Critical thinking – Definition, Importance, Examples, Barriers, Psychology

Critical thinking is all about asking questions in your mind. the right questions that help you in understanding both the meaning and the significance of arguments

By applying this skill in your life you stay switched on and engaged in different situations.

It involves stepping back from a situation to see all the angles before making judgments or taking decisions. And also identifying the key points and analyzing the sources of information by going in-depth.

Critical thinking doesn’t mean being critical, it means being creative, reflective, and adaptive for deciding what is correct, what is relevant, and do I have sufficient information to make a decision on this topic.

This skills can help you to feel much more confident in your own opinions.

INDEX

1. Definition
2. Critical thinking in psychology
3. What are the barriers?
4. Importance of critical thinking
5. Examples of critical thinking
6. Difference between creative thinking & critical thinking
7. Conclusion
8. FAQ

Definition

The word critical comes from two words ‘Skeri’ and ‘Kriterion’ which means to cut and standard of judging.

Think critically means the ability to acquire information, analyze, and evaluate it. And reach a conclusion or answer by using logic and reasoning skills.

It means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world.

Another way to describe, it is reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do.

critical thoughts are an ongoing concern with problems inherent in human thinking. so overall it means “well thinking”.

Think critically is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native ego – criticism, and socio-criticism.

Now in simple word critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standers upon them.

Critical thinking in psychology

Development of Critical thinking skills is one of the most important parts of undergraduate education, and also the American Psychological Association (APA) includes it as one of the five major learning goals.

So it takes importance in psychology because it enables a person to analyze, evaluate, and explain thinking. according to psychology, this skill requires analyzing the reliability and validity of the information.

What are the barriers?

There are so many barriers to thinking critically. Due to these barriers, you could not think critically in some situations.

Now here are some examples of barriers that stop you to think by knowing this and work on it you can easily remove these barriers and think so fast with accuracy.

1) Lack of knowledge

If you do not have knowledge of the discussion topic then you will not think out of the box in that situation. Lack of knowledge is the main barrier to thinking.

If you don’t have proper knowledge then you can’t reach the conclusion and does not give a judgment.

2) Narrow mindedness

It means if you think small or you don’t have broad thinking or you didn’t think out of the box. Then will not think critically. You will have some small ideas but that is not enough for censorious thoughts.

3) Closed mindedness

There is a big difference between the narrow mindedness and closed-mindedness. In narrow mindedness, you can think of some small solutions but in closed-mindedness, you can’t think anything. Your minds don’t give any replay.

4) Ego centrism

Egocentrism means self-centered thinking or self-interested thinking. In this situation, you want to listen or think of things according to your opinion. You can’t try to understand this situation. Your mind does not accept other things.

5) Social centrism

Social centrism means group centered thinking. In this situation, your mind easily accepts the conversation without asking any questions.

This is a sign that you don’t have curiosity. you easily flow with the group in conversation and didn’t get a chance to think to your mind.

Importance

There are lots of importance of it in our personal, professional, and social life. It helps you in taking the right decision or taking the right judgment.

So it plays an important role in our life. There is some importance of it –

Examples

Analysis

It is so important to analyze properly, what others say or do because by correct analysis you can judge this person. Before analyzing you can’t reach any result.

Observation

It is also a technique to check the situation continuously. You need observation power to take continue the best decision.

Problem-solving

This is also the best example of it because a quick problem solver needs high thinking ability. And by thinking quickly you can solve any problem in seconds.

problem-solving skill plays an important role at every place in your classroom or in personal life.

Also read – how to improve critical thinking

F) Difference between creative thinking and critical thinking –

CREATIVE THINKING	CRITICAL THINKING
Fantasy Based	Reality Based
Subjective	Objective
Generative	Analytical
Open Ended	Closed-Ended
Divergent	Convergent
Speculating	Reasoning
Subjective	Objective
Right Brain	Left Brain
Pattern Seekers	Pattern Users
Visual	Verbal

G) Conclusion

It is the best skill to learn because it makes you creative and also helps in taking the right decisions. there are so many strategies to improve your thinking ability.

So it plays an important role in our daily life. In judgment, analysis, observation everywhere it is important. From your student life to professional life.

I think this blog is helpful to know you what is critical thinking. if you want to know more about it and how to adapt or learn this skill. then you can read our other blogs on it.

by these all blogs, you can learn some strategies, activities, and also some tips by which you can boost your skill or learn it simply in less time.

you can also read critical thinking process.

FAQ