...Barriers of Critical Thinking Barriers are objectives that one faces that hinders progress to one’s goal. With any goal one has a barriers one must overcome. Critical thinking is not an exception to this rule one must first recognize that there are barriers to overcome. One of the biggest external Barriers, and one which has the most impact, is the Media. Media is what you watch on television, what you read in newspapers, journals and magazines, and what you hear on the radio. Media has the most influence, because one cannot escape media; it is everywhere. At a young age, one is thought to rely on media; we simply absorb the information and not question it. Media is not a promoter of critical thinking; when one relies on media influence one loses the ability to think for one self. To modify this external barrier, one must limit the amount of media one chooses to view. One will seek out different media and question the source of the information being shared. Friends are another large external barrier. One tends to choose friends who share their same ideas and values; although these are great qualities for friendship, this is a horrible recipe for developing one’s critical thinking skills. Friends are the main factor in one’s social environment; which means, what one’s friends do or don’t do, one will also do. This is to say, modifying the external barrier means modifying ones friends. Encourage them to become critical thinkers and show them the necessary skills. One can...
Words: 334 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking One barrier to critical thinking is self-serving biases. Our actions do not need to be rationalized if the motives are good. But, even good motives can lead us into other thinking mentalities that can lead us to undesirable consequences and even pose a threat to our self-esteem. The characteristics of others even post a threat to our self-esteem. These ego threatening situations can cause us to form cognitive biases called self-serving biases. These biases reside in our thinking and perception, which help protect and enhance our self-esteem. Unfortunately, people lean towards seeing what they want to see and what they need to see to keep good positive feelings for themselves as people (Kirby, G. & Goodpaster, J., 2007). Another barrier to critical thinking is emotional influences. There are many aspects of emotional influences such as depression, anger and passion. Many studies of depression aid to the idea that irrational cognitions are correlated with depression. If an individual lets depression take over, the effect can alter their expectations and even cause a negative mentality to occur. Also, anger tends to alter emotional influences. Anger causes many negative relationships with others. It can show many irrational behaviors and thoughts. If anger leads to this we must lessen the impact it can cause. Having passion will aid if it is a positive impact of feeling. If the source of our passion is positive, then we...
Words: 433 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking Pamela Light HUM/114 December 14, 2015 Amanda Freeman Critical Thinking Critical thinking is the ability to think about issues and make decisions in an objective manner without being hindered by personal interests, assumptions, or influences from social groups. Everyone thinks about different things at all times usually without awareness but critical thinking requires skill. It is a skill that is acquired with practice. Critical thinking allows individuals the opportunity for intellectual growth. It also helps them to make rational decisions without regret. There are limitations that hold individuals back from critical thinking. A person has to acknowledge and admit to these barriers before they can begin to overcome them. Self-Concept There are many different barriers to critical thinking. One that would influence my critical thinking would be self-concept. It is the way that we view ourselves and can inhibit sound thinking. I know that there are numerous times where I doubt myself and my abilities to do certain things. I second guess myself or tell myself that I am just not good enough to do a particular job. This hinders my ability to utilize critical thinking as I am too busy worrying about my self-concept. In order to overcome this barrier; I will have to allow myself to let go of these views. I need to attempt to change my idea of self-image. It will benefit me to have more of a can do attitude...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking HUM/114 ~Chad Weeks~ Barriers to Critical Thinking One barrier to critical thinking is self-serving biases. Our actions do not need to be rationalized if the motives are good. But, even good motives can lead us into other thinking mentalities that can lead us to undesirable consequences and even pose a threat to our self-esteem. The characteristics of others even post a threat to our self-esteem. These ego threatening situations can cause us to form cognitive biases called self-serving biases. These biases reside in our thinking and perception, which help protect and enhance our self-esteem. Unfortunately, people lean towards seeing what they want to see and what they need to see to keep good positive feelings for themselves as people (Kirby, G. & Goodpaster, J., 2007). Another barrier to critical thinking is emotional influences. There are many aspects of emotional influences such as depression, anger and passion. Many studies of depression aid to the idea that irrational cognitions are correlated with depression. If an individual lets depression take over, the effect can alter their expectations and even cause a negative mentality to occur. Also, anger tends to alter emotional influences. Anger causes many negative relationships with others. It can show many irrational behaviors and thoughts. If anger leads to this we must lessen the impact it can cause. Having passion will aid if it is a positive impact of feeling. If...
Words: 420 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking Barriers to Critical Thinking Sean Williams HUM/115 August 10th, 2015 Keisa Williams Barriers to Critical Thinking The two barriers that influence me and my critical thinking are laziness and stubbornness. Laziness or intellectual laziness is when you have the tendency to give up quickly when you face with an intellectually challenging task. Procrastination is also considered lazy. It is also the opposite of intellectual perseverance. The way I plan on overcoming this barrier with the skills from this week is by always thinking positive thoughts. Making a to-do list so that I am not always procrastinating on getting things started all of the time. The major factor that I plan on doing is to remove all the distractions that I face on a daily basis that make my critical thinking weaker. Stubbornness or tenacity is having a set of values and standpoints which helps to make sense of things, provides comfort and doesn't leave you in a state of being indecisive. A person is stubborn when they clings to their standpoints even if there is new information, and facts that places their views in question. I plan to work on being open to different viewpoints, perspectives, and new ideas. I will work to modify my ideas in the light of new information or better insight because my opinion or viewpoint on things is not always the right one The reason it is so important to overcome these and all of the different barriers are because it will...
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking Melinda Jones HUM/115 October 11, 2014 Donna Probst Barriers to Critical Thinking Please refer to Chapters 2 & 3 of Critical Thinking in Everyday Life for this assignment. ________________________________________ • Barrier 1: In at least 100 words, describe (1) the first barrier you chose and (2) how you plan to overcome that barrier. Refer to Chapter 3 of Critical Thinking in Everyday Life for strategies for modification of internal barriers & replacement of external barriers. The first barrier that I chose is one of the internal barriers – emotions. Emotions play a huge role in my thinking. For example, I get frustrated very easily when it comes to decision making, mostly because I am naturally an indecisive person. I am also impatient, so when faced with a tough decision that requires a lot of thinking, I get mad. It takes a lot of thinking – critical thinking – on my end to make the best decision. I also suffer from documented anxiety, so I always feel like the pressure is on. Being 28 and suffering from anxiety, I honestly have no idea how to overcome these internal barriers, so I will strive to learn all that I can in this critical thinking course, so that one day I will be able to not let my personal emotions get in the way. • Barrier 2: In at least 100 words, describe (1) the second barrier you chose and (2) how you plan to overcome that barrier. Refer to Chapter 3 of Critical Thinking in Everyday Life for strategies...
Words: 382 - Pages: 2
...Critical Thinking Reflection HUM/114 October 12, 2015 Brandi Rowley Critical Thinking Reflection The three lessons that I have learned from this course are, the Eight Steps Process to Becoming a Better Critical Thinker, Barriers to Critical Thinking, and the Five-Step Model of Problem Solving. The Eight-Step Process to Becoming a Better Critical Thinker The Eight Step process to becoming a better critical thinker is important, before this class, I really did not think that there was a process to something that I already knew/did. When working on the process of becoming a better critical thinker, it should be a good idea, to carry around a notepad. This way you can research. The first step is to recognize the need to improve your critical thinking. The second step is recognizing what barriers prevent me from developing the critical thinking skills. The third step, is trying to find out how I can modify or replace them. The fourth step is determining the reliability of the source. Fifth step is to determine the credibility of the source. Sixth step understands the steps for problem solving. The seventh reason is applying problem solving skills to your everyday life. The eight step, should lead you towards becoming a better critical thinker. Barriers to critical thinking The second lesson that I learned in this course, is the barriers there are against Critical Thinkers. Learning about what can prevent me from becoming a critical thinking...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking Identify two barriers that influence your critical thinking. Write 100 words for each barrier, describing them and how you can overcome them. Two barriers that influence my thinking, in particular, are media and biases. Media serves as an external barrier and is very influence as well as serving as a hindrance. I must first admit that growing up media did not have an effect on me because it was not as developed. Now it has a negative effect on me because everything is displayed on there. The Internet, for example, is a great source to find information, but it also serves as a source for us to become ignorant. I find myself using a search engine to find out everything instead of using my natural resources like finding information in a book or getting lost on a road and using a map to find directions. Social media is also another negative impact. I use social media to keep in contact with my family and friends but often there is so much information on there it would be hard not to believe. Media serves as a hindrance, and most importantly it steals from using my brain and critically thinking. Before taking this class, I noticed that I should simply limit my time on media and use other resources for the information I need. The next barrier is biases, which serves as an internal barrier. A bias is a barrier that I feel I developed when I was young. It is something that you see family, friends, and everyone else around you doing. A bias is basically...
Words: 428 - Pages: 2
...Critical Thinking Barriers Christian Kennemer April 13, 2915 Hum/114 Instructor Atkison There are many barriers that are known to distract you from Critical Thinking. Below you will read the three major barriers I personally experience when critical thinking and what I do to overcome them. Egotistic This barrier makes it very hard to Critical think. Individuals who have this barrier tend to be more self involved . I find it is hard to understand certain things that are unknown and gravitate to the ideas that are more familiar to me. In order for me to be able to open my mind to critical thinking I have to shut off any noise and think quietly to myself evaluate each and every option in order to establish the best and most educated option. I have tried many different methods over the years and this seems to work the best. Bias One of the main critical thinking barriers I have is Bias. Having a bias opinion towards something means that you have your own opinion and cant see past it. This does influence lots of my decisions and I wont see it any way but what is in my head. When I have to critical think I must remember to keep all bias opinions silent. With this being said I follow the same rules for critical thinking which is to sit in a quiet room with nothing to distract me. I write down all important information and and study the information for the best information Schedule Pressures The biggest barriers that I have when coming to critical thinking is scheduling...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...Three Barriers That Influence Thinking The first barrier that influences my critical thinking process that I would choose to overcome is self-deception. I find that many times, I trick myself into thinking that something is not right or I am doing something wrong before I have the chance to complete the task itself or get to the point that is needed to decide if I was right. I need to put more trust in my initial thought process and let the outcome of the situation come as it may. I believe that if I were to do this, I would most likely be surprised that the outcomes would in fact be positive. The second barrier to my thinking that I influences my thinking process is my pride. I find that there have been several times, that I have let pride get in the way of my thoughts and it has not benefitted me. Pride can be a wonderful or a hurtful thing and depending on the situation, I need to put it aside and listen to another side of an argument. Doing so, I feel that it would make me a better person as well as a better critical thinker in the long run. The last barrier that influences my thinking is having an over reliance of feelings. This issue, although it has gotten better as I have gotten older, is still something that I would like to work on. Relying on feelings, takes the thinking process out of the equation. No longer are you making decisions based on facts or evidence, but you’re making a decision based on how you feel at the time. The way to correct this I feel I to...
Words: 307 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking HUM/115 09-11-2015 Barriers to Critical Thinking The first barrier that influences my critical thinking would be stubbornness. I was raised by one parent in a Catholic family, which play a big part on in my beliefs and how I do my thinking and if the way I am doing things is working why change it. I recognize that my beliefs and opinions are very narrow when it comes to making critical changes or listening to people opinions. My strategy to overcome this barrier is to start taking into consideration other people opinions, points of view and relevant information. I will continue to work on being open mind because every day we are exposed to new ideas and when we must surround ourselves with different points of view to achieve critical thinking. The second barrier that impacts my critical thinking I would say is personal bias. Occasionally I will reject information if my mind perceives that the facts do not concur with the information just because of my vague way of thinking or an inclination of a different choice. If I do not believe a person possess the knowledge or intellectual capacity to think, my bias judgment will not allow the intake of any new ideas and relevant information. I am not always aware of my bias, but I know is there, and I know the several time when I am stuck in a learning situations, being bias is what is holding me back. I understand that I need to change my bias thinking, and I will do so by actually listen to the...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking The first barrier that influences my critical thinking is religion and enculturation. I grew up in the Baptist tradition and so did my family. A lot of what I learned and was taught was traditional to the Baptist denomination. Women were not allowed to preach and the way Sunday service was orchestrated was in a traditional and religious kind of way in all the Baptist churches in my home town. When I grew up and moved away, I joined a Baptist church, but got tired of the barriers towards women. So I switched to non-denomination. I looked at the Baptist denomination in a critical way that made me despise all Baptist churches. After doing some research, I learned that not all Baptist churches hold barriers against women and encourage and welcome the calling on a woman’s life to preach from behind the pulpit of their churches, which changed the way I thought and felt about the Baptist denomination as a whole. As this relates also to enculturation, people that belong to the Baptist denomination also have beliefs when it comes to marriage and raising children. It is a part of their culture as a whole. After doing research on Baptist marriages, the divorce rate is lower. According to author and Baptist pastor Glenn Stanton (2011), many people who seriously practice a traditional religious faith—be it Christian or other—have a divorce rate markedly lower than the general population. The second barrier that influences my critical thinking is self-serving...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
...Barriers to Critical Thinking Tara Adkison HUM/114 June 9, 2014 Mark Cherry Barriers to Critical Thinking There are many barriers that can, and do affect us from thinking critically. Most of the time these barriers can impede our abilities and make us less effective in our decision making skills. This can result in poor choices and creating an undesired effect. Things then happen that we do not want. It is best to think things out to the best of ones abilities. One of the barriers that can affect us from thinking critically is emotions. Emotions have the ability to get the best of us. It is easy to be swayed by how we feel. It is hard to make critical decisions when one is angry or upset. Things are not rational and have a tendency to become clouded and unclear. If this happens, it is best to step back from the situation and wait until your emotions have calmed. Never make an important decision when you are upset. It may save you considerable amount of time, from making a bad choice and from a lot of heartache. Another barrier that can impede critical thinking skills our ego. If we are not open to other peoples thought and ideas, it can hinder the ability to make an informed decision. If we think that we are always right and are not willing to pay close attention to the people around us, we cannot grow and learn. We will forever be stuck in a bubble, clouded by our own judgments. If you cannot think outside of yourself, how can you make an educated decision?...
Words: 521 - Pages: 3
...Critical thinking helps thinkers to act instead of reacting. Reacting results in hasty decisions that are not always well thought-out. Quick decisions can lead to error or cause more problems. By evaluating decisions a thinker is learning what works and what does not work. Critical thinking can be affected by barriers: internal and external. Family, an external barrier, helped me in a positive way to develop my critical thinking skills. According to Critical Thinking in Everyday Life, family emphasize the benefits of evaluating the reliability of information and questioning the credibility of the people who deliver it. This is true because during our informative years it is family who teaches right from wrong and encourages you to ask questions, feeding your curiosity. The way that I deal with family as being a barrier is I play the never ending question game with them. This allows me to explore different options and avenues instead of accepting what I’m being told, especially by my parents and grandparents. There are so many emotions that we have as individuals that negatively or positively influence our critical thinking. Letting emotions take the place of critical thinking and evidence that could convince others can undermine an argument (Cottrell, 2005, p.11). For instance, your opinion about the death penalty may strongly differ from someone who supports it, you might let your feelings about the issue cloud your judgment about any information/evidence that may support...
Words: 357 - Pages: 2
...University of Phoenix September 28, 2015 Critical thinking is a reflection for everyone in this day and time. It is something that needs and has to be done on a daily basis. This is something that does not come natural. This is a learning process for each and every one of age. This is something we learn over the years with age. To me it is part of maturity little do we know it. It begins to come naturally as we get older. Some get it early and some do not. This course has taught me a lot in these past five weeks. I was taught how to solve problems, the difference between internal and external barriers, and how to determine my creditable resources. Solving problems is not as easy as people make it seems. We really have to use our critically thinking skills to make wise choices. We really need to think every bit of information through. Making wise decisions will help with problem solving. It is a five step model that Ridel explain and is very helpful in situations. “The five steps model is to identify the problem, discover the causes of the problem, create options to solve the problem, evaluate the best options to solve the problem, and act, monitor, and modify selected options” (Ridel, 2015). If we all follow these steps it would make our lives much easier. I did not realize how external and internal barriers can play a role in our everyday lives when it comes to thinking critically. I knew that some family can be an influence as well as social media. These things...
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
