What is Critical Thinking Flashcards
What is NOT critical thinking?
NOT argumentative
NOT opposing/fighting
NOT destructive/tearing-down
What is critical thinking
Critical thinking is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion or anecdotes
Claim
Statement you are being asked to believe/do or something you are asking others to believe or do
Statement that something is factual/true, usually a personal belief
Objective
Without bias
Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts
Something verifiable; I can see it you can see it too
Subjective
With bias
Influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions
Cannot be verified; gut-feeling, I can sense it but you can’t
Emotions are subjective
Anecdote
Short account of an amusing, interesting or telling incident or experience, sometimes with implications or superficiality or unreliability
Easily understood and appealing but not always accurate
AKA. A story
Emotions (Affect)
Strong instinctive feelings derived from one’s circumstances, mood or relations with others
Related to the 3 components of affect (emotions, mood, attitude)
Critical thinking definition rewrite
Definition is encouraging us to examine statements we are being asked to believe or do based on info that may be verified or not and to be cautious when presented with reasons based on a good story, and while appreciating that emotions may help decision-making, recognizing that it may also hinder making decisions on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence.
Affect: Emotion
In-the-moment, instinctive
Relatively brief
Automatic response
i.e. feeling happy the Dawgs scored a point
Affect: mood
Diffuse feeling lingering over time
i.e. being in a good feeling for a week after a win
Affect: attitude
Established feelings about someone or something
i.e. being a hard-core GA fan and thinking they are the best
Affects in helping relationships
Emotion (immediate): Client produces accurate /r/ sound -> proud, happy emotions
Client does not produce accurate /r/ sounds -> sad, disappointed mood
Mood (lingering):
Client succeeds after weeks of treatment -> satisfied, good mood
Client unsuccessful -> sad, disappointed mood
Attitude (long-term):
Good clinic work place -> good attitude
Bad clinic work place -> bad attitude
Feelings of compassion and desire to help others are emotions that typically underlie most people’s reason for choosing helping professions career
Helping relations rarely occur in emotionally neutral situations
Do emotions HELP or HINDER
HELP: Emotions tell you something and often corresponds with real world events
HINDER: Can sometimes cloud our judgment or skew our perceptions or bias our evaluations in incorrect ways
Critical thinkers appreciate that emotions may help or hinder decision-making and should be evaluated, therefore it is essential to develop emotional competence (not emotional intelligence)
Emotional competence
Being aware of emotion and what triggered it
Recognizing and understand other’s emotions
Using compassion to form relationships
Understanding how emotions may be influencing one’s thinking
Critical thinking is not a bloodless, emotionless or solemn act
Emotion’s definition of critical thinking
Be WARY of emotions and anecdote because:
May let bias get in the way of our judgment and cloud it
Don’t let others persuade us to believe or do something on the basis of emotion alone
Rely on science; not emotion but don’t cast out emotion
Why take a course on critical thinking?
- You will need to manage and evaluate an expanding and evolving body of complex info that will come from different sources
- Research shows that smart, good-intentioned people make foolish decisions and hold false beliefs
- Most future employers want you to have CT skills
- Evidence-based practice requires CT
- Belief that CT will develop from higher education is based more on wishful thinking than actual evidence
- CT recommended as a general knowledge and skill for undergrad education in CSD by ASHA
- CT is a valued skill by UGA as an outcome of university education identified by comprehensive learner record
- You need to manage and evaluate and expanding and evolving body of complex info
Some will be trustworthy, some will come from sources that should be carefully judged for credibility
Our field is NEW and evolving, so many new information will come out, and CT will help us evaluate trustworthiness and quality of sources
- Smart, good-intentioned people make foolish decisions, and hold false beliefs
Well-documented from physicians, psychologists, wall-street investors, etc.
i.e. only use 10% of brain belief held by physicians (Speech is already 100% of the brain!)
Even our profession has held false beliefs about best treatment methods such as facilitated communication and non-speech oral motor exercise
Critical thinking will help minimize likelihood of developing false beliefs and making poor choices
- Most future employees want you to have CT skills
Almost always in top 10
- Evidence-based practice
Client perspective, expertise, and scientific evidence; the last two requires CT skills
Accuracy of our beliefs and our decision-making skills central to the quality of choices you make for helping others and increases the chance our clinical beliefs are accurate and give desired outcome for clients
- Critical thinking will not magically develop from higher education
More likely to learn CT if:
1. Taught directly as set of skills and values
2. Practiced within specific knowledge area/path
