Importance of Critical Thinking in Psychology: An Opinion Paper

This essay explores the significance of critical thinking in psychology, tracing its origins back to Socrates and Plato. It highlights how critical thinking, as emphasized by various researchers and philosophers, is crucial for rational approaches to life and successful research completion. The essay discusses key qualities of critical thinkers, such as being objective, open-minded, and flexible. It examines the importance of critical thinking in analyzing background information, evaluating sources, and maintaining an unbiased approach. The essay also addresses differing viewpoints, such as those from the American Philosophical Association, and the concept of domain-specific critical thinking skills. It concludes by emphasizing the ongoing need for both qualitative and quantitative research to fully understand the scope and limitations of critical thinking.

Running head: OPINION PAPER
Importance of Critical Thinking
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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OPINION PAPER
The very first teaching which was published on the necessity of critical thinking was
by great philosopher and researcher Socrates and it was recorded by Plato (Vaughn, L. 2015),
since them varied psychological researchers and philosophers have experimented and worked
in this very disciple to understand the vitality of critical thinking and how human beings are
capable of incorporating it in their daily lifestyle. Drawing from their reading, the literature
on critical thinking has basically originated from two basic academic disciplined one being
philosophy the other being psychology (Lewis & Smith, 1993).
The author in his research article, “An interactive approach to writing essays &
research reports in psychology” has specifically highlighted on the notion of critical thinking
and how immensely it is regarded as a crucial tool in the process of successful completion of
any research work (Burton, 2010). The most primary aspect which has be time and again
highlighted in his article is that critical thinking is nothing negative rather a quality which
individuals must inculcate to hold a rational approach towards life. Supporting this primary
view Burton has identified certain basic qualities that a person holding a critical thinking
approach would incorporate which are being objective, being open-minded, fair-minded, and
inquisitive, most importantly being flexible in one’s outlook.
The next area of discussion has been the importance of incorporating critical thinking
in the areas of research work which begins with the analysis of the background information,
move on to critical evaluation of every source of information, examining the credibility of
every source and most importantly keeping an unbiased and rational approach towards the
whole research process (Cottrell, 2017). The author throughout his work has kept a constant
reading of how critical thinking can be developed over of time and is not a God’s gift or a
folly on the part of human beings.

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OPINION PAPER
Today varied business leaders, educationalists; entrepreneurs put forward the thoughts
which the author has penned down years ago. Entrepreneurs identify the ability to think
critically as one of the most crucial qualities to be a successful trend setter in today’s
competitive world of business.
Area of Disagreement:
The subject of critical thinking has also brought along another set of argument which
by generally given by American Philosophical Association (APA) in the year 1990, where the
researchers seem to hold the opinion that though critical thinking generally hints of “good
thinking”, but one cannot claim it to be the only truth (Schmaltz, Janse & Wenckowski,
2017). There might be an individual who does posses the ability to think critically however
consciously does not apply to any good .Hence in such a scenario critical thinking does not
meet its aforesaid ethical standards. For example if a lawyer is seen to be safeguarding his
guilty client using his/her critical thinking ability then it would not be termed as anything
positive or ethical. Another popular opinion is that the quality of critical thinking is no doubt
a great possession , but can be put to practical knowledge depending on the domain, in other
words the critical thinking skills are very much domain- specific (McPeck, 1990).
Thus the above presented discussion aims to throw light upon the different sets of
reasoning brought by different researchers of different time. However much remains to be
resolved concerning the definition of critical thinking which requires both qualitative and
quantitative approach of the researchers to best identify the scope and limitation of critical
thinking approach.

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OPINION PAPER
References:
Burton, L. J. (2010). An interactive approach to writing essays and research reports in
psychology. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd..
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills: Effective analysis, argument and
reflection. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Lewis, A., & Smith, D. (1993). Defining higher order thinking. Theory into Practice,
32(3), 131–137.
McPeck, J. E. (1990). Critical thinking and subject specificity: A reply to Ennis.
Educational Researcher, 19(4), 10–12.
Schmaltz, R. M., Jansen, E., & Wenckowski, N. (2017). Redefining critical thinking:
Teaching students to think like scientists. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 459.
Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW
Norton & Company.