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Chapter 5 - Promoting Critical Thinking by Teaching, or Taking, Psychology Courses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

By
Douglas A. Bernstein
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Diane F. Halpern
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Diane F. Halpern
Affiliation:
Claremont McKenna College, California
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Summary

This chapter presents an overview of the importance of critical thinking, some of the reasons that people do not think critically, and some of the harmful consequences of uncritical thinking for individuals and society. It highlights the fact that psychology courses are especially appropriate venues for promoting critical thinking because they address numerous controversial, high-interest topics that are ripe for critical analysis. A set of specific demonstrations and activities illustrate some of the ways in which, through interactive lecturing, these courses can be configured to introduce a critical thinking system and incorporate systematic practice at critical thinking without fundamentally changing course content. The chapter concludes by describing a more radical approach to critical thinking in the introductory-psychology course that would, in fact, alter its content in the service of dispelling strongly held misconceptions about human behavior and mental processes.

Keywords

critical thinkinginteractive learning
Type
Chapter
Information
Critical Thinking in Psychology , pp. 103 - 124
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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