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Unless we stop and think about thinking, critical thinking can be elusive.
Thinking about thinking is a form of metacognition. It requires effortful understanding of the thinking process and an ability to exert control over it.
When we think we often use heuristics, or a rule of thumb, to guide our conclusions. This of course means that there is no guarantee that our conclusions are correct. Conclusions may be drawn on the basis of impressions. These cognitive shortcuts allow for rapid processing of information, but they can also mislead and be inaccurate. Stereotypes are another example of classification according to salient features rather than factual elements.
Before these are discussed in more detail, a quick look at comprehension and evaluation is worthwhile. Comprehension can be taken for granted or people can be put off thinking about what is being said by jargon-heavy or disciplinespecific language. It is easy, though, to unpack information and identify exactly what is being communicated. This unpacking will ultimately result in a far better ability to evaluate information. Although this may seem selfevident, unless we are thinking about what we are thinking, and why we are thinking about an issue in a certain way, we may fall into effortless thinking that can lead to false conclusions.
Unpacking information inevitably aids comprehension and allows information to be evaluated. The conclusions of others can be fraught with problems. An authoritative conclusion can fit a heuristic of "sound knowledge", thus encouraging uncritical acceptance at the expense of accuracy. Take the following example, which has often been presented to university orientation students:
Watching a violent movie after my brother's violent death was cathartic. This helps to demonstrate the construct validity of Breuer's hypothesis. On testing, however, no changes in circulating serotonin had occurred due to the movie. Thus, the ability of reconstruction to effect real change may be questioned.
What is being said?
The technical language initially puts off many students. However, five minutes of research can unpack the statement and make it much more cognitively accessible:
* Cathartic: producing a release of pent-up feelings;
* Breuer (Josef 1 842-1 925): Austrian physician who explored re-exposure therapy and laid the foundation for psychoanalytical approaches;
* Serotonin: a chemical produced naturally in the brain....