Do you want to get better at critical thinking to stop getting tricked by people, who think you are good-hearted, innocent, and naive?
I have to admit I am a softy at heart. I like to please people. And often people use that to their advantage. Like when they asked for help right before I left work because it’s their XYZs birthday…
Of course, we don’t want to get tricked. And of course, we want to be great at critical thinking. You probably wouldn’t be here otherwise.
We created the ultimate critical thinking post and a critical thinking infographic.
Today we’ll cover:
- Are you gullible?
- You’ll learn why critical thinking is so important
- Critical Thinking Defined – A Simple Definition
- The Best Examples of Critical Thinking Skills in Daily Life and at Work
- Must-Have Skills Necessary for the Critical Thinking Process
- Best Practices for Improving your Critical Thinking Skills
- Questions that will help you think more critically
- How to tell whether you have critical thinking skills or you’re are just being a critical person
- Common Reasons why we fail at critical thinking
- Critical Thinking Infographic
Are you Gullible?
Gullibility is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary: “The quality of being easily deceived or tricked, and too willing to believe everything that other people say.”
- Can you be easily fooled?
- Do you believe people at face value?
- Have you been tricked before?
- Do you easily fall for persuasion?
- Do your family and friends think you could be easily scammed?
Chances are you are gullible. Here is a test by Psychology Today where you can test how gullible you are.
Why is Critical Thinking Important? - The importance of critical thinking
- You’ll be able to make objective decisions, without bias, negative thoughts, or limiting beliefs.
- You’ll get great at arguing and negotiating. You will realize logical mistakes and inconsistencies in arguments.
- You can weigh different options against one another and form your own opinion.
- When others don’t have your best interest at heart, try to manipulate or lie to you, you’ll know.
- Fake News or Fake Information won’t impact you that much.
- You’ll be able to see both sides of an issue.
- You’ll come up with new options and ideas.
Last but not least…
- It looks great on your CV
The Definition of Critical Thinking - Critical Thinking Defined
What is Critical Thinking? In one sentence critical thinking is the ability to analyze information and facts to come to an unbiased, objective, rational conclusion. This includes being able to discern your own negative thoughts.
How would you describe critical thinking?
Critical Thinking Skills Examples in Daily Life
Before we jump into it. Let’s see if living vegan is good for you.
A study with 48.000 people over the age of 18 found that people who eat vegan and vegetarian diets have a lower risk of heart disease. You can also improve your blood sugar management, and it helps with weight loss too!
Well, we should all become vegan… or should we?
Having a vegan diet can also lead to a higher risk of stroke
For all those claims you can find legit studies. So how can you find out what’s best for you? By thinking critically.
So when in everyday life do you have to think critically?
- When someone is trying to sell you something. (E.g. advertising) (Do they really have your interest at heart – or do they want to make money?)
- When someone asks you for help
- When a friend tells you a story about another friend and wants you to take sides. (Her perspective might not be that friend’s perspective)
- When you listen to the news, information online, or in books any information really. Double-check everything!
- Social Media (People are not always honest on Social Media I hope that’s not news to you)
- Weird Mails, or calls that ask you for money
- Reviews that sound too positive
What other examples of critical thinking in everyday life are there? Have you ever been tricked? How did it happen?
Examples of Critical Thinking at Work
- When your boss asks you to find a solution to a problem (Eg. Your company had a bad financial year, so your boss tasks you with increasing your sales using influencer marketing. When actually your reviews show the product doesn’t work properly and you had a lot of refunds.)
- When you have to estimate risks(Eg. should we invest in new software that will reduce our work time by 2%)
- When you employ external services or new employees
- When colleagues complain about another colleague (Is he really a bad worker, or do they want to discredit him?)
Skills necessary for the Critical Thinking Process
- Analytical Thinking Skills
- Interpretation Skills
- Communication Skills
- Problem Solving
- Observation Skills
- Listening Skills
- Self-Awareness
- Inference
- Open-Mindedness
- Self-Regulation
- Decision Making
How to Become a Critical Thinker: Best Practices for Improving Critical Thinking Skills
1. Start with a question:
What do you want to achieve with Critical Thinking? Do you want to find out whether the information someone gave you is true? Do you want to solve a certain problem? You need to know exactly what you want to find out.
Eg.: Is living vegan healthy for you? What does being healthy even mean to you? Do you want to lose a certain amount of weight? Or do you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, and you hope a vegan diet can help with that?
2. Gather Information:
Google, read books and articles, watch documentaries, read reviews, and talk to people.
3. Explore Different Points of View
Formulate your questions as neutral as possible and look at different sides of the problem. You can use the Critical Thinking Questions below.
4. Know Your Biases
Personal experiences, our social environment, and society in general, they have shaped us so we all come with a set of assumptions and biases. Know yourself to know how your mindset impacts your judgment.
Eg.: You come from a family of meat-eaters and you don’t have a high opinion of vegans.
5. Come to a Conclusion.
Use the gathered information and come to a conclusion.
6. Learn something new every day
Critical Thinking depends on your knowledge of things. Learn a little each day.
Check this Ted Talk on Critical Thinking to Improve your Critical Thinking Skills - by Samantha Agoos
Critical Thinking Questions
WHO ? | Who told you the information? Who benefits from this information? How do you get along with that person? |
WHAT? | What words did the person use? Did they present, all facts? Did they show other points of view? What didn’t the person say? What do you already know? What are your biases? What are your motivations? |
WHERE? | In public or private? In front of people or alone? |
WHEN? | Before, during or after an important event? |
HOW? | Did they write you or tell you? Did they say it in a sad, happy, or angry way? What was their body language like? Was it said loudly or quietly? Did it feel sincere? |
WHY? | Did they tell you their reasons? Are those reasons believable? Does it seem like they’ve an ulterior motive? Is this information in your best interest? |
WHERE FROM? | Where did they get the information from? |
How do you know if you have Critical Thinking Skills?
Here are some signs that you have Critical Thinking Skills:
- You Have Rational Conversations With People You Disagree With.
- You look at different points of views.
- You understand your partner in arguments.
- You are creative.
- You get your news from a wide variety of sources.
- You Ask A Lot Of Questions.
- You are willing to change your mind when/if you discover you were wrong.
- You Don’t Like People Who Insult Others.
- You Are Fascinated By How Things Work.
- You Over-Analyze Issues.
Are you a Critical Thinker or a Critical Person
Check this Critical Thinking Infographic by THE CENTER:
How do you know if you lack Critical Thinking Skills?
- You jump to conclusions fast.
- You don’t ask questions.
- You lack self-awareness and ignore your own weaknesses/ biases.
- You are very judgy.
- You accept false, inaccurate information
- You don’t do research.
Why do you Fail at Critical thinking?
What should you avoid while thinking critically?
- Laziness: Sometimes we are lazy and take information at face value so we don’t have to do the research.
- Conflict-averseness: You accept information because you don’t want to get into a fight.
- Confirmation Bias: Assuming you are right.
- Group Thinking
- Stubbornness
- Biases and False Assumptions
- Availability Heuristic
Critical Thinking Infographic:
What to read next:
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