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HOW CRITICAL THINKING CAN IMPROVE LIFE OUTCOMES AND ATTITUDES
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Introduction
Critical thinking is at the core of all sciences and humanities. It can be applied to so many
different areas of human life. It’s considered to be one of the most important skills in our lives.
Even though it has been defined in different ways, it is generally agreed that critical thinking
involves analysis and analysis alone (Chang et al., 2020). It is something that human beings have
always wanted to achieve. However, while some may argue that it's impossible to achieve, the
truth is that even the most talented non-human beings can achieve it. Critical thinking is a form
of logic that allows us to think critically about the world around people. It requires that we pay
attention to what is going on without getting too caught up in what we want to do (Din, 2020).
People need to look at things from different angles, be open minded and very analytical when
talking about issues such as race relations, poverty, inequality or climate change. Without critical
thinking, humans often get stuck in our own head and can't see things from other points of view.
This paper will discuss how critical thinking helps improve life outcomes and attitude
Review
Critical thinkers are self-reflective individuals who go through various stages of
reasoning while doing their job. These mental processes may seem to be somewhat complicated
at first glance, but they are mostly straightforward when viewed from an objective standpoint.
One of the reasons why critical thinking is not often taught in schools is because it seems like a
subject that cannot be taught (Din, 2020). It is also because it takes time for students to master
these skills. However, all too often professionals fail to recognize the importance of critical
thinking in their lives and careers. The reason for this may be due to fear or lack of interest in
learning about cognitive biases and probability theories, which appear as a lot of unnecessary
clutter on their minds when trying to understand complex ideas. In today’s world, there are a lot
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of things being done to help the people get positive outcomes from their work. One of the ways
is by using a critical thinking approach to improve their attitudes and life outcomes. These
approaches have been developed over the years and have been proven to be effective in
improving people’s quality of life and increasing their happiness levels.
How Critical Thinking Improves Life Outcomes
Compared to traditional academic researchers, Critical Thinking (CT) is an essential
process for improving the quality of life. It helps to make people more adaptive and confident in
the face of uncertainty (Din, 2020). Everyone has a set of critical thinking skills that are
important for us to have in our lives. They are not necessarily related to any particular topic they can be related to the way humans live, their hobbies, our work experience, etc. Critical
thinkers are those who think things through carefully and critically before making decisions
based on their reasoning. They don't just believe or trust everything that is said or written about
them; they examine it thoroughly and make sure it is accurate and applicable for the situation
they are in.
It has been argued that Critical Thinking improves life outcomes. Critical thinking is a
method for reasoning about the world or a problem. In fact, it is considered as an essential skill
for every human being. It leads to better decision making and leads to better lives. Critical
thinking can be applied in various areas such as education, economics, business, politics etc.
People often use their analytical skills to make better decisions and solve problems.
Unfortunately, we often forget the value of critical thinking and fail to apply it in our daily lives.
Without using critical thinking, people cannot understand what we see and communicate quickly
and easily.
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The American Psychological Association (APA) defines "Critical Thinking" as: "the
ability to think through, critically appraise, and apply knowledge and reasoning skills in order to
solve problems, understand situations, understand people’s motives, develop skills in problem
solving and decision making. Most of us have doubts and reservations about the future and how
it will be affected by new technologies (Fitriani et al., 2020). It can be a simple skill to learn. It
involves being able to think outside the box and ask questions that will help you learn more and
should be taught in schools from an early age and it should be mandatory from primary school
onward. This is because critical thinking is highly relevant in our daily life since decisions are
made using critical thinking all the time. It inform policymakers, teachers, parents and students
about how critical thinking improves life outcomes through improving short-term focus, selfconfidence, self-assessment skills and decision-making abilities (Fitriani et al., 2020).
A critical thinker is someone who is able to evaluate the implications of different ideas
and problems. They are able to solve problems in a rational way, by considering all possible
options and weighing up their pros and cons. It is vital in all aspects of life, including ones that
are emotional. It is especially important when it comes to emotional content, which causes
people to have more emotional reactions (Goodsett, 2020). They provide a way to think deeply
and make sense of the world around us. They allow us to be smarter, more creative and even
more engaging in our work as well as an important part of everyday life.
How Critical Thinking Can Improve Attitude
There are a wide range of critical thinking skills one should have, both as individuals and
as a team, to be effective at work. The ability to read between the lines is valuable for making
decisions that will help us to do our jobs better. An analogy might be that of a police officer who
has been given the task of catching a criminal (Goodsett, 2020). If he finds out that the suspect
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has taken his own life, he might not be able to arrest him immediately because he would have no
idea why he would take his own life or why there was no evidence against him. This applies also
in workplaces – if an employee finds out that they have broken the law or harmed someone else
they could not be held accountable for it immediately. Today most of us are expected to be able
to think critically and solve problems creatively. However, we often fail at this because we tend
to focus on what is important for us - our experience rather than what others expect of us.
It is crucial for any business based on data analysis, product development or customer
service because it allows separating fact from fiction and helps consumers determine whether
something actually exists or not. It can be applied to any situation where the person has to make
a critical decision (Goodsett, 2020). It’s an example of how critical thinking can improve attitude
or performance. It's also an example of how we need to think critically and apply the skills we
learn in life – including everyday skills – when people need to make decisions about something
that is important for us and our future. In today's era of increasing uncertainty, people are
looking for ways to cope with it. They are trying to make sense of the world around them by
finding solutions to problems they face.
Consequences of lack of critical thinking in our society are increasingly becoming
evident. We see this at work all around us, with the rise in automation and artificial intelligence.
Critical thinking is an essential human quality that can be developed through education and
training (Itmeizeh & Hassan, 2020). One important thing to understand here is that "critical
thinking" does not have to mean logical or reasoning skills, it can also mean emotional
intelligence. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Creative Technologies, critical
thinking requires a deep understanding of a problem, a logical way of reaching the solution and
being able to judge whether the approach being employed is appropriate or not (Ristanto et al.,
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2020). These three qualities have been defined as knowledge, insight and competence
respectively and means that critical thinking depends on one's personal characteristics such as
personality traits, abilities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the need for critical thinking skills is growing all the time. It can be seen in
how our world has changed since the 19th century. One of the most important things that helped
to keep us safe and sane was our ability to think critically. Nowadays, we are not only looking at
the world through different eyes, but also through new ones - digital ones. Although many
people have good intentions when it comes to learning, they lack the mental capacity or ability to
go through a challenging experience or do something new in their lives without getting tired out
after a while. It is therefore important for us as individuals and for our societies that we all
become more capable of thinking critically in order in order that people may face challenges
head on when needed. A critical thinking approach that has been applied to solving different
types of problems is known as cognitive bias analysis. It is used to identify and understand biases
so that people can understand what drives them and develop strategies to overcome it.
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References
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thinking: A contextual game-based learning approach to improving nursing students’
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Din, M. (2020). Evaluating university students’ critical thinking ability as reflected in their
critical reading skill: A study at bachelor level in Pakistan. Thinking Skills and
Creativity, 35, 100627.
Fitriani, A., Zubaidah, S., Susilo, H., & Al Muhdhar, M. H. I. (2020). PBLPOE: A Learning
Model to Enhance Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Scientific Attitudes. International
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Goodsett, M. (2020). Best practices for teaching and assessing critical thinking in information
literacy online learning objects. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(5), 102163.
Itmeizeh, M., & Hassan, A. (2020). New Approaches to Teaching Critical Thinking Skills
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Ristanto, R. H., Djamahar, R., Heryanti, E., & Ichsan, I. Z. (2020). Enhancing students’ biologycritical thinking skill through CIRC-Based scientific approach (Cirsa). Universal Journal
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