People
may be positively, ambivalently, or negatively disposed on each
of seven aspects of the overall disposition toward critical thinking.
Total
Score: The CCTDI total is a measure which estimates one's overall
disposition toward critical thinking. A person may be positively
and strongly disposed toward seeking to solve problems and address
questions using reflective judgment, that is critical thinking;
or ambivalent toward that, or even negatively disposed and hostile
toward that approach. The total score is based on all 75 items.
These items are divided into seven subgroups to form the seven scales
described below.
Truthseeking: Truthseeking is the habit of always desiring
the best possible understanding of any given situation; it is following
reasons and evidence where ever they may lead, even if they lead
one to question cherished beliefs. Truth-seekers ask hard, sometimes
even frightening questions; they do not ignore relevant details;
they strive not to let bias or preconception color their search
for knowledge and truth. The opposite of truthseeking is bias which
ignores good reasons and relevant evidence in order not to have
to face difficult ideas.
Open-mindedness:
Open-mindedness is the tendency to allow others to voice views with
which one may not agree. Open-minded people act with tolerance toward
the opinions of others, knowing that often we all hold beliefs which
make sense only from our own perspectives. Open-mindedness, as used
here, is important for harmony in a pluralistic and complex society
where people approach issues from different religious, political,
social, family, cultural, and personal backgrounds. The opposite
of open-mindedness is closed-mindedness and intolerance for the
ideas of others.
Analyticity:Analyticity
is the tendency to be alert to what happens next. This is the habit
of striving to anticipate both the good and the bad potential consequences
or outcomes of situations, choices, proposals, and plans. The opposite
of analyticity is being heedless of consequences, not attending
to what happens next when one makes choices or accepts ideas uncritically.
Systematicity:
Systematicity is the tendency or habit of striving to approach problems
in a disciplined, orderly, and systematic way. The habit of being
disorganized is the opposite characteristic to systematicity. The
person who is strong in systematicity may or may not actually know
or use a given strategy or any particular pattern in problem solving,
but they have the mental desire and tendency to approach questions
and issues in such an organized way.
Critical
Thinking Self-Confidence: The tendency to trust the use of reason
and reflective thinking to solve problems is reasoning self-confidence.
This habit can apply to individuals or to groups; as can the other
dispositional characteristics measured by the CCTDI. We as a family,
team, office, community, or society can have the habit of being
trustful of reasoned judgment as the means of solving our problems
and reaching our goals. The opposite is the tendency to be mistrustful
of reason, to consistently devalue or be hostile to the use of careful
reason and reflection as a means to solving problems or discovering
what to do or what to believe.
Inquisitiveness:
Inquisitiveness is intellectual curiosity. It is the tendency to
want to know things, even if they are not immediately or obviously
useful at the moment. It is being curious and eager to acquire new
knowledge and to learn the explanations for things even when the
applications of that new learning is not immediately apparent. The
opposite of inquisitiveness is indifference.
Maturity of Judgment: Cognitive maturity is the tendency
to see problems as complex, rather than black and white. It is the
habit of making a judgment in a timely way, not prematurely, and
not with undue delay. It is the tendency of standing firm in one's
judgment when there is reason to do so, but changing one's mind
when that is the appropriate thing to do. It is prudence in making,
suspending, or revising judgment. It is being aware that multiple
solutions may be acceptable while appreciating the need to reach
closure in certain circumstances even in the absence of complete
knowledge. The opposite, cognitive immaturity, is characterized
by being imprudent, black-and-white thinking, failing to come to
closure in a timely way, stubbornly refusing to change one's mind
when reasons and evidence would indicate one is mistaken, or foolishly
revising one's opinions willy-nilly without substantial reason for
doing so.
