital future. Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg. Online. http://www.digitalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2017-Digital-Future-Report.pdfGoogle Scholar
DiSalvo, D. (2011, January 4). Power balance scam shows again that the pseudoscience song remains the same. Psychology Today. Online. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/neuronarrative/201101/power-balance-scam-shows-again-the-pseudoscience-song-remains-the-sameGoogle Scholar
Facione, P., Facione, N., & Giancarlo, C. (2000). The disposition toward critical thinking: Its character, measurement, and relationship to critical thinking skill. Informal Logic, 20(1), 61–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flat Earth Society. (n.d.). The Flat Earth Society. Online. www.theflatearthsociety.orgGoogle Scholar
Frenkel, S., & Isaac, M. (2018, September 13). Facebook ‘better prepared’ to fight election interference, Mark Zuckerberg says. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/technology/facebook-elections-mark-zuckerberg.htmlGoogle Scholar
Funk, C., & Rainie, L. (2015, January 29). Public and scientists’ views on science and society. Pew Research Center. Online. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-societyGoogle Scholar
Galinsky, A. D., & Ku, G. (2004). The effects of perspective-taking on prejudice: The moderating role of self-evaluation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 594–604.Google Scholar
Gheorghia, O. (2018, June 13). Romania’s measles outbreak kills dozens of children: Some doctors complain they don’t have sufficient stocks of vaccines. Associated Press. Online. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/romania-s-measles-outbreak-kills-dozens-children-n882771Google Scholar
Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53, 449–455.Google Scholar
Halpern, D. F. (2012). Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment. Publisher: SCHUHFRIED (Vienna Test System). Online. https://www.schuhfried.com/test/hctaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (5th ed.). New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Halpern, D. F., Millis, K., Graesser, A., Butler, H., Forsyth, C., & Cai, Z. (2012). Operation ARIES!: A computerized learning game that teaches critical thinking and scientific reasoning. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7, 93–100. DOI:10.1016/j.tsc.2012.03.006Google Scholar
Hart Research Associates. (2015, January 20). Falling short? College learning and career success. Online. https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdfGoogle Scholar
Huber, C. R., & Kuncel, N. R. (2016). Does college teach critical thinking? A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 431–468. DOI:10.3102/0034654315605917Google Scholar
Jain, A., Marshall, J., Buikema, A., Bancroft, T., Kelly, J. P., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2015). Autism occurrence by MMR vaccine status among US children with older siblings with and without autism. Journal of the American Medical Association, 313, 1534–1540. DOI:10.1001/jama.2015.3077Google Scholar
Keating, D., Mayes, B. R., & Meko, T. (2019, May 31). A record number of measles cases is hitting the U.S. this year. Who is being affected? Washington Post. https://tinyurl.com/y6la37llGoogle Scholar
Larrick, R. P. (2004). Debiasing. In Koehler, D. J. & Harvey, N. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of judgment and decision making (pp. 316–337). Oxford: Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilienfeld, S. O., Ammirati, R., & Landfield, K. (2009). Giving debiasing away: Can psychological research on correcting cognitive errors promote human welfare? Perspective on Psychological Science, 4(4), 390–398.Google Scholar
Lord, C. G., Ross, L., & Lepper, M. R. (1979). Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 2098–2109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marin, L., & Halpern, D. F. (2011). Pedagogy for developing critical thinking in adolescents: Explicit instruction produces greatest gains. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6, 1–13. DOI:10.1016/j.tsc.2010.08Google Scholar
Marvin, R. (2018, June 11). Tech addiction by the numbers: How much time we spend online. PCmag Digital Group. https://www.pcmag.com/article/361587/tech-addiction-by-the-numbers-how-much-time-we-spend-onlineGoogle Scholar
Mayo Clinic Staff (n.d.). Flu shot: Your best bet for avoiding influenza. Mayo Clinic. Online. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/flu-shots/art-20048000Google Scholar
National Center for Health Statistics. (2015). Health, United States, 2015, With Special Feature on Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
NCS Pearson, Inc. (2009). Watson-Glaser II critical thinking appraisal: Technical manual and user’s guide. Online. https://talentlens.com/watson-glaser-critical-thinking-testGoogle Scholar
Otto, S. (2016, October 9). A plan to defend against the war on science. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-plan-to-defend-against-the-war-on-scienceGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K. E., & West, R. F. (2008). On the failure of cognitive ability to predict myside and one-sided thinking biases. Thinking & Reasoning, 14, 129–167. DOI:10.1080/13546780701679764CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In Austin, W. G. & Worchel, S. (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.Google Scholar
Tsipursky, G. (2018a, July 5). (Dis)trust in science: Can we cure the scourge of misinformation? Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/dis-trust-in-scienceGoogle Scholar
Tsipursky, G. (2018b, August 21). “Truth isn’t truth”: Giuliani borrows from the climate denial/tobacco company playbook. Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/truth-isnt-truth-giuliani-borrows-from-the-climate-denial-tobacco-company-playbook/Google Scholar
Williams, R. L., Oliver, R., Allin, J. L., Winn, B., & Booher, C. S. (2003). Psychological critical thinking as a course predictor and outcome variable. Teaching of Psychology, 30, 220–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, R. L., & Stockdale, S. L. (2003). High-performing students with low critical thinking skills. The Journal of General Education, 62, 199–225. DOI:10.1353/jge.2004.0007Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2018, February 19). Europe observes a 4-fold increase in measles cases in 2017 compared to previous year. World Health Organization. Online. http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2018/europe-observes-a-4-fold-increase-in-measles-cases-in-2017-compared-to-previous-yearGoogle Scholar
YouGov (2013). Trust in scientists. Table of Data from YouGov. Online. http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/tabs_HP_science_20131209.pdfGoogle Scholar
YouGov (2017). Trust in scientists. Table of Data from YouGov. Online. http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/tabsHPScienceandPolitics20170428.pdfGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×