Critical Thinking Exercise

 

�    Who is the smartest person you know?� Describe that person.

 

 

 

�    So based upon these characteristics, what does it mean to be intelligent?

 

 

 

 

How People Think

 

�    Cognition - ________________________ that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and communicating information to others

�    Mental images - mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a _______________ quality.

�    Concepts - ideas that represent a ______________________ of objects, events, or activities.

 

Critical Thinking

 

�    Critical Thinking - making ________________ judgments about claims (Beyer, 1995)

 

Basic Elements of Critical Thinking (Adapted from Bernstein et al., 2000)

 

�    Understanding what one is being asked to __________ or ___________

�    Examining and analyzing the _______________ available to support the conclusion

�    Considering ______________________ and perspectives

�    ____________ all of the information to form a more coherent perspective of the topic of reflection

 

Problem-Solving

 

�    Problem solving - process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.

 

Methods of Problem Solving

 

�    Trial and error (mechanical solution) - problem-solving method in which one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found.

�    Algorithms - very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems.

�    Heuristic - an educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem. Also known as a �rule of thumb.�

�  Means�end analysis - heuristic in which the difference between the starting situation and the goal is determined and then steps are taken to reduce that difference.

�    Insight - sudden perception of a solution to a problem (Durso et al., 1994).

 

Problem-Solving Barriers

 

�    Functional fixedness - a block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions.

�    Mental set - the tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past.

�    Confirmation bias - the tendency to search for evidence that fits one�s beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs.

 

Creativity

 

�    Creativity- the process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in ________ ways.

�  Convergent thinking - type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having _____________ answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using previous knowledge and logic.

�  Divergent thinking � type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many ______________ ideas or possibilities based on that point (kind of creativity).

 

Characteristics of Creative People (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997)

 

�    Have a broad range of knowledge and are good at using ____________

�    Have more vivid __________ and ________________

�    Are not afraid to be ______________ and value independence

�    __________________ in work, but not necessarily otherwise

 

Intelligence

�    Intelligence - the ability to learn from one�s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use __________ effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems (Sternberg & Kaufman, 1998; Wechsler, 1975).

 

Development of IQ Tests

 

�    Intelligence Quotient (IQ) -� a score on an intelligence test based upon norms from a _______________________

�    Standardization - the process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind of people for whom the test is designed.

�    Validity - the degree to which a test actually measures what it�s supposed to _____________.

�    Reliability - the tendency of a test to produce the ___________________ again and again each time it is given to the same people.

 

IQ and the Real World

 

�    IQ has been associated with:

�  School performance (Cronbach, 1990)

�  Job success (Wagner, 1997)

�  Career field, salary, marriage stability, and likelihood of ____________ (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994)

�    IQ does NOT guarantee success:

�  Motivation, ______________, education, personality

�  Culture: IQ scores _________________ job success in some cultures that emphasize hard work and foster achievement (Flynn, 1999)

 

Speaking of Culture�

 

�    Group differences in IQ scores (Neisser et al., 1996; Rushton, 1995; Suzuki & Valencia, 1997)

�    Richard Herrnstein & Charles Murray (1994), The Bell Curve

�  Argued for ____________ differences

�    �Differences are NOT Genetic

�    Reasons for Group Differences (Block, 1995; Nisbett, 1996):

�  Test ____________

�  Test ___________

�  Environment and SES

�  Quality of ______________

�  Microenvironment

Theories of Intelligence

 

Spearman�s G Factor (Charles Spearman, 1904)

 

�    g-General Factor - the ability to _____________ and solve problems, or general intelligence

�    s-Specific Factors - the ability to excel in ___________ areas, or specific intelligence

 

Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner, 1999)

 

�    Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence - ability to use ______________

�    Spatial Intelligence - ability to understand how __________ are related in space

�    Musical Intelligence - ability to compose and/or perform _________

�    Logical-Mathematical Intelligence - ability to think logically and perform mathematical problems

�    Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence - ability to control one�s body motions

�    Intrapersonal Intelligence - understanding of one�s ____________ and how they guide actions

�    Interpersonal Intelligence - _____________ to and ability to understand motivations of others

�    Naturalist Intelligence - ability to recognize patterns found in nature

�    Existential Intelligence - ability to understand the �_____________� in life

 

Triarchic Theory Intelligence (Robert Sternberg, 1988, 1997)

 

�    Analytic Intelligence

�  Ability to break ____________ down into component parts for problem solving

�    Practical Intelligence

�  Ability to use information to _______________________ and become successful

�    Creative Intelligence

�  Ability to deal with ________ and _____________ concepts and come up with new ways of solving problems

 

Emotional Intelligence (Salovey & Mayer, 1990)

 

�    Perceiving Emotion

�  Identifying emotions based on __________________

�    Facilitating Thought with Emotion

�  Harness emotional information to enhance ____________

�    Understanding Emotion

�  ________________ emotional information about relationships

�    Managing Emotion

�  Self-control and ability to ____________ emotions

 

Language

 

�    Language - a system for combining _____________ (such as words) so that an unlimited number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others.

 

Levels of Language Analysis

 

�    Grammar - the system of rules governing the ______________and use a of language.

�    Syntax - the system of rules for combining words and phrases to form ________________ correct sentences.

�    Morphemes - the smallest units of _____________ within a language.

�  Semantics - the ____________ for determining the meaning of words and sentences.

�    Phonemes - the basic units of ___________ in language.

�    Pragmatics - aspects of language involving the practical ways of communicating with ________, or the �________________� of language.

 

Language and Cognition

 

�    Linguistic relativity hypothesis - the theory that thought processes and ______________ are controlled by language (Sapir, 1921; Whorf, 1956).

�    Cognitive universalism � theory that concepts are _______________ and influence the development of language.