Best Practices in Critical Thinking and Decision Making

Best Practices in Critical Thinking and Decision Making

Best Practices in Critical Thinking and Decision Making

Janice Leone-Reynolds
Comm 505
Prof. R. Sardono
University of Phoenix
Best Practices in Critical Thinking and Decision Making

Adults in society have different opinions about many things. They can range from politics, to religion, to the way a family raises their children. No one opinion is claimed to be right or wrong, but it does depend on how the one who holds the opinion views that particular subject. In fact Drummond believes, “Values are what motivate us. However, in the act of viewing a subject many times ones own values and biases can affect the outcome of their decision or thinking. Lopper (2006) defines values as, “. . . deeply held beliefs about what is good, right, and appropriate. They are deep seated and remain constant over time.” He further states. “...values are accumulated from childhood based teachings and observations of our parents, teachers, religious leaders and other influential and powerful people.” These teachers can make a tremendous impact on the way we think, and handle situations in our lives. For instance many in the religious world may view the act of abortion to be illegal. However to a woman who may have been abused and conceived a child from the abusive act may tend to disagree. Another example would be the view that society has concerning the death penalty. One side may say it is still illegal to take a life, but to a parent who lost a child tragically due to a perpetrator’s hand may beg to differ.
A skill in which one could practice to ensure a reasonable outcome would be to use critical thinking. Brown and Keeley (2004) defines this term as, “. . .awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, the ability to ask and answer critical questions at appropriate times, and the desire to actively use the critical questions” (p.2). In essence critical thinking begins with the desire to improve what we...