what is raven critical thinking

What is RAVEN for Critical Thinking?

RAVEN is a tool for critical thinking in which you evaluate your sources for credibility. Using RAVEN will result in stronger arguments and well-researched articles.

What is RAVEN?

RAVEN is an acronym used in critical thinking. RAVEN stands for reputation, ability to observe, vested interests, expertise, and neutrality. When doing research, it is important to evaluate who is presenting the information and why.

R – Reputation

In the academic and scientific world, reputation is incredibly important. If an author has a poor reputation, their work will not be taken seriously. This extends beyond the author; What is the reputation of the publication the article is in? You wouldn’t necessarily trust an article on evolution from Christianity Today . What about the sources cited? Evaluate these three on their merits: author, publication, and sources.

Good – An article on chimpanzee behavior written by Jane Goodall, the English primatologist who spent 50 years working with chimpanzees.

Bad – A blog post on chimpanzee family relationships written by Shelby Anderson, a popular blogger who visits zoos in her state and considers herself an expert.

Questions you can ask to discern reputation

A – Ability to observe

Good – Candy Lewis, a reporter at a news conference, reporting on what is said.

Do they have experience or have they extensively studied the material that is presented?

Are they or have them been at the place or event they are writing about?

V – Vested interest

Good – James Andrews, a university researcher, publishing a study that suggests the benefits of using oil.

Bad – Devon Energy, an oil company publishing a study on the benefits of using oil.

Do they have a personal stake in the event or topic they are writing about?

E – Expertise

Good – Peter Holland, a university professor, talking about recent clothing trends for autumn.

Does the author have specialized knowledge on the event or topic?

N – Neutrality

Good – Sarah Collins, a member of the jury, arguing that the defendant is innocent.

Why is critical thinking (and RAVEN) important?

Critical thinking strives for a rational and objective approach. It also aids you in being self-aware of biases that you may have, as well as the bias that sources you are reviewing may have. Critical thinking helps you hone your skills of reasoning, evaluation, problem solving, decisions, and analyzing.

Why is it important to evaluate sources?

You don’t want to submit subpar arguments. By vetting your sources against RAVEN before you use them in your research and argument, you are ensuring that quality and credible work is being used.

RAVEN: Evaluating Sources

A tool for evaluating the quality of sources. The purpose of the tool is not to exclude all evidence or dismiss everything because of easy claims about bias, but to evaluate how evidence needs to be presented, evaluated, and considered.

Reputation – What is the reputation of the author, the sources, and the publication? Do past actions or lies indicate the author, sources, or publication may not be reliable? Is the author, source, or publication in a position of authority?

Ability to Observe – Is the author in a position that allows access to reliable evidence? If the article is about an event, did the author actually observe the event?

Vested Interest – Does the author have a personal stake in the topic or event? Would the author gain anything by lying? Would the author gain anything by telling the truth?

Expertise – Does the author have specialized knowledge on the topic or event? Does the evidence come from a source that has expertise on the topic or event?

Neutrality – Is the author neutral about the issue or is bias evident? Is the source of the evidence neutral or biased?

Raven's Progressive Matrices: What Are They For?

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RAVEN Source Analysis

R – Reputation: What do you know about the reputation of the author, the sources, and/or the publication?

A – Ability to observe: Is the author in a position that allows access to reliable evidence? If the article is about an event, did the author actually observe the event?

V – Vested Interest: Does the author have a personal stake in the topic or event? Would the author gain anything by lying? Would the author gain anything by telling the truth?

E – Expertise: Does the author have specialized knowledge on the topic or event? Is the author considered an expert in the field? Does the evidence come from a source that has expertise on the topic or event?

N – Neutrality: Is the author neutral about the issue or is bias evident? Is the source of the evidence neutral or biased?

Credibility assessment with RAVEN

Decision-making is a central skill that we associate with a leader. In project management we encounter many situations where we have to make decisions with only limited information available. The less information we have the more important it gets to assess their credibility correctly. Different organisations and people will try to influence our thinking. The RAVEN approach helps you to evaluate the sources methodically.

Free RAVEN Checklist

We’ve created a checklist for you to easily check the trustworthiness of a source. Subscribe to our Newsletter and we will send you the pdf! Print it and start checking your source of information! Download it at the end of this article.

When do we need this?

Communication is taking up a big part of our time. Rightfully so! While the project manager has the luxury to have a bird’s eye perspective on things, they may lack detailed knowledge in a lot of specific areas. This is where the team supports with their expertise. In a negotiation or a technical discussion our own expertise of the matter might be low. Ideally, we can ask our team for help but sometimes we need to take a quick decision. Here we need to have a method in place how to judge the trustworthiness quickly.

This method originates from the critical thinking discipline and is often used to evaluate different sources that state contradicting things about the same situation or event. The truth is seldom black or white and hidden somewhere in between. Working with this assumption we can adapt RAVEN to estimate where the truth is to base our decisions on. RAVEN is an acronym that describes five criteria to assess credibility. It’s wide applicability stretches from scientific research, fake news identification to our business communication needs.

REPUTATION ABILITY TO SEE VESTED INTEREST EXPERTISE NEUTRALITY

How to apply

Examining each of those 5 criteria can be done either very quickly – on a whim – or you need to sit down and take some time. For important decisions you want to take your time. Engaging with the credibility of your sources of information will help you understand what kind of further information you might need from them to increase the level of trust. Let’s take a look at the 5 criteria themselves and questions that help you to assess them:

This can be defined as the opinion that people have about someone (or something) and how much respect or admiration they receive, based on their past behaviour and character.

What do you know about the person? What is their status? Are they in a position of authority? What kind of history do they have? Are they known for being reliable, trustworthy, consistent, etc.? How is their honesty perceived by you and others?

Ability to see

This refers to the actual proximity of the person to the event or situation that you considered. Physical distance and used tools in analysis of a problem play an important role here.

Is the person in a position that allows access to reliable evidence? Can they actually know what they are talking about? Have they been on-site? Did they observe the situation themselves? Is their information first-hand? Can their observations be trusted?

Vested Interest

This can be described as having a strong reason for supporting a particular action or decision which will give you or your organisation a strategic or finanical advantage.

Does the person have a personal stake in the topic of event? Would they gain anything by lying? Would they gain anything by telling the truth? Do they have a reason to present information in a specific way? Worsening or improving the truth?

This can be summarized as the level of verifiable skill and experience someone has acquired over time in a specific field of knowledge which is not considered trivial.

How knowledgeable is the person on the subject? Are they considered a subject matter expert? Can they interpret the information correctly to draw logical conclusions or do they lack specialized knowledge in the field? Do they have sufficient experience in dealing with this kind of situation? How good can their judgement be in the best case and in the worst case?

This is the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or disagreement. Oftentimes accompanied with an absence of strong emotions and predefined views on the subject.

Is the person susceptible to support a particular point of view for reasons other than vested interest? Do they have any evident bias on the issues or can they be considered neutral? Will they support a particular point of view because of personal views or inter-personal relationships?

Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgement , the manner in which information is collected and used. Carl Sagan (astronomer, author, science communicator)

Getting started

Assessing the credibility of things we are told is something that we are constantly doing in our lives. In business in can get helpful to take a step back and approach this methodically to prepare an important decision. Writing a RAVEN checklist will visualize the level of trust you have for different sources of information. Our FREE template will help you with it.

You have finished your RAVEN credibility checklist and visualized the trust score. Now you should think about further information you will ask for from this person to improve their trust score or decide whether to consider this perspective at all.

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Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test

25 tests 250 questions

Practice the Raven's Progressive Matrices test and improve your abstract reasoning. The test will be harder as the questions progress. Start your Raven's Progressive Matrices practice today!

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Ingmar van Maurik, as a co-founder of Assessment-Training.com, has been an expert for years in preparing candidates for assessments and job interviews.

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What is a Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test?

The Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) Test is an assessment test designed to measure your non-verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning , and cognitive functioning.

As Raven’s Test is strictly visual, the issues of potential language barriers and religious/cultural affiliations are circumvented. Hence, Raven’s Progressive Matrices test is one of the most common measures for general intelligence and used by companies to deduce whether the interviewee has adequate cognitive skills for the job.

In the R aven Matrices Test , candidates are presented with a matrix that has a 3x3 geometric design, with one piece missing. The candidates' job is to choose the right diagram, from a set of eight answers, that completes a pattern in the matrix that you have to figure out. The questions and answers are all completely non-verbal and the matrices vary in the level of cognitive capacity required to identify the correct answer.

Many assessment candidates rightfully want to know: is the Raven IQ test accurate? R aven's Advanced Progressive Matrices allow for the scientifically valid assessment and measurement of the genetic component of mental tests as intended by J.C. Raven. At the same time, the influences of environmental factors are kept random and normally distributed. Therefore, Raven’s IQ Test gives an accurate representation of general and fluid intelligence. Completing a variety of Raven’s matrices with varying degrees of complexity will give you an accurate estimate of the IQ percentile of the population you belong to.

The calculation of the final score of Raven's Test is not shown as a percentage of correctly answered questions against the total amount of questions. This is because the complexity of the questions varies. In turn, the weighting given to successfully completing a question is different. Consequently, the most accurate way to assess the final score for Raven’s test is to rank it as a percentile against a representative (inter)national population.

Examples of Raven’s Progressive Matrices

For participants to quickly solve Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test, it is important to understand and categorize which type of pattern you are supposed to give the answer to. The main patterns that are often found in Raven’s IQ Test are explained in-depth with the following examples:

Type of pattern: C ut-Out Pattern

Question: What replaces the question mark?

Pointer 1: Count the number of horizontal lines which are under the question-marked piece of the matrix and match those with the number of horizontal lines and correct spatial positioning in the multiple-choice answers.
Pointer 2 : Count the number of vertical lines which are under the question-marked piece of the matrix and match those with the number of vertical lines and right spatial positioning in the multiple-choice answers.
Pointer 3: Connect and integrate the different pieces of information that are given into a holistic representation of the figure and choose the correct answer.

Solution: The correct answer to the example question above is option A.

Type of pattern: Mirror and Manipulation

Pointer 1: As the image is entirely symmetrical, it is possible to draw a line starting at any of the five corners of the pentagon with the end-point between the middle of two other corners. Doing this gives you two mirrored counterparts.
Pointer 2: Imagine the figure to be oil-painted onto a piece of paper. If you would fold and press the two sides of the paper onto each other and unfold the piece of paper again, the question-marked piece would be filled incorrectly. As a candidate, you need to possess the visualization skills to choose the right answer.

Solution: The correct answer to the question is B.

Type of pattern: A djustment

Raven's progressive matrices example pattern type: Adjustment pattern

Rule 1: From left to right, the alphabet skips two letters ( A , B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J …)
Rule 2: From left to right, the letter of the alphabet rotates 45 degrees clockwise each time. This pattern continues onto the next row.
Rule 3: From left to right, the shape moves one and a half sides anti-clockwise every subsequent cell.

Solution: Through a combination of inductive and deductive reasoning the only correct answer is A.

Type of pattern: Size Change

Raven's progressive matrices example pattern type: size change pattern

Rule 1: From left to right, the trapezium rotates 60 degrees clockwise each time. This pattern continues onto the next row.
Rule 2: From left to right, the cloud moves along a horizontal line at the top of the cell. This pattern continues onto the next row.
Rule 3: In each column, the size of the trapezium varies from small to medium and large. No two trapeziums in the same column have the same size.
Rule 4: In each row, the size of the cloud varies from small to medium and large. No two clouds in the same row have the same size.

Solution: The correct answer to the question is F.

Type of pattern: Row Addition

Raven's progressive matrices example pattern type: row addition pattern

Rule 1: From left to right, the shapes rotate 45 degrees clockwise each time. This pattern continues onto the next row.
Rule 2: From left to right, the number of sides on each of the shapes increases by one after every two cells. The number of shapes in the first column of each row is the same as that of the last cell in the preceding row. This pattern continues onto the next row.
Rule 3: In cells having an odd-number of shapes, the first shape is shaded. In cells having an even number of shapes, the last shape is shaded. This pattern continues onto the next row.

Solution: Integrating the rules together, the correct answer is F.

Versions of Raven's Progressive Matrices

Today this form of psychometric testing is widely used as a pre-employment assessment tool. Raven’s test is administered in three forms. The different types of Raven’s progressive matrices allow for the capacity to accurately estimate the general and fluid intelligence of people with varying cognitive capacities.

Standard Progressive Matrices

The Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test was developed in the 1930s by J.C. Raven to research how genetic aspects and environmental aspects influence intelligence. The initial booklet consisted of 5 series of five sets of 12 items. In general, the items of each set become progressively more complex and require an increasing amount of cognitive capacity and fluid intelligence to analyze the information and solve the problem.

When presented with Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices, participants will have to complete 60 questions within a time span of 40 minutes. After the 40 minutes have elapsed, Raven’s IQ Test will automatically be scored in relation to normative inter(national) standards.

The type of positions where the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices are typically used to screen candidates is for entry-level and supervisory level jobs in management. In addition, the test is often used in assessments for mid-level roles where proficient decision-making and analytical abilities are crucial.

Colored Progressive Matrices

The Colored Progressive Matrices are predominantly administered to test the cognitive capabilities and fluid intelligence of children between the ages 5 and 11, the elderly with declining cognitive capabilities, and individuals with physical and mental impairments. As the test indicates, most items are shown against a colored background which consequently makes the test visually stimulating for the participants taking the test.

Advanced Progressive Matrices

Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) can be seen as a more complex version of Raven’s Test and the test is capable of assessing candidates with a greater level of cognitive abilities. This version of Raven’s IQ Test is composed of 36 questions and assessment takers have to solve as many questions as possible within approximately 40 minutes. The questions become progressively harder to solve as you work through the exam.

The Advanced Progressive Matrices are typically presented to candidates who apply for positions in upper management and for roles that require a superior level of cognitive and analytical abilities. This test is most suited for adults and adolescents of above-average intelligence who want to challenge their fluid intelligence and cognitive ability.

Short Advanced Progressive Matrices

The short APM has the same aspects as Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices with the only differences being found in the number of questions and the time in which the test must be completed. This short version of Raven’s intelligence test merely consists of 12 questions and must be finished within a time span of 15 minutes.

The short APM is frequently administered to screen participants in the human resources industry because this shorter version of Raven’s intelligence test has high accuracy in relation to the cost of administering the test.

Tips and tricks from Assessment-Training to ace the Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test

In the Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test, it is crucial to categorize which pattern types (cut-out, mirror and manipulation, adjustment, size changes, and row additions) are to be found in the image. Next to this, it is also vital to quickly switch back and forth between inductive reasoning, where you swiftly explore different premises of possible answers without full assurance that they are correct and deductive reasoning where you cross off false lines of reasoning. In Raven’s Intelligence Test, practice and reflective reasoning are key stepping stones to successfully ace your assessment.

Going into more depth on the specific tips and tricks to quickly find the right solution in Raven’s Test, participants will often find the following characteristics:

Several types of figures can be used, even in one grid. Examples of figures are circles, squares, arrows, stars, and triangles.
The number of figures used can be of importance in trying to figure out the pattern that is used in a specific grid.
Every figure can rotate. This can be clockwise or counterclockwise. Try to figure out how many degrees the rotation is and whether that number increases or decreases between cells in the matrix horizontally or vertically.
Every figure can move places in the grid. The movement can be a specific number of steps horizontally and/or vertically. As a test taker try to rasterize the square cells of the matrix into as many points as you need to infer how many steps the figure has moved in between cells of Raven’s Progressive Matrices.
Figures frequently change in size but they also tend to change in shape. In the more advanced matrices, figures alter both in size and shape.
The shading of the figures can change between cells of the matrix. In addition, the total number of figures that are shaded, the specific spatial position, and degree of rotation can be of importance. Don’t forget to note the connection between the different types of fillings and/or figures across different rows and/or columns.
The more complex Raven’s Test becomes, the higher the number of different types of patterns you will find in the items of the assessment. In order to not become cognitively overwhelmed by the variety of different possibilities and potential solutions, it is helpful to start with a narrow focus. After determining which types of patterns you see broaden your view from there and switch between inductive and deductive reasoning to come to the correct answer.
Raven’s Progressive Matrices are administered under exam conditions and strictly timed. As test takers are commonly permitted to use a blank sheet of paper, write down the lines of reasoning so you can explore those that make sense and cross off the ones that are shown to be false. This method will keep you from wasting time going through the same thought patterns and mental arithmetic.

Good luck practicing and successfully completing your assessment!

How to prepare for the Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Be conscious of the time you have for each item of the test. If you are completing the assessment online there will usually be a digital timer. If you are tested at an assessment center make sure to wear a watch or look at the clock to keep an eye on the time.
Don’t spend too much of your time being stuck on the same question. You can always come back later to solve the problem if you have time left.
Prepare a mental checklist of strategies to quickly determine which types of patterns can be found in the assessment.
Before making the actual test go through complex practice exercises that test your cognitive ability and which have step-by-step solutions that lead to the answer. This will prime your mind to efficiently switch between the required inductive and deductive reasoning that is required for abstract reasoning tests such as is the case with Raven’s Progressive Matrices.
When using pen and paper, try to write down your thoughts and subsequent mental arithmetic in a concise manner. Use abbreviations for certain figures when useful (Rectangle= Rec, Pentagon = Pen, etc).

Why practice for Raven's Progressive Matrices?

The main reason why you should practice online for Raven’s IQ Test before taking the actual assessment is that you want to maximize your chances of passing the test with an optimal score. It is a common misconception that a person can’t increase their performance on IQ tests. It has been scientifically validated that proper analytical and reflective training can significantly improve your performance on Raven’s progressive matrices. Even more so, the effect of training does not depend on age or gender.

A couple of quick training sessions have a positive short-term effect on your Raven’s Test scores. K nowing the types of patterns and characteristics is essential to analytically increase your processing speed and the ability to answer questions quickly. Important to note is that Raven’s Progressive Matrices have a time cap. Therefore, practice and repetition are crucial.

Additionally, it is beneficial to reflect on the answers and solutions and learn from your mistakes so you decrease the chance of making them again. Remember, practice makes perfect. You will see that through practice your performance will improve. Familiarizing yourself with psychometric tests is the first step to success. Through practice, you will get a clear picture of what these tests are, what they look like, what they measure, and what the testing conditions will be.

Assessment-Training.com is the go-to platform for certification practice, assessment/aptitude test training, and job application preparation. We offer tailor-made preparation packages with tests in the same style as the actual Raven’s Progressive Matrices Tests.

In addition to the fact that all our practice tests come with worked solutions and an explanation on how to get to the right answer, we offer you a unique Personal Progression Tracking System .

This progression system will help you track your progress and give a detailed view of your performances. It will help you identify your stronger and weaker points and gives insight into your areas of development. The progression tool keeps track of your scores, test times, and overall progression.

We offer you the tools to reduce anxiety and make sure you get the most out of yourself on the day of your certification, assessment test, or job application interview! Research among our users showed that through practice your scores can improve up to 80% .

Over 96% of our customers would recommend Assessment-Training for practice.

Start training now and get immediate access to the tests and practice 24/7 on your computer, phone, or tablet!

What does Assessment-Training offer?

Assessment-Training.com is the market leader in online assessment preparation. With our continuous research and development, we provide a cutting-edge e-learning platform that enables you to ace your assessment! We work tirelessly to enhance our tests and we can assure you that they are of the same standard as those of the latest tests of the leading assessment publishers.

Our Raven’s Progressive Matrices Tests have been developed by specialists and experts in the field of psychometric tests. Our mission is to help candidates complete their application fully prepared to their utmost capability. Our goal is to help you ace your assessment, regardless of the company, job, or level, you are applying for!

To help you master the Raven's Progressive Matrix assessment we sorted through and combined only the best tailor-made questions. These questions were rigorously put to the test by our psychometric test developer specialists team to deliver you the best and most representative Raven’s Progressive Matrices preparation package on the market to date. Our hand-picked preparation package will give you access to 25 tests with 10 questions amounting to 250 questions in total.

All practice tests come with step-by-step solutions on how to logically arrive at the right answer. The solutions allow you to engage in reflective learning and improvement by going over the mistakes you made.

Our Personal Progression System will help you track your progress and provides you a detailed view of your performances over time. We provide you with a reference group that is categorized by educational level. You can compare yourself to peers who have completed the same test, allowing you to see where you stand. Assessment-Training is more than just a training platform, we are an e-learning community that is here to help you land your dream job!

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RAVEN (Critical Thinking)

RAVEN is a critical thinking acronym that stands for:

Ability to observe

Vested interests.

It is used in assessing how valid an individual's point of view is by assessing the individual themselves. If done poorly, may be seen as a type of Ad Hominem . Forms part of the deduction series of reasoning in assessing information.

1 Reputation
2 Ability to observe
3 Vested interests
4 Expertise
5 Neutrality
6 Assessment

Reputation is how well known an individual is for being credible, that is, either being honest, reliable, consistent or similarly. Appeals of trust explicitly on reputation where it may not be warrented may be a type of appeal to authority fallacy , especially if their reputation is poorly substantiated or not even backed up.

Attacks on reputation may be classified as types of ad hominem (if the attack on reputation is irrelevant to the statement), poisoning the well fallacy (if the information is presented adversely to skewer perceptions), or doubt-casting (if the doubts on reputation are speculative and poorly substantiated).

Ability to observe is whether or not the individual has the capacity to directly view or see the events of which they are specifying. For example, if an individual argues radiation from Fukushima is safe, if they are arguing that from the safety of their home some 5,000 miles away from Fukushima, they can be deemed as too far removed as to be able to directly observe such a statement.

Likewise, in any sort of testimony or statement from a witness of a crime or similar, this is whether or not the individual had the opportunity to see the crime or similar actually being committed.

Claims of being able to observe something when it's apparent it's not possible should be deemed as negative reputation.

Vested interests are whether or not the individual has any reason to present information in a specific manner. For example, an employee of a big oil company would have a good reason to report their company in a positive way, as well as a company stockholder or a CEO.

Similarly, however, this can be used as a form of 'inverse vested interest', where if a big oil employee reports something wrong with the company, they can be viewed more favourably, as they would be taking negative risks (such as workplace mistreatment, being fired, harassment etc) to present such information. A government agent opposing their own government is more trustworthy than a government agent who supports their own government.

However, this isn't not a strict rule, and individuals may attack their own establishments in order to curry favour as part of an inverse oppositional behaviour attack (by winning people over by attacking what they see as a negative target to oppose), and thus falls within probability and percentage deduction .

Expertise is whether or not the individual has any knowledge on the subject and how knowledgeable they are on the subject. Where-as reputation covers how reliable they are when giving information, expertise is how much knowledge on the information they are likely to have.

Expertise is not sufficient by itself, and may consistute an appeal to authority fallacy , especially if the individual has vested interests. For example, doctors have been given kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies to sell more drugs , and whilst they might have expertise, they fail on vested interests.

Neutrality is how neutral (or how bias) an individual might be in a given situation. Where-as vested interests might be obvious things they are associated with, neutrality deals with how likely they themselves are to be bias. For example, an individual who supports a political party might not have any vested interest (as in, they do not receive any benefits or losses), but their neutrality is affected as they favour that particular party and may be less willing to criticise it.

Where-as vested interest deals with situational influences that might influence the individual, neutrality deals with the personal influences that might influence the individual.

Whilst RAVEN might point overwhelmingly over towards one direction or another, it should be treated as a general indicator rather than an absolute, and should be used as a means to conduct further investigation to find more solid evidence to prove a point, rather than being the point itself.

For example, if an individual defends a company decision, it would be reasonable to infer they may have vested interests in the company, and to ask for clarification as to whether or not they have vested interests. Or, if the individual does express a vested interest, to see if there any examples of said company bribing or offering incentives to present the company favourably, which can be used to argue a point.

1 Derren Brown method (psychology)
2 EMP gun (weapon)

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What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

Published on May 30, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment .

To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources .

Critical thinking skills help you to:

Identify credible sources
Evaluate and respond to arguments
Assess alternative viewpoints
Test hypotheses against relevant criteria

Why is critical thinking important, critical thinking examples, how to think critically, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about critical thinking.

Critical thinking is important for making judgments about sources of information and forming your own arguments. It emphasizes a rational, objective, and self-aware approach that can help you to identify credible sources and strengthen your conclusions.

Critical thinking is important in all disciplines and throughout all stages of the research process . The types of evidence used in the sciences and in the humanities may differ, but critical thinking skills are relevant to both.

In academic writing , critical thinking can help you to determine whether a source:

Is free from research bias
Provides evidence to support its research findings
Considers alternative viewpoints

Outside of academia, critical thinking goes hand in hand with information literacy to help you form opinions rationally and engage independently and critically with popular media.

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Critical thinking can help you to identify reliable sources of information that you can cite in your research paper . It can also guide your own research methods and inform your own arguments.

Outside of academia, critical thinking can help you to be aware of both your own and others’ biases and assumptions.

Academic examples

However, when you compare the findings of the study with other current research, you determine that the results seem improbable. You analyze the paper again, consulting the sources it cites.

You notice that the research was funded by the pharmaceutical company that created the treatment. Because of this, you view its results skeptically and determine that more independent research is necessary to confirm or refute them. Example: Poor critical thinking in an academic context You’re researching a paper on the impact wireless technology has had on developing countries that previously did not have large-scale communications infrastructure. You read an article that seems to confirm your hypothesis: the impact is mainly positive. Rather than evaluating the research methodology, you accept the findings uncritically.

Nonacademic examples

However, you decide to compare this review article with consumer reviews on a different site. You find that these reviews are not as positive. Some customers have had problems installing the alarm, and some have noted that it activates for no apparent reason.

You revisit the original review article. You notice that the words “sponsored content” appear in small print under the article title. Based on this, you conclude that the review is advertising and is therefore not an unbiased source. Example: Poor critical thinking in a nonacademic context You support a candidate in an upcoming election. You visit an online news site affiliated with their political party and read an article that criticizes their opponent. The article claims that the opponent is inexperienced in politics. You accept this without evidence, because it fits your preconceptions about the opponent.

There is no single way to think critically. How you engage with information will depend on the type of source you’re using and the information you need.

However, you can engage with sources in a systematic and critical way by asking certain questions when you encounter information. Like the CRAAP test , these questions focus on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

When encountering information, ask:

Who is the author? Are they an expert in their field?
What do they say? Is their argument clear? Can you summarize it?
When did they say this? Is the source current?
Where is the information published? Is it an academic article? Is it peer-reviewed ?
Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence? Does it rely on opinion, speculation, or appeals to emotion ? Do they address alternative arguments?

Critical thinking also involves being aware of your own biases, not only those of others. When you make an argument or draw your own conclusions, you can ask similar questions about your own writing:

Am I only considering evidence that supports my preconceptions?
Is my argument expressed clearly and backed up with credible sources?
Would I be convinced by this argument coming from someone else?

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

ChatGPT vs human editor
ChatGPT citations
Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
Using ChatGPT for your studies
What is ChatGPT?
Chicago style
Paraphrasing

Plagiarism

Types of plagiarism
Self-plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism
Academic integrity
Consequences of plagiarism
Common knowledge

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Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to:

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

Who is the author? Are they an expert?
How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test and follow these guidelines:

The information should be up to date and current.
The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

Being information literate means that you:

Know how to find credible sources
Use relevant sources to inform your research
Understand what constitutes plagiarism
Know how to cite your sources correctly

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search, interpret, and recall information in a way that aligns with our pre-existing values, opinions, or beliefs. It refers to the ability to recollect information best when it amplifies what we already believe. Relatedly, we tend to forget information that contradicts our opinions.

Although selective recall is a component of confirmation bias, it should not be confused with recall bias.

On the other hand, recall bias refers to the differences in the ability between study participants to recall past events when self-reporting is used. This difference in accuracy or completeness of recollection is not related to beliefs or opinions. Rather, recall bias relates to other factors, such as the length of the recall period, age, and the characteristics of the disease under investigation.

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Examples: NFL , NASA , PSP , HIPAA , random Word(s) in meaning: chat "global warming" Postal codes: USA: 81657 , Canada: T5A 0A7

What does RAVEN stand for?

Raven stands for reputation, ability to observe, vested interest, expertise, neutrality or bias (critical thinking).

Organizations, NGOs, schools, universities, etc.

See other definitions of RAVEN

MLA style: "RAVEN." Acronym Finder . 2024. AcronymFinder.com 14 Aug. 2024 https://www.acronymfinder.com/Reputation%2c-Ability-to-Observe%2c-Vested-Interest%2c-Expertise%2c-Neutrality-or-Bias-(critical-thinking)-(RAVEN).html
Chicago style: Acronym Finder . S.v. "RAVEN." Retrieved August 14 2024 from https://www.acronymfinder.com/Reputation%2c-Ability-to-Observe%2c-Vested-Interest%2c-Expertise%2c-Neutrality-or-Bias-(critical-thinking)-(RAVEN).html
APA style: RAVEN. (n.d.) Acronym Finder. (2024). Retrieved August 14 2024 from https://www.acronymfinder.com/Reputation%2c-Ability-to-Observe%2c-Vested-Interest%2c-Expertise%2c-Neutrality-or-Bias-(critical-thinking)-(RAVEN).html
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Middle Way Society

An ethical approach to a better life, by integrating desires and avoiding dogmatic extremes, critical thinking 21: credibility of sources.

I’ve been moved to revive my critical thinking series by the acuteness of the problems people seem to have with credibility judgements in current political debate. Russia has been implicated in the recent use of a nerve agent for attempted murder in Salisbury, England, and in the use of chemical weapons in Syria. In both cases they deny it. Most of us have no direct knowledge of these issues or situations, so we rely entirely on information about them that we get through the media. That means that we have to use credibility judgements – and we need to use them with great care. My own judgement is that the Russian government has very low credibility compared to most Western sources – but to see why you need to look at the kinds of credibility criteria that can be applied and think about each one of them, rather than jumping to conclusions that may be based on your reaction to past weaknesses in Western objectivity. I’d like to invite you to consider the account of credibility below and apply it to this example (and similar ones) for yourself.

This post connects strongly to Critical Thinking 7: Authority and Credibility , which you might also like to look at.

Credibility is an estimation of how much trust to place in a source of information – e.g. a person, an organisation, or a book. Most of the information we actually encounter that is used to support arguments has to be taken on trust, because we are not in a position to check it ourselves. For example, if I’m reading an article about the Large Hadron Collider (a famous massive physics experiment), I am entirely reliant on the physicists who are giving the information to accurately explain their evidence.

There are two extreme attitudes to credibility which would be equally unhelpful: to take everything on trust without question on the one hand, or to believe nothing on the other. If we believed nothing that anyone else told us, then we would could not make use of the vast majority of information we take for granted. For example, I have never been to Australia, so without believing other people I would have no grounds for believing that Australia exists at all. On the other hand, if we believe everything, then we become prey to unscrupulous advertisers, email hoaxes such as “phishing” for bank account details, and sincere but deluded extremists of all kinds in both religion and politics. We need a method of judging others’ credibility. In fact we have all already developed our judgements about this: we believe some people more than others. However, examining the subject carefully may help you to refine and justify these judgements.

Credibility issues must be carefully distinguished from issues of argument. It is a way of judging the information that feeds into an argument when you have no other way of judging it – not the argument itself. So whilst deductive arguments are either valid or invalid, credibility is always a matter of degree, and judging it is an extension of inductive reasoning in relation to sources. Credibility is just a way of judging assumptions, where those assumptions consist in claims from certain sources, and we’re not in a position to assess the evidence for those claims ourselves.

An example of a scenario needing credibility assessment Suppose you are a teacher in a primary school on playground duty, and you hear distressed yells. You turn and see two eight-year old boys fighting. One has thumped the other, who is crying. The crying boy says he was picked on, whilst the thumping boy says the other boy hit him first. Two other boys were witnesses but they disagree about who was to blame.

Perhaps it would be quite common in such a scenario for a teacher to punish both boys due to doubts about who started it: but would this be fair? It is difficult to decide, because both boys (and their respective friends) all have a strong interest in maintaining their side of the story. The witnesses are also divided, so you can’t rely on the weight of their testimony. One possible way out would be to rely on reputations. Are either of the boys known to have lied, or to have been bullies, in the past? If one boy has a record of being involved in lots of fights in the past and the other does not, this might well sway the teacher’s judgement. But of course if this assumption is made too readily it could also reconfirm the “known trouble maker” as such, because even if he is innocent people will assume that he is guilty. Judgements about credibility are always made under uncertainty.

We will now look more closely at these 5 factors.

Reputation Reputation is what we know about a person or organisation’s track record for trustworthiness. This will often come from the assessments of others, whether they are experts or ordinary people. For example, restaurants seek to get a good reputation by being given stars in the Michelin guide. Reputation has also been democratised because it can be so easily shared on the internet, with different book suppliers being rated for reliability on Amazon or different hotels being rated by people who have stayed there on websites like Bookings.com.

Apart from an individual or organisation, you might need to consider the reputation of a newspaper, other publication, broadcaster, or website. Generally, for example, the BBC has a good reputation as an objective provider of news coverage, whereas the Sun is well known for being more interested in selling newspapers and pleasing its readers than providing objective reports. This will remain generally the case even if you feel that certain reports have tarnished the reputation of the BBC or improved that of the Sun. All credibility judgements need to be proportional, so you need to think carefully about what proportion of the BBC’s vast output is generally acknowledged as credible, rather than just about a small number of negative instances, in order to arrive at a fair judgement of reputation.

Ability to get information This covers a range of ways that people may or may not have been able to access what they claim to know through experience: ability to observe, ability to gain access, and ability to recall. If someone claims to have observed a foul at a football game that the referee judged wrongly, their testimony is of less weight if they were five times further away from the incident than the referee was and could only see it distantly. If someone claims to have seen documents that their company or government would never have actually given them access to, this would also reduce credibility. If someone is known to have an unreliable memory, or only remembers something in a vague way, this would also affect the credibility of their claims.

The ability to observe is also relevant to the distinction (often used in history) between primary sources and secondary sources. A primary source is one which records a person’s experiences directly, but a secondary source gets the information second hand. So, for example, if an officer wrote a memoir of his experiences in the Battle of Waterloo, this would become a primary historical document in gaining information about that battle, but a historian who used that document, together with others, to write a book about the battle would be producing a secondary source. On average, primary sources tend to be more worthy of credibility in reporting an event than secondary ones, but primary sources can be unreliable (the officer might not have been in a good position to see what was happening in the whole battle, for example) and secondary sources may sometimes give a more comprehensive picture with greater expertise and neutrality (see below).

Vested interest A vested interest is something that a person has to gain or lose from a certain outcome. For example, a salesman has a vested interest in getting you to buy his company’s double glazing, because they will give him extra commission if he sells it to you. This gives him a reason to give you a possibly misleading impression of its high quality, low price etc. Vested interests can cut both ways, though: there can be a vested interest to deceive (as in the case of a salesman), but also a vested interest to tell the truth, for example where someone’s job depends on them maintaining a good reputation for reliability. As well as an incentive for stretching the truth a little bit, a double glazing salesman also has a vested interest in keeping close enough to the truth not to be subject to legal action for grossly misrepresenting his product.

It’s important to keep vested interests in perspective, because most people have some vested interests in both directions. Nearly everyone has something to gain from getting your money or your support or even your friendship, but on the other hand they also have the incentive of maintaining a social reputation as reliable, and – if they are a professional – for maintaining their career prospects, which depend on that reputation. However, in cases like advertising or political campaigning it’s obvious that the vested interests lie strongly in one direction.

Expertise If someone is an expert on the topic under consideration, then this normally adds substantially to their credibility, because they will know a lot more of the facts of the matter and also understand the relationship between them. We all rely on expertise constantly: the doctor, the computer technician, the academic on TV or writing a book. You can look for formal academic qualifications (BA’s, MA’s, & Ph.D.’s) as evidence of expertise, or it may just be a question of professional experience or life experience (e.g. someone has worked 20 years as a gardener, or practised meditation for 10 years, or whatever). People who hold university posts in a subject, or who have written books on it, are often the starting-point in the media when an expert is needed.

Apart from whether expertise is genuine, the other thing you might want to consider when deciding whether to trust it is whether it is relevant. Someone with a Ph.D. in physics may know a bit about biology, but not necessarily that much. The fact that someone is an Olympic gold medal winner may give them expertise in how to train in their sport, but not necessarily about, say, politics or business. ‘Celebrities’ who are largely famous for being famous, may assume expertise on subjects that they don’t actually know more than average about.

From the Middle Way point of view, it is also worth considering that expertise in modern society often results from over-specialisation that may lead people into making absolute assumptions that are specific to their highly specialised expert groups. This means that whilst highly specialised experts may be very reliable on very specific points within their expertise, the moment their judgement starts to involve synthesis or comparison with other areas it may actually become less reliable, because they may have effectively sacrificed their wider objectivity for the sake of specialisation. For example, when well-known specialised scientists start talking about ethics or religion I often have this impression – not that they are not entitled to express their views on these topics, but that their views are very narrowly based. On the other hand, there are also other people whose expertise is more broadly based.

Neutrality or bias Finally, you can assess someone’s claims according to their overall approach to the topic and the kind of interpretation they make of it. Some people may clearly set out to be as objective as possible, whereas others adopt a deliberately biased approach in order to promote a particular point of view. Honest bias is probably better than false neutrality, but you need to be aware of the ways that the biased approach will limit people’s interpretation of the facts. For example, the comments of a politician arguing for their policies are going to be biased in favour of promoting those policies – compared to, say, a political journalist from the BBC who sets out to analyse the issue in a more objective way that explains the different views of it.

Bias should not be confused with vested interest, although they may go together in many cases. Someone can have a vested interest, yet take an objective and balanced tone when explaining the facts as they see them. On the other hand, someone without a lot of vested interests may be inspired by sympathy with one side or the other to weigh strongly into a debate: for example, the actor Joanna Lumley got involved in the campaign to give immigration rights to the UK to Nepalese Gurkha soldiers in the British army. She clearly had nothing much to gain from this herself, but nevertheless was a passionate advocate of the cause.

So, do you believe the Russian government? The judgement needs to be incremental and comparative. So, compare it to another source, say the British government on the Skripal Case. What are their reputations, their abilities to get information, their vested interests, expertise, and record on bias? These all need to be put together, with none of them being used as an absolute to either accept total authority or to completely dismiss.

For an index of all critical thinking blogs see this page .

Picture: Franco Atirador (Wikimedia Commons)

One thought on “ Critical Thinking 21: Credibility of Sources ”

I think its hard to trust Russia as there reputation is not good however with a situation this big it’s difficult to know and judge this.

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Critical Thinking: Where to Begin

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If you are new to critical thinking or wish to deepen your conception of it, we recommend you review the content below and bookmark this page for future reference.

Our Conception of Critical Thinking...

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness..."

"Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fairminded way. People who think critically attempt, with consistent and conscious effort, to live rationally, reasonably, and empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies. They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking. They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason. They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.

They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society. At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so. They strive never to think simplistically about complicated issues and always to consider the rights and needs of relevant others. They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement. They embody the Socratic principle: The unexamined life is not worth living , because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world."

Why Critical Thinking?

The Problem:

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our lives and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

A Brief Definition:

Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it. The Result:

A well-cultivated critical thinker:

raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to overcoming our native egocentrism and sociocentrism. Read more about our concept of critical thinking .

The Essential Dimensions of Critical Thinking

Our conception of critical thinking is based on the substantive approach developed by Dr. Richard Paul and his colleagues at the Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking over multiple decades. It is relevant to every subject, discipline, and profession, and to reasoning through the problems of everyday life. It entails five essential dimensions of critical thinking:

At the left is an overview of the first three dimensions. In sum, the elements or structures of thought enable us to "take our thinking apart" and analyze it. The intellectual standards are used to assess and evaluate the elements. The intellectual traits are dispositions of mind embodied by the fairminded critical thinker. To cultivate the mind, we need command of these essential dimensions, and we need to consistently apply them as we think through the many problems and issues in our lives.

The Elements of Reasoning and Intellectual Standards

To learn more about the elements of thought and how to apply the intellectual standards, check out our interactive model. Simply click on the link below, scroll to the bottom of the page, and explore the model with your mouse.

Why the Analysis of Thinking Is Important If you want to think well, you must understand at least the rudiments of thought, the most basic structures out of which all thinking is made. You must learn how to take thinking apart. Analyzing the Logic of a Subject When we understand the elements of reasoning, we realize that all subjects, all disciplines, have a fundamental logic defined by the structures of thought embedded within them. Therefore, to lay bare a subject’s most fundamental logic, we should begin with these questions:

Going Deeper...

The Critical Thinking Bookstore

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Learn From Our Fellows and Scholars

Watch our Event Calendar , which provides an overview of all upcoming conferences and academies hosted by the Foundation for Critical Thinking. Clicking an entry on the Event Calendar will bring up that event's details, and the option to register. For those interested in online learning, the Foundation offers accredited online courses in critical thinking for both educators and the general public, as well as an online test for evaluating basic comprehension of critical thinking concepts . We are in the process of developing more online learning tools and tests to offer the community.

Utilizing this Website

This website contains large amounts research and an online library of articles , both of which are freely available to the public. We also invite you to become a member of the Critical Thinking Community , where you will gain access to more tools and materials. If you cannot locate a resource on a specific topic or concept, try searching for it using our Search Tool . The Search Tool is at the upper-right of every page on the website.

41+ Critical Thinking Examples (Definition + Practices)

Critical thinking is an essential skill in our information-overloaded world, where figuring out what is fact and fiction has become increasingly challenging.

But why is critical thinking essential? Put, critical thinking empowers us to make better decisions, challenge and validate our beliefs and assumptions, and understand and interact with the world more effectively and meaningfully.

Critical thinking is like using your brain's "superpowers" to make smart choices. Whether it's picking the right insurance, deciding what to do in a job, or discussing topics in school, thinking deeply helps a lot. In the next parts, we'll share real-life examples of when this superpower comes in handy and give you some fun exercises to practice it.

Critical Thinking Process Outline

Critical thinking means thinking clearly and fairly without letting personal feelings get in the way. It's like being a detective, trying to solve a mystery by using clues and thinking hard about them.

It isn't always easy to think critically, as it can take a pretty smart person to see some of the questions that aren't being answered in a certain situation. But, we can train our brains to think more like puzzle solvers, which can help develop our critical thinking skills.

Here's what it looks like step by step:

Spotting the Problem: It's like discovering a puzzle to solve. You see that there's something you need to figure out or decide.

Collecting Clues: Now, you need to gather information. Maybe you read about it, watch a video, talk to people, or do some research. It's like getting all the pieces to solve your puzzle.

Breaking It Down: This is where you look at all your clues and try to see how they fit together. You're asking questions like: Why did this happen? What could happen next?

Checking Your Clues: You want to make sure your information is good. This means seeing if what you found out is true and if you can trust where it came from.

Making a Guess: After looking at all your clues, you think about what they mean and come up with an answer. This answer is like your best guess based on what you know.

Explaining Your Thoughts: Now, you tell others how you solved the puzzle. You explain how you thought about it and how you answered.

Checking Your Work: This is like looking back and seeing if you missed anything. Did you make any mistakes? Did you let any personal feelings get in the way? This step helps make sure your thinking is clear and fair.

And remember, you might sometimes need to go back and redo some steps if you discover something new. If you realize you missed an important clue, you might have to go back and collect more information.

Critical Thinking Methods

Just like doing push-ups or running helps our bodies get stronger, there are special exercises that help our brains think better. These brain workouts push us to think harder, look at things closely, and ask many questions.

It's not always about finding the "right" answer. Instead, it's about the journey of thinking and asking "why" or "how." Doing these exercises often helps us become better thinkers and makes us curious to know more about the world.

Now, let's look at some brain workouts to help us think better:

1. "What If" Scenarios

Imagine crazy things happening, like, "What if there was no internet for a month? What would we do?" These games help us think of new and different ideas.

Pick a hot topic. Argue one side of it and then try arguing the opposite. This makes us see different viewpoints and think deeply about a topic.

3. Analyze Visual Data

Check out charts or pictures with lots of numbers and info but no explanations. What story are they telling? This helps us get better at understanding information just by looking at it.

4. Mind Mapping

Write an idea in the center and then draw lines to related ideas. It's like making a map of your thoughts. This helps us see how everything is connected.

There's lots of mind-mapping software , but it's also nice to do this by hand.

5. Weekly Diary

Every week, write about what happened, the choices you made, and what you learned. Writing helps us think about our actions and how we can do better.

6. Evaluating Information Sources

Collect stories or articles about one topic from newspapers or blogs. Which ones are trustworthy? Which ones might be a little biased? This teaches us to be smart about where we get our info.

There are many resources to help you determine if information sources are factual or not.

7. Socratic Questioning

This way of thinking is called the Socrates Method, named after an old-time thinker from Greece. It's about asking lots of questions to understand a topic. You can do this by yourself or chat with a friend.

Start with a Big Question:

"What does 'success' mean?"

Dive Deeper with More Questions:

"Why do you think of success that way?" "Do TV shows, friends, or family make you think that?" "Does everyone think about success the same way?"

"Can someone be a winner even if they aren't rich or famous?" "Can someone feel like they didn't succeed, even if everyone else thinks they did?"

Look for Real-life Examples:

"Who is someone you think is successful? Why?" "Was there a time you felt like a winner? What happened?"

Think About Other People's Views:

"How might a person from another country think about success?" "Does the idea of success change as we grow up or as our life changes?"

Think About What It Means:

"How does your idea of success shape what you want in life?" "Are there problems with only wanting to be rich or famous?"

Look Back and Think:

"After talking about this, did your idea of success change? How?" "Did you learn something new about what success means?"

8. Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono came up with a cool way to solve problems by thinking in six different ways, like wearing different colored hats. You can do this independently, but it might be more effective in a group so everyone can have a different hat color. Each color has its way of thinking:

White Hat (Facts): Just the facts! Ask, "What do we know? What do we need to find out?"

Red Hat (Feelings): Talk about feelings. Ask, "How do I feel about this?"

Black Hat (Careful Thinking): Be cautious. Ask, "What could go wrong?"

Yellow Hat (Positive Thinking): Look on the bright side. Ask, "What's good about this?"

Green Hat (Creative Thinking): Think of new ideas. Ask, "What's another way to look at this?"

Blue Hat (Planning): Organize the talk. Ask, "What should we do next?"

When using this method with a group:

Explain all the hats.
Decide which hat to wear first.
Make sure everyone switches hats at the same time.
Finish with the Blue Hat to plan the next steps.

9. SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is like a game plan for businesses to know where they stand and where they should go. "SWOT" stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

There are a lot of SWOT templates out there for how to do this visually, but you can also think it through. It doesn't just apply to businesses but can be a good way to decide if a project you're working on is working.

Strengths: What's working well? Ask, "What are we good at?"

Weaknesses: Where can we do better? Ask, "Where can we improve?"

Opportunities: What good things might come our way? Ask, "What chances can we grab?"

Threats: What challenges might we face? Ask, "What might make things tough for us?"

Steps to do a SWOT Analysis:

Goal: Decide what you want to find out.
Research: Learn about your business and the world around it.
Brainstorm: Get a group and think together. Talk about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Pick the Most Important Points: Some things might be more urgent or important than others.
Make a Plan: Decide what to do based on your SWOT list.
Check Again Later: Things change, so look at your SWOT again after a while to update it.

Now that you have a few tools for thinking critically, let’s get into some specific examples.

Everyday Examples

Life is a series of decisions. From the moment we wake up, we're faced with choices – some trivial, like choosing a breakfast cereal, and some more significant, like buying a home or confronting an ethical dilemma at work. While it might seem that these decisions are disparate, they all benefit from the application of critical thinking.

10. Deciding to buy something

Imagine you want a new phone. Don't just buy it because the ad looks cool. Think about what you need in a phone. Look up different phones and see what people say about them. Choose the one that's the best deal for what you want.

11. Deciding what is true

There's a lot of news everywhere. Don't believe everything right away. Think about why someone might be telling you this. Check if what you're reading or watching is true. Make up your mind after you've looked into it.

12. Deciding when you’re wrong

Sometimes, friends can have disagreements. Don't just get mad right away. Try to see where they're coming from. Talk about what's going on. Find a way to fix the problem that's fair for everyone.

13. Deciding what to eat

There's always a new diet or exercise that's popular. Don't just follow it because it's trendy. Find out if it's good for you. Ask someone who knows, like a doctor. Make choices that make you feel good and stay healthy.

14. Deciding what to do today

Everyone is busy with school, chores, and hobbies. Make a list of things you need to do. Decide which ones are most important. Plan your day so you can get things done and still have fun.

15. Making Tough Choices

Sometimes, it's hard to know what's right. Think about how each choice will affect you and others. Talk to people you trust about it. Choose what feels right in your heart and is fair to others.

16. Planning for the Future

Big decisions, like where to go to school, can be tricky. Think about what you want in the future. Look at the good and bad of each choice. Talk to people who know about it. Pick what feels best for your dreams and goals.

Job Examples

17. solving problems.

Workers brainstorm ways to fix a machine quickly without making things worse when a machine breaks at a factory.

18. Decision Making

A store manager decides which products to order more of based on what's selling best.

19. Setting Goals

A team leader helps their team decide what tasks are most important to finish this month and which can wait.

20. Evaluating Ideas

At a team meeting, everyone shares ideas for a new project. The group discusses each idea's pros and cons before picking one.

21. Handling Conflict

Two workers disagree on how to do a job. Instead of arguing, they talk calmly, listen to each other, and find a solution they both like.

22. Improving Processes

A cashier thinks of a faster way to ring up items so customers don't have to wait as long.

23. Asking Questions

Before starting a big task, an employee asks for clear instructions and checks if they have the necessary tools.

24. Checking Facts

Before presenting a report, someone double-checks all their information to make sure there are no mistakes.

25. Planning for the Future

A business owner thinks about what might happen in the next few years, like new competitors or changes in what customers want, and makes plans based on those thoughts.

26. Understanding Perspectives

A team is designing a new toy. They think about what kids and parents would both like instead of just what they think is fun.

School Examples

27. researching a topic.

For a history project, a student looks up different sources to understand an event from multiple viewpoints.

28. Debating an Issue

In a class discussion, students pick sides on a topic, like school uniforms, and share reasons to support their views.

29. Evaluating Sources

While writing an essay, a student checks if the information from a website is trustworthy or might be biased.

30. Problem Solving in Math

When stuck on a tricky math problem, a student tries different methods to find the answer instead of giving up.

31. Analyzing Literature

In English class, students discuss why a character in a book made certain choices and what those decisions reveal about them.

32. Testing a Hypothesis

For a science experiment, students guess what will happen and then conduct tests to see if they're right or wrong.

33. Giving Peer Feedback

After reading a classmate's essay, a student offers suggestions for improving it.

34. Questioning Assumptions

In a geography lesson, students consider why certain countries are called "developed" and what that label means.

35. Designing a Study

For a psychology project, students plan an experiment to understand how people's memories work and think of ways to ensure accurate results.

36. Interpreting Data

In a science class, students look at charts and graphs from a study, then discuss what the information tells them and if there are any patterns.

Critical Thinking Puzzles

Not all scenarios will have a single correct answer that can be figured out by thinking critically. Sometimes we have to think critically about ethical choices or moral behaviors.

Here are some mind games and scenarios you can solve using critical thinking. You can see the solution(s) at the end of the post.

37. The Farmer, Fox, Chicken, and Grain Problem

A farmer is at a riverbank with a fox, a chicken, and a grain bag. He needs to get all three items across the river. However, his boat can only carry himself and one of the three items at a time.

Here's the challenge:

If the fox is left alone with the chicken, the fox will eat the chicken.
If the chicken is left alone with the grain, the chicken will eat the grain.

How can the farmer get all three items across the river without any item being eaten?

38. The Rope, Jar, and Pebbles Problem

You are in a room with two long ropes hanging from the ceiling. Each rope is just out of arm's reach from the other, so you can't hold onto one rope and reach the other simultaneously.

Your task is to tie the two rope ends together, but you can't move the position where they hang from the ceiling.

You are given a jar full of pebbles. How do you complete the task?

39. The Two Guards Problem

Imagine there are two doors. One door leads to certain doom, and the other leads to freedom. You don't know which is which.

In front of each door stands a guard. One guard always tells the truth. The other guard always lies. You don't know which guard is which.

You can ask only one question to one of the guards. What question should you ask to find the door that leads to freedom?

40. The Hourglass Problem

You have two hourglasses. One measures 7 minutes when turned over, and the other measures 4 minutes. Using just these hourglasses, how can you time exactly 9 minutes?

41. The Lifeboat Dilemma

Imagine you're on a ship that's sinking. You get on a lifeboat, but it's already too full and might flip over.

Nearby in the water, five people are struggling: a scientist close to finding a cure for a sickness, an old couple who've been together for a long time, a mom with three kids waiting at home, and a tired teenager who helped save others but is now in danger.

You can only save one person without making the boat flip. Who would you choose?

42. The Tech Dilemma

You work at a tech company and help make a computer program to help small businesses. You're almost ready to share it with everyone, but you find out there might be a small chance it has a problem that could show users' private info.

If you decide to fix it, you must wait two more months before sharing it. But your bosses want you to share it now. What would you do?

43. The History Mystery

Dr. Amelia is a history expert. She's studying where a group of people traveled long ago. She reads old letters and documents to learn about it. But she finds some letters that tell a different story than what most people believe.

If she says this new story is true, it could change what people learn in school and what they think about history. What should she do?

The Role of Bias in Critical Thinking

Have you ever decided you don’t like someone before you even know them? Or maybe someone shared an idea with you that you immediately loved without even knowing all the details.

This experience is called bias, which occurs when you like or dislike something or someone without a good reason or knowing why. It can also take shape in certain reactions to situations, like a habit or instinct.

Bias comes from our own experiences, what friends or family tell us, or even things we are born believing. Sometimes, bias can help us stay safe, but other times it stops us from seeing the truth.

Not all bias is bad. Bias can be a mechanism for assessing our potential safety in a new situation. If we are biased to think that anything long, thin, and curled up is a snake, we might assume the rope is something to be afraid of before we know it is just a rope.

While bias might serve us in some situations (like jumping out of the way of an actual snake before we have time to process that we need to be jumping out of the way), it often harms our ability to think critically.

How Bias Gets in the Way of Good Thinking

Selective Perception: We only notice things that match our ideas and ignore the rest.

It's like only picking red candies from a mixed bowl because you think they taste the best, but they taste the same as every other candy in the bowl. It could also be when we see all the signs that our partner is cheating on us but choose to ignore them because we are happy the way we are (or at least, we think we are).

Agreeing with Yourself: This is called “ confirmation bias ” when we only listen to ideas that match our own and seek, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms what we already think we know or believe.

An example is when someone wants to know if it is safe to vaccinate their children but already believes that vaccines are not safe, so they only look for information supporting the idea that vaccines are bad.

Thinking We Know It All: Similar to confirmation bias, this is called “overconfidence bias.” Sometimes we think our ideas are the best and don't listen to others. This can stop us from learning.

Have you ever met someone who you consider a “know it”? Probably, they have a lot of overconfidence bias because while they may know many things accurately, they can’t know everything. Still, if they act like they do, they show overconfidence bias.

There's a weird kind of bias similar to this called the Dunning Kruger Effect, and that is when someone is bad at what they do, but they believe and act like they are the best .

Following the Crowd: This is formally called “groupthink”. It's hard to speak up with a different idea if everyone agrees. But this can lead to mistakes.

An example of this we’ve all likely seen is the cool clique in primary school. There is usually one person that is the head of the group, the “coolest kid in school”, and everyone listens to them and does what they want, even if they don’t think it’s a good idea.

How to Overcome Biases

Here are a few ways to learn to think better, free from our biases (or at least aware of them!).

Know Your Biases: Realize that everyone has biases. If we know about them, we can think better.

Listen to Different People: Talking to different kinds of people can give us new ideas.

Ask Why: Always ask yourself why you believe something. Is it true, or is it just a bias?

Understand Others: Try to think about how others feel. It helps you see things in new ways.

Keep Learning: Always be curious and open to new information.

In today's world, everything changes fast, and there's so much information everywhere. This makes critical thinking super important. It helps us distinguish between what's real and what's made up. It also helps us make good choices. But thinking this way can be tough sometimes because of biases. These are like sneaky thoughts that can trick us. The good news is we can learn to see them and think better.

There are cool tools and ways we've talked about, like the "Socratic Questioning" method and the "Six Thinking Hats." These tools help us get better at thinking. These thinking skills can also help us in school, work, and everyday life.

We’ve also looked at specific scenarios where critical thinking would be helpful, such as deciding what diet to follow and checking facts.

Thinking isn't just a skill—it's a special talent we improve over time. Working on it lets us see things more clearly and understand the world better. So, keep practicing and asking questions! It'll make you a smarter thinker and help you see the world differently.

Critical Thinking Puzzles (Solutions)

The farmer, fox, chicken, and grain problem.

The farmer first takes the chicken across the river and leaves it on the other side.
He returns to the original side and takes the fox across the river.
After leaving the fox on the other side, he returns the chicken to the starting side.
He leaves the chicken on the starting side and takes the grain bag across the river.
He leaves the grain with the fox on the other side and returns to get the chicken.
The farmer takes the chicken across, and now all three items -- the fox, the chicken, and the grain -- are safely on the other side of the river.

The Rope, Jar, and Pebbles Problem

Take one rope and tie the jar of pebbles to its end.
Swing the rope with the jar in a pendulum motion.
While the rope is swinging, grab the other rope and wait.
As the swinging rope comes back within reach due to its pendulum motion, grab it.
With both ropes within reach, untie the jar and tie the rope ends together.

The Two Guards Problem

The question is, "What would the other guard say is the door to doom?" Then choose the opposite door.

The Hourglass Problem

Start both hourglasses.
When the 4-minute hourglass runs out, turn it over.
When the 7-minute hourglass runs out, the 4-minute hourglass will have been running for 3 minutes. Turn the 7-minute hourglass over.
When the 4-minute hourglass runs out for the second time (a total of 8 minutes have passed), the 7-minute hourglass will run for 1 minute. Turn the 7-minute hourglass again for 1 minute to empty the hourglass (a total of 9 minutes passed).

The Boat and Weights Problem

Take the cat over first and leave it on the other side. Then, return and take the fish across next. When you get there, take the cat back with you. Leave the cat on the starting side and take the cat food across. Lastly, return to get the cat and bring it to the other side.

The Lifeboat Dilemma

There isn’t one correct answer to this problem. Here are some elements to consider:

Moral Principles: What values guide your decision? Is it the potential greater good for humanity (the scientist)? What is the value of long-standing love and commitment (the elderly couple)? What is the future of young children who depend on their mothers? Or the selfless bravery of the teenager?
Future Implications: Consider the future consequences of each choice. Saving the scientist might benefit millions in the future, but what moral message does it send about the value of individual lives?
Emotional vs. Logical Thinking: While it's essential to engage empathy, it's also crucial not to let emotions cloud judgment entirely. For instance, while the teenager's bravery is commendable, does it make him more deserving of a spot on the boat than the others?
Acknowledging Uncertainty: The scientist claims to be close to a significant breakthrough, but there's no certainty. How does this uncertainty factor into your decision?
Personal Bias: Recognize and challenge any personal biases, such as biases towards age, profession, or familial status.

The Tech Dilemma

Again, there isn’t one correct answer to this problem. Here are some elements to consider:

Evaluate the Risk: How severe is the potential vulnerability? Can it be easily exploited, or would it require significant expertise? Even if the circumstances are rare, what would be the consequences if the vulnerability were exploited?
Stakeholder Considerations: Different stakeholders will have different priorities. Upper management might prioritize financial projections, the marketing team might be concerned about the product's reputation, and customers might prioritize the security of their data. How do you balance these competing interests?
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Implications: While launching on time could meet immediate financial goals, consider the potential long-term damage to the company's reputation if the vulnerability is exploited. Would the short-term gains be worth the potential long-term costs?
Ethical Implications : Beyond the financial and reputational aspects, there's an ethical dimension to consider. Is it right to release a product with a known vulnerability, even if the chances of it being exploited are low?
Seek External Input: Consulting with cybersecurity experts outside your company might be beneficial. They could provide a more objective risk assessment and potential mitigation strategies.
Communication: How will you communicate the decision, whatever it may be, both internally to your team and upper management and externally to your customers and potential users?

The History Mystery

Dr. Amelia should take the following steps:

Verify the Letters: Before making any claims, she should check if the letters are actual and not fake. She can do this by seeing when and where they were written and if they match with other things from that time.
Get a Second Opinion: It's always good to have someone else look at what you've found. Dr. Amelia could show the letters to other history experts and see their thoughts.
Research More: Maybe there are more documents or letters out there that support this new story. Dr. Amelia should keep looking to see if she can find more evidence.
Share the Findings: If Dr. Amelia believes the letters are true after all her checks, she should tell others. This can be through books, talks, or articles.
Stay Open to Feedback: Some people might agree with Dr. Amelia, and others might not. She should listen to everyone and be ready to learn more or change her mind if new information arises.

Ultimately, Dr. Amelia's job is to find out the truth about history and share it. It's okay if this new truth differs from what people used to believe. History is about learning from the past, no matter the story.

Experimenter Bias (Definition + Examples)
Hasty Generalization Fallacy (31 Examples + Similar Names)
Ad Hoc Fallacy (29 Examples + Other Names)
Confirmation Bias (Examples + Definition)
Equivocation Fallacy (26 Examples + Description)

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Social Barriers to Critical Thinking

Thinking about the application of critical thinking in public settings..

Posted August 13, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

We must acknowledge our biases when evaluating research presented via media and strive to find the source.
In situations that have important consequences, how we deal with the bias-based conflict is what matters.
Those living in places where free speech is protected are lucky; this right should not be taken for granted.

I recently wrote a research paper on cognitive barriers to critical thinking (CT), discussing flaws in thinking associated with intuitive judgment, emotion , bias , and epistemological misunderstanding, as well as inadequate CT skills and dispositions (Dwyer, 2023). A colleague progressed this thinking by asking me about social barriers to CT, through a number of specific questions. After thinking about these questions for a bit, I thought it useful to answer some of them here as consideration for CT in social situations.

What happens when people believe they’re thinking critically, but they are just repeating some party line?

The simple answer is that because the individual isn’t thinking critically and they’re just telling you what they believe, it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth the effort to tell them. This depends on who the person is and how open they are to changing their mind —which people are quite hesitant to do; so, this might well be a futile endeavour. I probably would avoid engaging unless it’s someone I care about, who’s about to make an important decision based on erroneous information. Context is important here.

Of course, the folly is an example of in-group bias. The individual likely believes that their "group" has thought critically about the topic in question because they believe said party is credible with respect to the information they present. Thus, the individual might fail to evaluate the claim themselves because they are using their party’s thinking as some form of "expert opinion," even when there might be no relevant expertise to cite.

But, let’s say some research has been cited. Though the individual is right to talk about the research in the sense that research represents the most credible source of evidence , it does not ensure that this particular piece of research is credible. For example, consider how most people hear about new research. Academics know to read the relevant peer-reviewed journals, but not everyone is an academic. Most people hear about research from the news. It’s easy for a TV program or news radio show to talk about new research, but how sure can we be that such sources know how to properly interpret said research? Moreover, how do we know that the research was adequately conducted? We are hearing about research from a secondary source as opposed to the people who conducted it. This is problematic because a lot can be lost in the translation from the initial source, through the "middleman," and onto the public. As consumers of information, we must acknowledge our own potential biases when evaluating research presented to us through media outlets and strive to find the source of the research to ensure that we’re getting the full story.

Does one’s ideology and self-interest play a role in CT?

Ideology and self-interest are essentially bias-based cognitive structures; so, yes, they can affect one’s CT. However, if your decision is made in light of ideology and/or self-interest, then what you’re doing is not CT. If the information a person is presented with aligns with their pre-existing worldviews, they are likely to treat it as new information or as additional knowledge. Simply, if the information supports what we already believe, we are more likely to trust it (i.e., consider confirmation bias ). However, if the information contradicts such worldviews, we’re more likely to declare " fake news " without looking into it much further or, instead, pick flaws in it. This happens to the best of us from time to time, especially if the stakes aren’t particularly high (i.e., the decision you make doesn’t bear any important consequences ).

But, in situations that have important consequences, how we deal with the bias-based conflict is what matters. Our intuitive judgment will always tell us our gut feeling on a matter, but whether or not we engage in reflective judgment and dig deeper into the matter will determine whether or not we think critically . A critical thinker will look further into an important idea that they initially considered silly and might find that it’s actually well-supported by evidence (or it may not be, but at least they made the effort to further evaluate). Such evidence might lead them to further question the perspective and, ultimately, change their mind.

Is it worth sharing one’s CT in environments that punish CT?

This is a tough question because there are two equally acceptable answers—an idealistic one (yes) and a practical one (no)—the application of which, again, comes down to context. Some environments might discourage or even punish CT if the conclusions drawn contradict what is deemed "acceptable" (be it socially, politically, or even legally). In such cases, staying "quiet" seems like a practical and prudent move (even though it contradicts what many might view as intellectual integrity). That is, what’s more important, being right or avoiding punishment ? Another way of looking at this is thinking about whether speaking up is just a matter of being right, or the other party’s mistake is going to impact you in an important way. Is that "important way" worth potential punishment? Context is a key consideration here. Of course, environments where free speech is encouraged change things a bit; but if your CT contradicts the status quo, though you may not be "punished" for your conclusions, you might risk other negative knock-on effects. Sure, the ideal might seem more palatable in this context (i.e., sharing your CT), but there are many who might well stay quiet for reasons of practicality. Again, it depends on their own personal contexts (e.g., are you only risking offending someone or could you potentially put your employment in danger by stating your conclusions?).

All in all, each situation requires evaluation and appraisal of whether or not it is worth sharing one’s CT. From an idealistic perspective, this is a shame . Ideally , one should always feel free to share their thinking if CT has been applied. However, this is not always the practical strategy. Ultimately, what one can actually gain from sharing their conclusions (relative to what is likely to be lost), is what should determine whether or not such thinking is shared (e.g., Are you in a meaningful position to genuinely elicit positive change? ). The only real conclusion I can draw in this context is that those living in places where free speech is protected are truly very lucky, and this right should not be taken for granted. It should be practiced and maintained, but it is also imperative that it is well-informed. If it’s not, someone else with the right to speak freely, who has conducted CT, will hopefully call out that erroneous information. Of course, I recognise how that might seem a bit idealistic, because, unfortunately, as discussed above, many people often believe they have thought critically, even when they have not.

Dwyer, C.P. (2023). An evaluative review of barriers to critical thinking in educational and real-world settings. Journal of Intelligence: Critical Thinking in Everyday Life (Special Issue) , 11:105, doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11060105.

Christopher Dwyer, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Ireland.

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How can you tell if something is true? Here are 3 questions to ask yourself about what you see, hear and read

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Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected] .

How can I tell if what I am hearing is true? – Adam, age 10, Maui, Hawaii

Have you ever heard a story so exciting you wanted to share it right away? Something like a shark swimming up a flooded highway?

An image that seems to show just that was shared by many people after Hurricane Ian struck Florida in 2022. It was also widely shared after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, in 2017. It’s a fake – a flooded highway image combined with one of a great white shark. The fact-checking website Snopes found it circulating as far back as 2011 after Hurricane Irene slammed Puerto Rico.

Truth can be tricky to determine. Every message you read, see or hear comes from somewhere and was created by someone and for someone.

I teach media literacy , which is a way to think about information you get in the messages you receive via media . You might think media means the news, but it also includes TikTok posts, television, books, advertisements and more.

When deciding whether to trust a piece of information, it’s good to start with three main questions – who said it, what evidence did they give and how much do you want to believe it? The last one might seem a little strange, but you’ll see why it’s important by the end.

Who said it?

Let’s say you’re really excited about a game that’s coming out later this year. You want to be the first to learn about the new creatures, characters and game modes. So when a YouTube video pops up saying, “GAME COMING TWO WEEKS EARLY,” you can’t wait to watch. But when you click, it’s just a guy making predictions. Do you trust him?

A source is where information comes from. You get information from sources every day – from teachers, parents and friends to people you’ve never met on news sites, fan channels and social media. You probably have sources you trust and ones you don’t. But why?

Would you trust your history teacher to tell you something about history? Probably, because they have a college degree that says they know their stuff. But what if your history teacher told you a fact about science your science teacher said was untrue? You’d probably be better off going with the science teacher for your science facts. Just because a source is trustworthy in one subject doesn’t mean they’re trustworthy in every subject.

Let’s go back to the YouTuber. If you’ve watched him for a while and he’s reliably correct, that’s a good start. At the same time, make sure you don’t confuse his having an opinion with actually having knowledge . Just because you like a source doesn’t make it trustworthy.

This is true for websites, too. When a site grabs your attention, take a second to check the source at the top. Some fake sites use names that sound trustworthy – like “Boston Tribune” instead of “Boston Globe” or “www.cbs.com.co” instead of “www.cbs.com.” You can click the “About” page to see where they’re really coming from, use lists of known fake sites and other fact-checking resources to avoid getting played.

Boy in baseball cap looking at his phone outside on street corner.

What’s the evidence?

Evidence is what you show when someone says “prove it!” It’s the details that support what a source is saying.

Primary sources – people or groups who are directly involved with the information – are best. If you want to learn about the release of a new game, the company’s official accounts or channels would be primary sources.

Secondary sources are one step removed – for example, news stories based on primary sources. They aren’t as strong as primary sources but are still useful. For example, most news on gaming site IGN is based on information from game company sources, so it’s a good secondary source.

Can a blogger or YouTuber be a secondary source? If their claims start by referencing primary sources like “Electronic Arts says,” that’s good. But if they start with “I think” or “There’s a lot of buzz,” be careful.

Do you want to believe it?

Emotions can get in the way of knowing what’s true. Messages that make you feel strong emotions – especially ones that are funny or make you angry – are the most important ones to check, but they’re also the hardest to ignore .

Advertisers know this. Many ads try to be funny or make the things they’re selling look cool because they want you to focus on how you feel rather than what you think. And being older doesn’t mean you’re automatically better at spotting false information: 41% of 18-to-34-year-olds and 44% of adults 65 and older admitted to having fallen for a fake news story in a 2018 study. Other research showed adults over 65 were seven times as likely to share articles from fake sites as younger people were.

So if you’ve been eagerly waiting for that new game, and somebody posts a video that says it’s coming out early, your wanting it to be true can make you ignore your common sense – leaving you open to being fooled.

The best question you can ask yourself when you’re thinking about a message is, “Do I want to believe this?” If the answer is yes, it’s a good sign you should slow down and check the source and evidence more closely.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to [email protected] . Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

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Article Review: Nurse Onboarding Can Improve Critical Thinking, Knowledge, and Satisfaction

By Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB , on February 3, 2022

Recently published in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development , Onboarding New Graduate Nurses Using Assessment-Driven Personalized Learning to Improve Knowledge, Critical Thinking, and Nurse Satisfaction aimed to demonstrate how an evidence-based onboarding program can provide the most support possible to new graduate nurses as they transition from the classroom to practice.

The study compared two cohorts, one onboarded using an assessment-driven personalized learning plan, demonstrating:

8% improvement in communication
8% improvement in critical thinking
Increased scores in all 5 medical-surgical assessment domains
Improvement in 16 out of 24 nurse satisfaction scores (compared to only 7 out of 24 improved scores in traditional onboarding cohort)

Effective Nurse Onboarding

Healthcare leaders agree that effective onboarding is key to new nurse success, but often struggle to provide evidence-based support for specific onboarding programs.

However, healthcare organizations will benefit from measuring both the efficiency and effectiveness of an onboarding program. As leaders continue to focus on improving quality of care , improving the patient experience, and reducing readmissions, healthcare organizations find an even greater need for an effective onboarding process to ensure nurses are prepared to care for complex patient populations.

As noted in the study, traditional nursing onboarding programs have focused on technical skills and organization-specific policies and procedures. Although all of these are necessary for safe and effective care, they are not sufficient to meet the demands of today’s higher acuity, complex care environment. Higher acuity and more complex care require a higher level of critical thinking , knowledge, and clinical reasoning regarding disease process and evidence-based research and data to identify where opportunities for improvement exist or even the effectiveness of their process.

A Personalized Approach

It’s no surprise that new nurses will enter an organization with varied levels of knowledge and experiences. If nurse educators provide every nurse with the same information, some nurses may become bored and unengaged (if they’ve already mastered the information being taught), whereas other nurses who need more information may feel lost and left behind.

Nurse onboarding should be personalized to the new nurse in order to keep them engaged. As presented in the study, assessment driven, personalized learning is one important component to ensure knowledge gaps are identified and addressed. This lays the groundwork for a personalized learning approach that respects what the learner already knows.

Nurse Onboarding Study Overview

This study evaluated two cohorts, tracking their onboarding approaches. Compared to a traditional onboarding cohort, one cohort was onboarded using the Relias Onboarding assessment-driven personalized learning plan. The study compared critical thinking, knowledge, and nurse satisfaction between cohorts before and after personalized learning for onboarding.

As outlined in the article, this study showed that areas impacted by the personalized learning for onboarding, including relevant knowledge domains and critical thinking, were higher among nurses who participated in the personalized learning compared to nurses who were hired before the personalized learning was implemented.

For the measure of nurse satisfaction, the onboarding cohort showed improvement on 16 of 24 nurse experience questions between baseline and 12 months later, compared with the pre-onboarding cohort, which only showed improvement on 7 of the 24 nurse experience questions.

Research has demonstrated that effective onboarding programs show higher nurse satisfaction and higher competencies as well as lower turnover and lower stress levels. This suggests that this assessment-driven personalized learning is effective as it demonstrated higher nurse satisfaction and improvements in both knowledge and critical thinking compared to other cohorts.

Role of Relias

An efficient and effective onboarding program clearly demonstrates to new nurses that their healthcare organization is committed in their personal success and is willing to invest in them both personally and professionally.

Relias Onboarding was the assessment-driven personalized learning plan used to quantify the nurses’ clinical knowledge and judgment. This personalized learning component addresses ineffective orientation, by tailoring education to meet each individual nurse’s needs. An initial assessment identifies knowledge gaps for each nurse and then provides learning that addresses those gaps.

Additionally, preceptors can use the information from the assessment to identify which areas new nurses may need more or less support in order to help each nurse become safe, effective, and ready for independent practice.

Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB

Vice President, Quality, Relias

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Onboarding New Graduate Nurses Using Assessment-Driven Personalized Learning to Improve Knowledge, Critical Thinking, and Nurse Satisfaction

As published in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, this study demonstrated how effective onboarding improved knowledge, critical thinking, and nurse satisfaction.

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Curiosity Unleashed: The Missing Ingredient In Business Education

Curious Dog

Curiosity lies at the heart of all meaningful learning, particularly in business education. Educators witness firsthand how curiosity drives not only academic success but also the capacity to thrive in the constantly evolving world of business. Dr. Diane Hamilton , in her newly released book Curiosity Unleashed , explores the critical role that curiosity plays in shaping future business leaders.

Dr. Hamilton believes that in higher education, fostering curiosity is not just about encouraging students to ask questions. It is about empowering young minds to look beyond the obvious and confront the obstacles that hold organizations back. These insights resonate deeply in a world where the status quo often suppresses innovation. For leaders to emerge, they must possess the ability to question, explore, and challenge conventional thinking.

When engaging with students on the importance of curiosity, the focus is on asking the right questions—those that lead to deeper understanding and informed decision-making. Curiosity is not simply about gathering information; it is about delving into issues, examining them from various angles, and remaining open to new perspectives. This approach to thinking is directly tied to critical thinking, which Dr. Hamilton describes as a key benefit of cultivating curiosity in students. Ultimately, curiosity drives critical thinking and equips students to challenge the assumptions that often stifle innovation.

The connection between curiosity and critical thinking is clear. Critical thinking involves assessing situations, identifying opportunities, and solving problems in creative ways. These abilities are nurtured by a curious mindset. When students are curious, they become more engaged, which in turn fosters innovation. Dr. Hamilton discusses how business courses grounded in curiosity help students bridge the gap between theory and practice, enabling them to address real-world problems that organizations frequently struggle to solve.

In business education, fostering curiosity should be a top priority. Diane mentions that too often, the focus is placed on teaching the "what" and "how," while neglecting the importance of the "why." Students need to learn to question assumptions, remain open to new ideas, and explore possibilities beyond the obvious. This is not just about preparing them for exams; it is about equipping them to handle the complex challenges they will encounter in their careers. The true value of curiosity in the classroom lies in its ability to break down the barriers of fear and complacency, paving the way for bold, innovative thinking.

Obese Cat Series

To effectively cultivate curiosity, educators must be aware of the factors that inhibit it. Whether it is fear of failure, rigid thinking, or a lack of exposure to diverse ideas, these barriers can stifle the very curiosity that needs to be encouraged. Dr. Hamilton underscores the importance of creating environments where students feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and explore new ideas without fear of judgment. This kind of environment is essential for developing not only better students but also better leaders.

Curiosity in business education does more than enhance learning—it aligns with what organizations need most: critical thinkers who can break free from the status quo and drive meaningful change. Curiosity does not just improve the classroom experience; it cultivates the skills that are essential for success in the business world.

The value of curiosity in business education extends beyond the classroom. It is a lifelong skill that will benefit students in both their careers and personal lives. By fostering curiosity, educators are not only teaching students to think critically; they are also encouraging innovation, engagement, and success in whatever paths the students choose to pursue. This is the true value of curiosity, and it is why it should be at the center of everything done in business education.

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Critical thinking is more important than internet monitoring for today
Poe's Raven Critical Thinking Analysis by Arden
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The Raven Reading and Critical Thinking Questions (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Raven Reading and Critical Thinking Questions (Edgar Allan Poe)
raven for critical thinking- critical thinking secrets

COMMENTS

What is RAVEN for Critical Thinking?
Read the full article here: https://criticalthinkingsecrets.com/what-is-raven-for-critical-thinking/Download FREE Critical Thinking Skills Ebook: https://cri...
raven for critical thinking- critical thinking secrets
RAVEN is an acronym used in critical thinking. RAVEN stands for reputation, ability to observe, vested interests, expertise, and neutrality. When doing research, it is important to evaluate who is presenting the information and why. You can use RAVEN to decide if the information you are looking at is credible, or worthy of confidence and belief.
RAVEN: Evaluating Sources
RAVEN: Evaluating Sources. A tool for evaluating the quality of sources. The purpose of the tool is not to exclude all evidence or dismiss everything because of easy claims about bias, but to evaluate how evidence needs to be presented, evaluated, and considered. Reputation - What is the reputation of the author, the sources, and the publication?
Raven's Progressive Matrices: What Are They For?
Raven's Progressive Matrices test is one of the most commonly used instruments to measure analogical reasoning, capacity for abstraction, and perception. ... and critical thinking. Raven's Progressive Matrices is an example of the latter. It measures the abstract reasoning and fluid intelligence that Cattell wrote about. It's the kind of ...
1A: Five criteria of credibility
We use the mnemonic RAVEN to remember the five criteria of credibility: R = Reputation A = Ability to See V = Vested Interest E = Expertise N = Neutrality Reputation The first criterion, reputation is about whether the source's history or status suggests reliability or unreliability. If we know that someone has told lies…
RAVEN
RAVEN. RAVEN Source Analysis. R - Reputation: What do you know about the reputation of the author, the sources, and/or the publication? A - Ability to observe: Is the author in a position that allows access to reliable evidence? If the article is about an event, did the author actually observe the event?
Credibility assessment with RAVEN
This method originates from the critical thinking discipline and is often used to evaluate different sources that state contradicting things about the same situation or event. The truth is seldom black or white and hidden somewhere in between. Working with this assumption we can adapt RAVEN to estimate where the truth is to base our decisions on.
Raven's Progressive Matrices Test
The Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) Test is an assessment test designed to measure your non-verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning, and cognitive functioning. As Raven's Test is strictly visual, the issues of potential language barriers and religious/cultural affiliations are circumvented. Hence, Raven's Progressive Matrices test is one ...
Critical Thinking Frameworks for Media: A Guide
Another useful critical thinking framework for media is the RAVEN criteria, created by Linda Elder and Richard Paul, two prominent scholars in critical thinking. RAVEN stands for Reputation ...
Raven's Progressive Matrices
The cover of a test booklet for Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Raven's Progressive Matrices (often referred to simply as Raven's Matrices) or RPM is a non-verbal test typically used to measure general human intelligence and abstract reasoning and is regarded as a non-verbal estimate of fluid intelligence. [1] It is one of the most common tests administered to both groups and ...
RAVEN (Critical Thinking)
RAVEN is a critical thinking acronym that stands for: Reputation Ability to observe Vested interests Expertise Neutrality It is used in assessing how valid an individual's point of view is by assessing the individual themselves. If done poorly, may be seen as a type of Ad Hominem. Forms part of the deduction series of reasoning in assessing information. Reputation is how well known an ...
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation. [1] The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind; [2] thus, a critical thinker is a person who practices ...
What Is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment. To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources. Critical thinking skills help you to: Identify credible sources. Evaluate and respond to arguments.
Defining Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
Critical Thinking/Table of contents/Claims/Raven
Critical Thinking This page was last edited on 4 March 2009, at 19:47. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply.
RAVEN
RAVEN stands for Reputation, Ability to Observe, Vested Interest, Expertise, Neutrality or Bias (critical thinking). RAVEN is defined as Reputation, Ability to Observe, Vested Interest, Expertise, Neutrality or Bias (critical thinking) very rarely.
Critical Thinking 21: Credibility of Sources
This post connects strongly to Critical Thinking 7: Authority and Credibility, which you might also like to look at. Credibility is an estimation of how much trust to place in a source of information - e.g. a person, an organisation, or a book. Most of the information we actually encounter that is used to support arguments has to be taken on ...
What Are Critical Thinking Skills and Why Are They Important?
According to the University of the People in California, having critical thinking skills is important because they are [ 1 ]: Universal. Crucial for the economy. Essential for improving language and presentation skills. Very helpful in promoting creativity. Important for self-reflection.
Critical Thinking: Where to Begin
A Brief Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it. A well-cultivated critical thinker: communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.
41+ Critical Thinking Examples (Definition + Practices)
Take one rope and tie the jar of pebbles to its end. Swing the rope with the jar in a pendulum motion. While the rope is swinging, grab the other rope and wait. As the swinging rope comes back within reach due to its pendulum motion, grab it. With both ropes within reach, untie the jar and tie the rope ends together.
BH Selections: Critical Thinking
N.B: RAVEN may be studied over 2 or 3 lessons.The final debate or "activation" phase is not included in the 2-lesson version. Why choose this class? It is important for students to develop and use critical thinking skills, especially nowadays when we have instant access to so much competing, often contradictory information.
How can you use critical thinking to reflect on the creative work
Critical Thinking and "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating an issue in order to form a judgment. When applied to a creative. Continue reading. Related Answered Questions. Self Society and Humanities (HUM-102-J8263) 8 hours ago.
Social Barriers to Critical Thinking
Of course, the folly is an example of in-group bias. The individual likely believes that their "group" has thought critically about the topic in question because they believe said party is ...
How can you tell if something is true? Here are 3 questions to ask
Don't believe everything you see. imtmphoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus What's the evidence? Evidence is what you show when someone says "prove it!" It's the details that support what a ...
As Trump fumes, Republicans wince at 'public nervous breakdown'
Donald Trump spent Monday morning labeling the turmoil in the global financial markets the "Kamala Crash," giving Republicans hope that he might turn his focus to an economic message.
Explained: Importance of critical thinking, problem-solving skills in
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are two of the most sought-after skills. Hence, schools should emphasise the upskilling of students as a part of the academic curriculum.
Article Review: Nurse Onboarding Can Improve Critical Thinking ...
The study compared critical thinking, knowledge, and nurse satisfaction between cohorts before and after personalized learning for onboarding. As outlined in the article, this study showed that areas impacted by the personalized learning for onboarding, including relevant knowledge domains and critical thinking, were higher among nurses who ...
What's Art Got to Do With It? Using Visual Thinking Strategies to
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is an experiential exercise readily adapted to the management classroom. Through this exercise, instructors use a structured process to help students develop and apply critical thinking skills, with a focus on clearly articulating a concept, explaining their reasoning and use of evidence to inform their claim, interrogating assumptions, and exploring a range of ...
Curiosity Unleashed: The Missing Ingredient In Business Education
Critical thinking involves assessing situations, identifying opportunities, and solving problems in creative ways. These abilities are nurtured by a curious mindset. When students are curious ...
Trap (2024 film)
Trap is a 2024 American psychological thriller film written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan.Starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill, it follows a serial killer evading a police blockade while attending a concert with his daughter.The film premiered in New York City on July 24, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United ...