Book Information / Buy the book
Chapter Objectives
Read these short sections carefully because they will help you to anticipate the reason for the chapter and what we want you, the reader, to “get out” of it.
Click on the tabs below to view the content for each chapter.
Chapter 1 - Thinking: An Introduction
The purpose of the first chapter is to provide a foundation for the topics that will be discussed throughout the text. Arguments are made to convince the reader of the need to think critically in our increasingly complex world. Different ways of thinking about thinking are presented along with several conceptualizations of intelligence. It is clear that the attitude or disposition to think critically must be cultivated and valued. The purpose of the first chapter is get the reader to think about thinking. Evidence is presented to support the conclusion that better thinking can result from courses designed for that purpose.
Chapter 2 - Thinking Starts Here: Memory as the Mediator of Cognitive Processes
Chapter 2 was written to provide a general overview of how the memory systems work along with a "user's manual" to you own memory system. Several strategies were presented to help the reader learn new material and recall it when it is needed. It is also important to recognize the limitations and biases in memory so that readers are not misled into believing that memory is always highly accurate and to consider the way your failure to recall some information could be biasing your thinking.
Chapter 3 - The Relationship Between Thought And Language
The goal of this chapter is to make readers aware of the reciprocal influences of language and thought, so that they can recognize and resist language used in misleading ways. One way to improve the process of thinking is to develop an awareness of the way words direct thinking. For example, the use of analogies as a means of persuasion is pervasive in our language. Conscious thought about the quality of the analogical relationship is needed rather than the unthinking assumption that the analogy is valid. Similarly, many outcomes depend on the way in which a word is defined and who gets to do the defining. Labels, emotional language, and prototypical thinking (thinking with readily available examples) can all cause serious errors in the thinking process. Whether or not we can think critically about a topic depends on what we comprehend. Strategies to improve comprehension are provided so that readers can improve their ability to understand and remember complex material. These strategies must be practiced and used, if they are to be effective.
Chapter 4 - Reasoning: Drawing Deductively Valid Conclusions
The purpose of this chapter is to enhance the deductive reasoning skills of readers and to provide practice with several different types of diagrams that can be used with many types of problems. The skills developed in this chapter are most similar to those used in college-level mathematics as they provide a single correct answer and require careful consideration and execution of all steps in the process. Deductive reasoning is based on the assumptions that if certain information is true, then there are conclusions that must also be true.
Both spatial and verbal strategies are used to help readers practice both modes of thinking. Common biases and errors in deductive reasoning are introduced. Many of these are discussed in several other chapters using different perspectives. The use of deductive reasoning skills in real world contexts is also highlighted so that readers can recognize when deductive reasoning skills are needed and when they are being persuaded with deductive reasoning techniques.
Chapter 5 - Analyzing Arguments
The purpose of this chapter is help readers learn how to recognize and evaluate arguments and learn how to spot fallacies that are used in unsound reasoning. Virtually every human interaction involves an attempt to persuade, so it is critically important to understand and use the skills of argument analysis. Readers are expected to learn how to analyze arguments, diagram their structure, and make reasoned judgments about the truth of a conclusion. The same rule of argument analysis also serves as a guide for writing and preparing oral arguments. It is difficult to fool people when they use the criteria for judging the strength of an argument. Historical examples, newspaper editorials, advertisements, and propaganda are used to show the widespread applicability of these rules. Historical atrocities and personal tragedies could have been avoided, if only the populace were given the skills and the freedom to analyze arguments.
Chapter 6 - Thinking as Hypothesis Testing
The objective of this chapter is to help readers improve the way they understand causal relationships and events that occur together. The scientific methods of testing hypotheses are applied to understanding everyday events so that we can all use them as a lay-method to understand our day-to-day world. Readers are expected to understand why it is critical to consider the size of a sample, the people who make up the sample, the possibility of confounding, and the way common cognitive biases affect what we recall and we how evaluate information. The skills reviewed in this chapter are important when we act as consumers of formal research such as deciding if second-hand smoke poses a significant health risk and in understanding personal events such as deciding if caffeine causes headaches. The use of the skills of hypothesis testing need to be practiced and used whenever we assess claims of drug effectiveness, the value of social programs, or deciding if any variable is the cause of another.
Chapter 7 - Likelihood and Uncertainty: Understanding Probabilities
This chapter discusses the use of likelihood and uncertainty in daily life, the common errors people make when interpreting probabilities, and practical ways to make probabilities understandable. The goal is to make readers aware of the many times they need to think probabilistically about an event and to encourage the habit of estimating likelihoods and questioning statistics. Common errors in thinking statistically are explained including differences among measures of central tendency, the biases that occur when deciding which risks are "too risky," and how to estimate the probability of an undesirable outcome when we are faced with new technologies.
Chapter 8 - Likelihood and Uncertainty: Understanding Probabilities
This chapter examines how people typically make decisions in day-to-day situations and provides a model for improving the decision making process. Several common fallacies or errors in decision making are explained along with ways to avoid them. The objective of this chapter is help readers make better decisions by avoiding common errors and using good techniques that are known to improve the probability of a sound decision. A decision making worksheet procedure is presented that will help readers with the important decisions in their lives.
Chapter 9 - Development of Problem Solving Skills
This chapter explores what makes up a problem and the kinds of strategies and techniques that can be useful in helping you solve problems. In addition, several types of obstacles that may impede finding solutions to problems are discussed. The goal of this chapter is to make readers more aware of the options they have in finding, defining, and solving all sorts of problems. Specific plans are presented that can be used with almost any problem. They are especially useful when you have a problem and you have no idea how to begin the process of devising a solution. If you practice the skills presented in this chapter and use them when you encounter problems in real life, you should become a better problem solver.
Chapter 10 - Creative Thinking
The material presented in the chapter on creative thinking was designed to provide readers with an understanding of the creative process and with strategies that should increase the probability of a creative act. People are creative on a continuum, and virtually everyone has the ability to make creative contributions in various fields of knowledge. Creativity is not an either/ or trait. Strategies that increase the flow of ideas and maximize the efficiency of the thinking process should increase creative thinking. The most important variables in encouraging critical thinking are a large, complex knowledge net and an attitude that supports an intimate involvement with the information. All of the strategies that are suggested to enhance creative thinking share the characteristic that they help people think in "new ways" about problems and situations