Critical thinking is at the very core of a liberal arts education and its development is an essential goal of the Psychology Department. The ability to think critically enables psychology students to extend the boundaries of their knowledge, develop mature values, learn to distinguish between valuable and trivial information, and acquire the capacity and perspective necessary to understand and shape the world around them. The Psychology Department is committed to the assumption that critical thinking emerges when the process of intellectual maturation is allowed to develop in an environment characterized by abundant learning opportunities, reasonable challenges, and strong faculty support. The following model of critical thinking was developed to help psychology students become aware of the nature of this process and to value it, practice it, and exhibit it during their undergraduate experience.

A. THE DEFINITION OF CRITICAL THINKING: Critical thinking is the product of a combination of the successful exercise of a set of interdependent cognitive skills and a firm commitment to a group of governing attitudes that enables individuals to use a variety of information and methods to make logical and objective decisions.

B. THE SKILLS OF A CRITICAL THINKER

1. RETENTION: the ability to remember specific information

a. to acquire and retain specific psychological terms, definitions, facts, principles, and sequences

          b. to answer who, what, where, and when questions about psychology

c. required tasks: to remember facts, principles, and steps in sequences.

         d. key skill: to remember

        e. sample question: What is the definition of psychology?

2. COMPREHENSION: the ability to grasp the meaning of material

a. to understand basic psychological principles, concepts, methods, and theories

b. to answer how and why questions about psychology

c. required tasks: to explain, translate, or interpret to a new form or symbol system

d. key skill: to explain

e. sample question: Why is Wilhelm Wundt known as the founder of empirical psychology?

3. APPLICATION: the ability to use learned material to solve "real-life" problems

a. to use psychological principles and methods to change behaviors and mental processes

b. to perform psychological research and report the findings in a professional manner

c. required tasks: to use concepts, principles, and theories to find solutions to problems

d. key skill: to solve

e. sample question: How can parents use extinction to decrease tantrums in their children?

4. ANALYSIS: the ability to study a complicated whole by examining its parts and organizational structure

a. to break down complex psychological principles, theories, and methods into their component parts

b. to investigate the relationships that exist among the components of complex psychological phenomena

c. required tasks: determine distinguishing characteristics and show the relationship among parts

d. key skill: to separate

e. sample question: Compare and contrast the humanistic and psychodynamic approaches to the explanation of personality.

5. SYNTHESIS: the ability to put parts together to form new and creative wholes

a. to put together parts in order to form new wholes

b. to produce unique and creative psychological ideas, solutions, hypotheses, and theories

c. required task: combine previously learned material to produce new products (i.e., hypotheses)

d. key skill: to combine

e. sample question: Use the results of empirical research to answer the question: "Does watching violent television cause children to behave more aggressively?"

6. EVALUATION: the ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose

a. to distinguish between fact and fiction, education and propaganda, relevant and irrelevant information, and rational and irrational thoughts and beliefs about psychology

b. to identify and use valid criteria and methods during the processes of assessment, diagnosis, and research in psychology

c. required task: make value judgments, rate ideas, and accept or reject materials based on valid criteria

d. key skill: to judge

                    e. sample question: Use the criteria discussed in class to assess the validity of Freud's theory.

C. THE ATTITUDES OF A CRITICAL THINKER

1. Critical thinking is hard work requiring courage to begin and persistence to complete.

2. Careful and systematic planning is a prerequisite for any complex intellectual undertaking.

3. Errors provide valuable feedback, and knowledge of their causes is a foundation for future success.

4. Terms and issues must be clearly defined before they can be discussed meaningfully and productively.

5. Psychology is inextricably intertwined with other academic disciplines (e.g., philosophy and biology).

6. For every major issue, there are many different points of view, and all sides of an issue must be investigated thoroughly before a conclusion is reached. To be perceived as intellectually responsible, individuals must make every effort to understand the perspectives of those with whom they disagree.

7. An attitude of healthy skepticism is a valuable tool, especially when confronted with slanted, selective, prejudiced, or self-justifying information.

8. The assumptions of a theory, tradition, or belief must be analyzed carefully and understood completely before it can be either accepted or rejected.

9. It is perfectly acceptable, and often highly desirable, for individuals to change their beliefs, values, or behaviors if presented with sufficient empirical evidence or logical justification to do so.

10. Those with whom we agree are not always right and those with whom we disagree are not always wrong. When disagreeing, it is best to do so in an agreeable manner (i.e., disagreements should produce constructive discussions, not arguments).

11. There are no simplistic, dogmatic explanations of complex phenomena. It is often necessary to look beyond obvious, common sense, or traditional answers to discover valid causal relationships.

12. Many theories can be used to explain behavior. The theory an individual chooses to embrace is dependent upon that individual's unique set of academic, cultural, spiritual, methodological, professional, and personal values.

13. Many methods can be used to study behavior (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, naturalistic observations, or case studies). The appropriateness of a particular method is determined by a careful determination of its purpose and the individuals, situations, and ethical principles involved.

14. Learning is a life-long process which can occur in the absence of any formal educational process (i.e., critical thinkers learn from their teachers, but they can also learn by themselves long after their formal education has ceased).

The definition of critical thinking included in this model is the original work of Dr. Drew Appleby [Marian College, Department of Psychology], the attitudes of a critical thinker have been gleaned from a variety of sources, and the skills of a critical thinker are based on the results of Dr. Appleby's research, his classroom experience, and Bloom et al's (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives (reference below). Bloom, B. S., Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay.