how does perception affect critical thinking scholarly articles

• Table of Contents
• Random Entry
• Chronological
• Editorial Information
• About the SEP
• Editorial Board
• How to Cite the SEP
• Special Characters
• Advanced Tools
• Support the SEP
• PDFs for SEP Friends
• Make a Donation
• SEPIA for Libraries
• Entry Contents

Bibliography

Academic tools.

• Friends PDF Preview
• Author and Citation Info
• Back to Top

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal. Conceptions differ with respect to the scope of such thinking, the type of goal, the criteria and norms for thinking carefully, and the thinking components on which they focus. Its adoption as an educational goal has been recommended on the basis of respect for students’ autonomy and preparing students for success in life and for democratic citizenship. “Critical thinkers” have the dispositions and abilities that lead them to think critically when appropriate. The abilities can be identified directly; the dispositions indirectly, by considering what factors contribute to or impede exercise of the abilities. Standardized tests have been developed to assess the degree to which a person possesses such dispositions and abilities. Educational intervention has been shown experimentally to improve them, particularly when it includes dialogue, anchored instruction, and mentoring. Controversies have arisen over the generalizability of critical thinking across domains, over alleged bias in critical thinking theories and instruction, and over the relationship of critical thinking to other types of thinking.

2.1 Dewey’s Three Main Examples

2.2 dewey’s other examples, 2.3 further examples, 2.4 non-examples, 3. the definition of critical thinking, 4. its value, 5. the process of thinking critically, 6. components of the process, 7. contributory dispositions and abilities, 8.1 initiating dispositions, 8.2 internal dispositions, 9. critical thinking abilities, 10. required knowledge, 11. educational methods, 12.1 the generalizability of critical thinking, 12.2 bias in critical thinking theory and pedagogy, 12.3 relationship of critical thinking to other types of thinking, other internet resources, related entries.

Use of the term ‘critical thinking’ to describe an educational goal goes back to the American philosopher John Dewey (1910), who more commonly called it ‘reflective thinking’. He defined it as

active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends. (Dewey 1910: 6; 1933: 9)

and identified a habit of such consideration with a scientific attitude of mind. His lengthy quotations of Francis Bacon, John Locke, and John Stuart Mill indicate that he was not the first person to propose development of a scientific attitude of mind as an educational goal.

In the 1930s, many of the schools that participated in the Eight-Year Study of the Progressive Education Association (Aikin 1942) adopted critical thinking as an educational goal, for whose achievement the study’s Evaluation Staff developed tests (Smith, Tyler, & Evaluation Staff 1942). Glaser (1941) showed experimentally that it was possible to improve the critical thinking of high school students. Bloom’s influential taxonomy of cognitive educational objectives (Bloom et al. 1956) incorporated critical thinking abilities. Ennis (1962) proposed 12 aspects of critical thinking as a basis for research on the teaching and evaluation of critical thinking ability.

Since 1980, an annual international conference in California on critical thinking and educational reform has attracted tens of thousands of educators from all levels of education and from many parts of the world. Also since 1980, the state university system in California has required all undergraduate students to take a critical thinking course. Since 1983, the Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking has sponsored sessions in conjunction with the divisional meetings of the American Philosophical Association (APA). In 1987, the APA’s Committee on Pre-College Philosophy commissioned a consensus statement on critical thinking for purposes of educational assessment and instruction (Facione 1990a). Researchers have developed standardized tests of critical thinking abilities and dispositions; for details, see the Supplement on Assessment . Educational jurisdictions around the world now include critical thinking in guidelines for curriculum and assessment.

For details on this history, see the Supplement on History .

2. Examples and Non-Examples

Before considering the definition of critical thinking, it will be helpful to have in mind some examples of critical thinking, as well as some examples of kinds of thinking that would apparently not count as critical thinking.

Dewey (1910: 68–71; 1933: 91–94) takes as paradigms of reflective thinking three class papers of students in which they describe their thinking. The examples range from the everyday to the scientific.

Transit : “The other day, when I was down town on 16th Street, a clock caught my eye. I saw that the hands pointed to 12:20. This suggested that I had an engagement at 124th Street, at one o’clock. I reasoned that as it had taken me an hour to come down on a surface car, I should probably be twenty minutes late if I returned the same way. I might save twenty minutes by a subway express. But was there a station near? If not, I might lose more than twenty minutes in looking for one. Then I thought of the elevated, and I saw there was such a line within two blocks. But where was the station? If it were several blocks above or below the street I was on, I should lose time instead of gaining it. My mind went back to the subway express as quicker than the elevated; furthermore, I remembered that it went nearer than the elevated to the part of 124th Street I wished to reach, so that time would be saved at the end of the journey. I concluded in favor of the subway, and reached my destination by one o’clock.” (Dewey 1910: 68–69; 1933: 91–92)

Ferryboat : “Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on which I daily cross the river is a long white pole, having a gilded ball at its tip. It suggested a flagpole when I first saw it; its color, shape, and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons seemed to justify me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented themselves. The pole was nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a flagpole; in the next place, there was no pulley, ring, or cord by which to attach a flag; finally, there were elsewhere on the boat two vertical staffs from which flags were occasionally flown. It seemed probable that the pole was not there for flag-flying.

“I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of the pole, and to consider for which of these it was best suited: (a) Possibly it was an ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (b) Possibly it was the terminal of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house. (c) Its purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is moving.

“In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it. Moreover, the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the pilot’s position, it must appear to project far out in front of the boat. Moreover, the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would need some such guide as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles for such a purpose. This hypothesis was so much more probable than the others that I accepted it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set up for the purpose of showing the pilot the direction in which the boat pointed, to enable him to steer correctly.” (Dewey 1910: 69–70; 1933: 92–93)

Bubbles : “In washing tumblers in hot soapsuds and placing them mouth downward on a plate, bubbles appeared on the outside of the mouth of the tumblers and then went inside. Why? The presence of bubbles suggests air, which I note must come from inside the tumbler. I see that the soapy water on the plate prevents escape of the air save as it may be caught in bubbles. But why should air leave the tumbler? There was no substance entering to force it out. It must have expanded. It expands by increase of heat, or by decrease of pressure, or both. Could the air have become heated after the tumbler was taken from the hot suds? Clearly not the air that was already entangled in the water. If heated air was the cause, cold air must have entered in transferring the tumblers from the suds to the plate. I test to see if this supposition is true by taking several more tumblers out. Some I shake so as to make sure of entrapping cold air in them. Some I take out holding mouth downward in order to prevent cold air from entering. Bubbles appear on the outside of every one of the former and on none of the latter. I must be right in my inference. Air from the outside must have been expanded by the heat of the tumbler, which explains the appearance of the bubbles on the outside. But why do they then go inside? Cold contracts. The tumbler cooled and also the air inside it. Tension was removed, and hence bubbles appeared inside. To be sure of this, I test by placing a cup of ice on the tumbler while the bubbles are still forming outside. They soon reverse” (Dewey 1910: 70–71; 1933: 93–94).

Dewey (1910, 1933) sprinkles his book with other examples of critical thinking. We will refer to the following.

Weather : A man on a walk notices that it has suddenly become cool, thinks that it is probably going to rain, looks up and sees a dark cloud obscuring the sun, and quickens his steps (1910: 6–10; 1933: 9–13).

Disorder : A man finds his rooms on his return to them in disorder with his belongings thrown about, thinks at first of burglary as an explanation, then thinks of mischievous children as being an alternative explanation, then looks to see whether valuables are missing, and discovers that they are (1910: 82–83; 1933: 166–168).

Typhoid : A physician diagnosing a patient whose conspicuous symptoms suggest typhoid avoids drawing a conclusion until more data are gathered by questioning the patient and by making tests (1910: 85–86; 1933: 170).

Blur : A moving blur catches our eye in the distance, we ask ourselves whether it is a cloud of whirling dust or a tree moving its branches or a man signaling to us, we think of other traits that should be found on each of those possibilities, and we look and see if those traits are found (1910: 102, 108; 1933: 121, 133).

Suction pump : In thinking about the suction pump, the scientist first notes that it will draw water only to a maximum height of 33 feet at sea level and to a lesser maximum height at higher elevations, selects for attention the differing atmospheric pressure at these elevations, sets up experiments in which the air is removed from a vessel containing water (when suction no longer works) and in which the weight of air at various levels is calculated, compares the results of reasoning about the height to which a given weight of air will allow a suction pump to raise water with the observed maximum height at different elevations, and finally assimilates the suction pump to such apparently different phenomena as the siphon and the rising of a balloon (1910: 150–153; 1933: 195–198).

Diamond : A passenger in a car driving in a diamond lane reserved for vehicles with at least one passenger notices that the diamond marks on the pavement are far apart in some places and close together in others. Why? The driver suggests that the reason may be that the diamond marks are not needed where there is a solid double line separating the diamond lane from the adjoining lane, but are needed when there is a dotted single line permitting crossing into the diamond lane. Further observation confirms that the diamonds are close together when a dotted line separates the diamond lane from its neighbour, but otherwise far apart.

Rash : A woman suddenly develops a very itchy red rash on her throat and upper chest. She recently noticed a mark on the back of her right hand, but was not sure whether the mark was a rash or a scrape. She lies down in bed and thinks about what might be causing the rash and what to do about it. About two weeks before, she began taking blood pressure medication that contained a sulfa drug, and the pharmacist had warned her, in view of a previous allergic reaction to a medication containing a sulfa drug, to be on the alert for an allergic reaction; however, she had been taking the medication for two weeks with no such effect. The day before, she began using a new cream on her neck and upper chest; against the new cream as the cause was mark on the back of her hand, which had not been exposed to the cream. She began taking probiotics about a month before. She also recently started new eye drops, but she supposed that manufacturers of eye drops would be careful not to include allergy-causing components in the medication. The rash might be a heat rash, since she recently was sweating profusely from her upper body. Since she is about to go away on a short vacation, where she would not have access to her usual physician, she decides to keep taking the probiotics and using the new eye drops but to discontinue the blood pressure medication and to switch back to the old cream for her neck and upper chest. She forms a plan to consult her regular physician on her return about the blood pressure medication.

Candidate : Although Dewey included no examples of thinking directed at appraising the arguments of others, such thinking has come to be considered a kind of critical thinking. We find an example of such thinking in the performance task on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+), which its sponsoring organization describes as

a performance-based assessment that provides a measure of an institution’s contribution to the development of critical-thinking and written communication skills of its students. (Council for Aid to Education 2017)

A sample task posted on its website requires the test-taker to write a report for public distribution evaluating a fictional candidate’s policy proposals and their supporting arguments, using supplied background documents, with a recommendation on whether to endorse the candidate.

Immediate acceptance of an idea that suggests itself as a solution to a problem (e.g., a possible explanation of an event or phenomenon, an action that seems likely to produce a desired result) is “uncritical thinking, the minimum of reflection” (Dewey 1910: 13). On-going suspension of judgment in the light of doubt about a possible solution is not critical thinking (Dewey 1910: 108). Critique driven by a dogmatically held political or religious ideology is not critical thinking; thus Paulo Freire (1968 [1970]) is using the term (e.g., at 1970: 71, 81, 100, 146) in a more politically freighted sense that includes not only reflection but also revolutionary action against oppression. Derivation of a conclusion from given data using an algorithm is not critical thinking.

What is critical thinking? There are many definitions. Ennis (2016) lists 14 philosophically oriented scholarly definitions and three dictionary definitions. Following Rawls (1971), who distinguished his conception of justice from a utilitarian conception but regarded them as rival conceptions of the same concept, Ennis maintains that the 17 definitions are different conceptions of the same concept. Rawls articulated the shared concept of justice as

a characteristic set of principles for assigning basic rights and duties and for determining… the proper distribution of the benefits and burdens of social cooperation. (Rawls 1971: 5)

Bailin et al. (1999b) claim that, if one considers what sorts of thinking an educator would take not to be critical thinking and what sorts to be critical thinking, one can conclude that educators typically understand critical thinking to have at least three features.

• It is done for the purpose of making up one’s mind about what to believe or do.
• The person engaging in the thinking is trying to fulfill standards of adequacy and accuracy appropriate to the thinking.
• The thinking fulfills the relevant standards to some threshold level.

One could sum up the core concept that involves these three features by saying that critical thinking is careful goal-directed thinking. This core concept seems to apply to all the examples of critical thinking described in the previous section. As for the non-examples, their exclusion depends on construing careful thinking as excluding jumping immediately to conclusions, suspending judgment no matter how strong the evidence, reasoning from an unquestioned ideological or religious perspective, and routinely using an algorithm to answer a question.

If the core of critical thinking is careful goal-directed thinking, conceptions of it can vary according to its presumed scope, its presumed goal, one’s criteria and threshold for being careful, and the thinking component on which one focuses. As to its scope, some conceptions (e.g., Dewey 1910, 1933) restrict it to constructive thinking on the basis of one’s own observations and experiments, others (e.g., Ennis 1962; Fisher & Scriven 1997; Johnson 1992) to appraisal of the products of such thinking. Ennis (1991) and Bailin et al. (1999b) take it to cover both construction and appraisal. As to its goal, some conceptions restrict it to forming a judgment (Dewey 1910, 1933; Lipman 1987; Facione 1990a). Others allow for actions as well as beliefs as the end point of a process of critical thinking (Ennis 1991; Bailin et al. 1999b). As to the criteria and threshold for being careful, definitions vary in the term used to indicate that critical thinking satisfies certain norms: “intellectually disciplined” (Scriven & Paul 1987), “reasonable” (Ennis 1991), “skillful” (Lipman 1987), “skilled” (Fisher & Scriven 1997), “careful” (Bailin & Battersby 2009). Some definitions specify these norms, referring variously to “consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey 1910, 1933); “the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning” (Glaser 1941); “conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication” (Scriven & Paul 1987); the requirement that “it is sensitive to context, relies on criteria, and is self-correcting” (Lipman 1987); “evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations” (Facione 1990a); and “plus-minus considerations of the product in terms of appropriate standards (or criteria)” (Johnson 1992). Stanovich and Stanovich (2010) propose to ground the concept of critical thinking in the concept of rationality, which they understand as combining epistemic rationality (fitting one’s beliefs to the world) and instrumental rationality (optimizing goal fulfillment); a critical thinker, in their view, is someone with “a propensity to override suboptimal responses from the autonomous mind” (2010: 227). These variant specifications of norms for critical thinking are not necessarily incompatible with one another, and in any case presuppose the core notion of thinking carefully. As to the thinking component singled out, some definitions focus on suspension of judgment during the thinking (Dewey 1910; McPeck 1981), others on inquiry while judgment is suspended (Bailin & Battersby 2009, 2021), others on the resulting judgment (Facione 1990a), and still others on responsiveness to reasons (Siegel 1988). Kuhn (2019) takes critical thinking to be more a dialogic practice of advancing and responding to arguments than an individual ability.

In educational contexts, a definition of critical thinking is a “programmatic definition” (Scheffler 1960: 19). It expresses a practical program for achieving an educational goal. For this purpose, a one-sentence formulaic definition is much less useful than articulation of a critical thinking process, with criteria and standards for the kinds of thinking that the process may involve. The real educational goal is recognition, adoption and implementation by students of those criteria and standards. That adoption and implementation in turn consists in acquiring the knowledge, abilities and dispositions of a critical thinker.

Conceptions of critical thinking generally do not include moral integrity as part of the concept. Dewey, for example, took critical thinking to be the ultimate intellectual goal of education, but distinguished it from the development of social cooperation among school children, which he took to be the central moral goal. Ennis (1996, 2011) added to his previous list of critical thinking dispositions a group of dispositions to care about the dignity and worth of every person, which he described as a “correlative” (1996) disposition without which critical thinking would be less valuable and perhaps harmful. An educational program that aimed at developing critical thinking but not the correlative disposition to care about the dignity and worth of every person, he asserted, “would be deficient and perhaps dangerous” (Ennis 1996: 172).

Dewey thought that education for reflective thinking would be of value to both the individual and society; recognition in educational practice of the kinship to the scientific attitude of children’s native curiosity, fertile imagination and love of experimental inquiry “would make for individual happiness and the reduction of social waste” (Dewey 1910: iii). Schools participating in the Eight-Year Study took development of the habit of reflective thinking and skill in solving problems as a means to leading young people to understand, appreciate and live the democratic way of life characteristic of the United States (Aikin 1942: 17–18, 81). Harvey Siegel (1988: 55–61) has offered four considerations in support of adopting critical thinking as an educational ideal. (1) Respect for persons requires that schools and teachers honour students’ demands for reasons and explanations, deal with students honestly, and recognize the need to confront students’ independent judgment; these requirements concern the manner in which teachers treat students. (2) Education has the task of preparing children to be successful adults, a task that requires development of their self-sufficiency. (3) Education should initiate children into the rational traditions in such fields as history, science and mathematics. (4) Education should prepare children to become democratic citizens, which requires reasoned procedures and critical talents and attitudes. To supplement these considerations, Siegel (1988: 62–90) responds to two objections: the ideology objection that adoption of any educational ideal requires a prior ideological commitment and the indoctrination objection that cultivation of critical thinking cannot escape being a form of indoctrination.

Despite the diversity of our 11 examples, one can recognize a common pattern. Dewey analyzed it as consisting of five phases:

• suggestions , in which the mind leaps forward to a possible solution;
• an intellectualization of the difficulty or perplexity into a problem to be solved, a question for which the answer must be sought;
• the use of one suggestion after another as a leading idea, or hypothesis , to initiate and guide observation and other operations in collection of factual material;
• the mental elaboration of the idea or supposition as an idea or supposition ( reasoning , in the sense on which reasoning is a part, not the whole, of inference); and
• testing the hypothesis by overt or imaginative action. (Dewey 1933: 106–107; italics in original)

The process of reflective thinking consisting of these phases would be preceded by a perplexed, troubled or confused situation and followed by a cleared-up, unified, resolved situation (Dewey 1933: 106). The term ‘phases’ replaced the term ‘steps’ (Dewey 1910: 72), thus removing the earlier suggestion of an invariant sequence. Variants of the above analysis appeared in (Dewey 1916: 177) and (Dewey 1938: 101–119).

The variant formulations indicate the difficulty of giving a single logical analysis of such a varied process. The process of critical thinking may have a spiral pattern, with the problem being redefined in the light of obstacles to solving it as originally formulated. For example, the person in Transit might have concluded that getting to the appointment at the scheduled time was impossible and have reformulated the problem as that of rescheduling the appointment for a mutually convenient time. Further, defining a problem does not always follow after or lead immediately to an idea of a suggested solution. Nor should it do so, as Dewey himself recognized in describing the physician in Typhoid as avoiding any strong preference for this or that conclusion before getting further information (Dewey 1910: 85; 1933: 170). People with a hypothesis in mind, even one to which they have a very weak commitment, have a so-called “confirmation bias” (Nickerson 1998): they are likely to pay attention to evidence that confirms the hypothesis and to ignore evidence that counts against it or for some competing hypothesis. Detectives, intelligence agencies, and investigators of airplane accidents are well advised to gather relevant evidence systematically and to postpone even tentative adoption of an explanatory hypothesis until the collected evidence rules out with the appropriate degree of certainty all but one explanation. Dewey’s analysis of the critical thinking process can be faulted as well for requiring acceptance or rejection of a possible solution to a defined problem, with no allowance for deciding in the light of the available evidence to suspend judgment. Further, given the great variety of kinds of problems for which reflection is appropriate, there is likely to be variation in its component events. Perhaps the best way to conceptualize the critical thinking process is as a checklist whose component events can occur in a variety of orders, selectively, and more than once. These component events might include (1) noticing a difficulty, (2) defining the problem, (3) dividing the problem into manageable sub-problems, (4) formulating a variety of possible solutions to the problem or sub-problem, (5) determining what evidence is relevant to deciding among possible solutions to the problem or sub-problem, (6) devising a plan of systematic observation or experiment that will uncover the relevant evidence, (7) carrying out the plan of systematic observation or experimentation, (8) noting the results of the systematic observation or experiment, (9) gathering relevant testimony and information from others, (10) judging the credibility of testimony and information gathered from others, (11) drawing conclusions from gathered evidence and accepted testimony, and (12) accepting a solution that the evidence adequately supports (cf. Hitchcock 2017: 485).

Checklist conceptions of the process of critical thinking are open to the objection that they are too mechanical and procedural to fit the multi-dimensional and emotionally charged issues for which critical thinking is urgently needed (Paul 1984). For such issues, a more dialectical process is advocated, in which competing relevant world views are identified, their implications explored, and some sort of creative synthesis attempted.

If one considers the critical thinking process illustrated by the 11 examples, one can identify distinct kinds of mental acts and mental states that form part of it. To distinguish, label and briefly characterize these components is a useful preliminary to identifying abilities, skills, dispositions, attitudes, habits and the like that contribute causally to thinking critically. Identifying such abilities and habits is in turn a useful preliminary to setting educational goals. Setting the goals is in its turn a useful preliminary to designing strategies for helping learners to achieve the goals and to designing ways of measuring the extent to which learners have done so. Such measures provide both feedback to learners on their achievement and a basis for experimental research on the effectiveness of various strategies for educating people to think critically. Let us begin, then, by distinguishing the kinds of mental acts and mental events that can occur in a critical thinking process.

• Observing : One notices something in one’s immediate environment (sudden cooling of temperature in Weather , bubbles forming outside a glass and then going inside in Bubbles , a moving blur in the distance in Blur , a rash in Rash ). Or one notes the results of an experiment or systematic observation (valuables missing in Disorder , no suction without air pressure in Suction pump )
• Feeling : One feels puzzled or uncertain about something (how to get to an appointment on time in Transit , why the diamonds vary in spacing in Diamond ). One wants to resolve this perplexity. One feels satisfaction once one has worked out an answer (to take the subway express in Transit , diamonds closer when needed as a warning in Diamond ).
• Wondering : One formulates a question to be addressed (why bubbles form outside a tumbler taken from hot water in Bubbles , how suction pumps work in Suction pump , what caused the rash in Rash ).
• Imagining : One thinks of possible answers (bus or subway or elevated in Transit , flagpole or ornament or wireless communication aid or direction indicator in Ferryboat , allergic reaction or heat rash in Rash ).
• Inferring : One works out what would be the case if a possible answer were assumed (valuables missing if there has been a burglary in Disorder , earlier start to the rash if it is an allergic reaction to a sulfa drug in Rash ). Or one draws a conclusion once sufficient relevant evidence is gathered (take the subway in Transit , burglary in Disorder , discontinue blood pressure medication and new cream in Rash ).
• Knowledge : One uses stored knowledge of the subject-matter to generate possible answers or to infer what would be expected on the assumption of a particular answer (knowledge of a city’s public transit system in Transit , of the requirements for a flagpole in Ferryboat , of Boyle’s law in Bubbles , of allergic reactions in Rash ).
• Experimenting : One designs and carries out an experiment or a systematic observation to find out whether the results deduced from a possible answer will occur (looking at the location of the flagpole in relation to the pilot’s position in Ferryboat , putting an ice cube on top of a tumbler taken from hot water in Bubbles , measuring the height to which a suction pump will draw water at different elevations in Suction pump , noticing the spacing of diamonds when movement to or from a diamond lane is allowed in Diamond ).
• Consulting : One finds a source of information, gets the information from the source, and makes a judgment on whether to accept it. None of our 11 examples include searching for sources of information. In this respect they are unrepresentative, since most people nowadays have almost instant access to information relevant to answering any question, including many of those illustrated by the examples. However, Candidate includes the activities of extracting information from sources and evaluating its credibility.
• Identifying and analyzing arguments : One notices an argument and works out its structure and content as a preliminary to evaluating its strength. This activity is central to Candidate . It is an important part of a critical thinking process in which one surveys arguments for various positions on an issue.
• Judging : One makes a judgment on the basis of accumulated evidence and reasoning, such as the judgment in Ferryboat that the purpose of the pole is to provide direction to the pilot.
• Deciding : One makes a decision on what to do or on what policy to adopt, as in the decision in Transit to take the subway.

By definition, a person who does something voluntarily is both willing and able to do that thing at that time. Both the willingness and the ability contribute causally to the person’s action, in the sense that the voluntary action would not occur if either (or both) of these were lacking. For example, suppose that one is standing with one’s arms at one’s sides and one voluntarily lifts one’s right arm to an extended horizontal position. One would not do so if one were unable to lift one’s arm, if for example one’s right side was paralyzed as the result of a stroke. Nor would one do so if one were unwilling to lift one’s arm, if for example one were participating in a street demonstration at which a white supremacist was urging the crowd to lift their right arm in a Nazi salute and one were unwilling to express support in this way for the racist Nazi ideology. The same analysis applies to a voluntary mental process of thinking critically. It requires both willingness and ability to think critically, including willingness and ability to perform each of the mental acts that compose the process and to coordinate those acts in a sequence that is directed at resolving the initiating perplexity.

Consider willingness first. We can identify causal contributors to willingness to think critically by considering factors that would cause a person who was able to think critically about an issue nevertheless not to do so (Hamby 2014). For each factor, the opposite condition thus contributes causally to willingness to think critically on a particular occasion. For example, people who habitually jump to conclusions without considering alternatives will not think critically about issues that arise, even if they have the required abilities. The contrary condition of willingness to suspend judgment is thus a causal contributor to thinking critically.

Now consider ability. In contrast to the ability to move one’s arm, which can be completely absent because a stroke has left the arm paralyzed, the ability to think critically is a developed ability, whose absence is not a complete absence of ability to think but absence of ability to think well. We can identify the ability to think well directly, in terms of the norms and standards for good thinking. In general, to be able do well the thinking activities that can be components of a critical thinking process, one needs to know the concepts and principles that characterize their good performance, to recognize in particular cases that the concepts and principles apply, and to apply them. The knowledge, recognition and application may be procedural rather than declarative. It may be domain-specific rather than widely applicable, and in either case may need subject-matter knowledge, sometimes of a deep kind.

Reflections of the sort illustrated by the previous two paragraphs have led scholars to identify the knowledge, abilities and dispositions of a “critical thinker”, i.e., someone who thinks critically whenever it is appropriate to do so. We turn now to these three types of causal contributors to thinking critically. We start with dispositions, since arguably these are the most powerful contributors to being a critical thinker, can be fostered at an early stage of a child’s development, and are susceptible to general improvement (Glaser 1941: 175)

8. Critical Thinking Dispositions

Educational researchers use the term ‘dispositions’ broadly for the habits of mind and attitudes that contribute causally to being a critical thinker. Some writers (e.g., Paul & Elder 2006; Hamby 2014; Bailin & Battersby 2016a) propose to use the term ‘virtues’ for this dimension of a critical thinker. The virtues in question, although they are virtues of character, concern the person’s ways of thinking rather than the person’s ways of behaving towards others. They are not moral virtues but intellectual virtues, of the sort articulated by Zagzebski (1996) and discussed by Turri, Alfano, and Greco (2017).

On a realistic conception, thinking dispositions or intellectual virtues are real properties of thinkers. They are general tendencies, propensities, or inclinations to think in particular ways in particular circumstances, and can be genuinely explanatory (Siegel 1999). Sceptics argue that there is no evidence for a specific mental basis for the habits of mind that contribute to thinking critically, and that it is pedagogically misleading to posit such a basis (Bailin et al. 1999a). Whatever their status, critical thinking dispositions need motivation for their initial formation in a child—motivation that may be external or internal. As children develop, the force of habit will gradually become important in sustaining the disposition (Nieto & Valenzuela 2012). Mere force of habit, however, is unlikely to sustain critical thinking dispositions. Critical thinkers must value and enjoy using their knowledge and abilities to think things through for themselves. They must be committed to, and lovers of, inquiry.

A person may have a critical thinking disposition with respect to only some kinds of issues. For example, one could be open-minded about scientific issues but not about religious issues. Similarly, one could be confident in one’s ability to reason about the theological implications of the existence of evil in the world but not in one’s ability to reason about the best design for a guided ballistic missile.

Facione (1990a: 25) divides “affective dispositions” of critical thinking into approaches to life and living in general and approaches to specific issues, questions or problems. Adapting this distinction, one can usefully divide critical thinking dispositions into initiating dispositions (those that contribute causally to starting to think critically about an issue) and internal dispositions (those that contribute causally to doing a good job of thinking critically once one has started). The two categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, open-mindedness, in the sense of willingness to consider alternative points of view to one’s own, is both an initiating and an internal disposition.

Using the strategy of considering factors that would block people with the ability to think critically from doing so, we can identify as initiating dispositions for thinking critically attentiveness, a habit of inquiry, self-confidence, courage, open-mindedness, willingness to suspend judgment, trust in reason, wanting evidence for one’s beliefs, and seeking the truth. We consider briefly what each of these dispositions amounts to, in each case citing sources that acknowledge them.

• Attentiveness : One will not think critically if one fails to recognize an issue that needs to be thought through. For example, the pedestrian in Weather would not have looked up if he had not noticed that the air was suddenly cooler. To be a critical thinker, then, one needs to be habitually attentive to one’s surroundings, noticing not only what one senses but also sources of perplexity in messages received and in one’s own beliefs and attitudes (Facione 1990a: 25; Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo 2001).
• Habit of inquiry : Inquiry is effortful, and one needs an internal push to engage in it. For example, the student in Bubbles could easily have stopped at idle wondering about the cause of the bubbles rather than reasoning to a hypothesis, then designing and executing an experiment to test it. Thus willingness to think critically needs mental energy and initiative. What can supply that energy? Love of inquiry, or perhaps just a habit of inquiry. Hamby (2015) has argued that willingness to inquire is the central critical thinking virtue, one that encompasses all the others. It is recognized as a critical thinking disposition by Dewey (1910: 29; 1933: 35), Glaser (1941: 5), Ennis (1987: 12; 1991: 8), Facione (1990a: 25), Bailin et al. (1999b: 294), Halpern (1998: 452), and Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo (2001).
• Self-confidence : Lack of confidence in one’s abilities can block critical thinking. For example, if the woman in Rash lacked confidence in her ability to figure things out for herself, she might just have assumed that the rash on her chest was the allergic reaction to her medication against which the pharmacist had warned her. Thus willingness to think critically requires confidence in one’s ability to inquire (Facione 1990a: 25; Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo 2001).
• Courage : Fear of thinking for oneself can stop one from doing it. Thus willingness to think critically requires intellectual courage (Paul & Elder 2006: 16).
• Open-mindedness : A dogmatic attitude will impede thinking critically. For example, a person who adheres rigidly to a “pro-choice” position on the issue of the legal status of induced abortion is likely to be unwilling to consider seriously the issue of when in its development an unborn child acquires a moral right to life. Thus willingness to think critically requires open-mindedness, in the sense of a willingness to examine questions to which one already accepts an answer but which further evidence or reasoning might cause one to answer differently (Dewey 1933; Facione 1990a; Ennis 1991; Bailin et al. 1999b; Halpern 1998, Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo 2001). Paul (1981) emphasizes open-mindedness about alternative world-views, and recommends a dialectical approach to integrating such views as central to what he calls “strong sense” critical thinking. In three studies, Haran, Ritov, & Mellers (2013) found that actively open-minded thinking, including “the tendency to weigh new evidence against a favored belief, to spend sufficient time on a problem before giving up, and to consider carefully the opinions of others in forming one’s own”, led study participants to acquire information and thus to make accurate estimations.
• Willingness to suspend judgment : Premature closure on an initial solution will block critical thinking. Thus willingness to think critically requires a willingness to suspend judgment while alternatives are explored (Facione 1990a; Ennis 1991; Halpern 1998).
• Trust in reason : Since distrust in the processes of reasoned inquiry will dissuade one from engaging in it, trust in them is an initiating critical thinking disposition (Facione 1990a, 25; Bailin et al. 1999b: 294; Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo 2001; Paul & Elder 2006). In reaction to an allegedly exclusive emphasis on reason in critical thinking theory and pedagogy, Thayer-Bacon (2000) argues that intuition, imagination, and emotion have important roles to play in an adequate conception of critical thinking that she calls “constructive thinking”. From her point of view, critical thinking requires trust not only in reason but also in intuition, imagination, and emotion.
• Seeking the truth : If one does not care about the truth but is content to stick with one’s initial bias on an issue, then one will not think critically about it. Seeking the truth is thus an initiating critical thinking disposition (Bailin et al. 1999b: 294; Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo 2001). A disposition to seek the truth is implicit in more specific critical thinking dispositions, such as trying to be well-informed, considering seriously points of view other than one’s own, looking for alternatives, suspending judgment when the evidence is insufficient, and adopting a position when the evidence supporting it is sufficient.

Some of the initiating dispositions, such as open-mindedness and willingness to suspend judgment, are also internal critical thinking dispositions, in the sense of mental habits or attitudes that contribute causally to doing a good job of critical thinking once one starts the process. But there are many other internal critical thinking dispositions. Some of them are parasitic on one’s conception of good thinking. For example, it is constitutive of good thinking about an issue to formulate the issue clearly and to maintain focus on it. For this purpose, one needs not only the corresponding ability but also the corresponding disposition. Ennis (1991: 8) describes it as the disposition “to determine and maintain focus on the conclusion or question”, Facione (1990a: 25) as “clarity in stating the question or concern”. Other internal dispositions are motivators to continue or adjust the critical thinking process, such as willingness to persist in a complex task and willingness to abandon nonproductive strategies in an attempt to self-correct (Halpern 1998: 452). For a list of identified internal critical thinking dispositions, see the Supplement on Internal Critical Thinking Dispositions .

Some theorists postulate skills, i.e., acquired abilities, as operative in critical thinking. It is not obvious, however, that a good mental act is the exercise of a generic acquired skill. Inferring an expected time of arrival, as in Transit , has some generic components but also uses non-generic subject-matter knowledge. Bailin et al. (1999a) argue against viewing critical thinking skills as generic and discrete, on the ground that skilled performance at a critical thinking task cannot be separated from knowledge of concepts and from domain-specific principles of good thinking. Talk of skills, they concede, is unproblematic if it means merely that a person with critical thinking skills is capable of intelligent performance.

Despite such scepticism, theorists of critical thinking have listed as general contributors to critical thinking what they variously call abilities (Glaser 1941; Ennis 1962, 1991), skills (Facione 1990a; Halpern 1998) or competencies (Fisher & Scriven 1997). Amalgamating these lists would produce a confusing and chaotic cornucopia of more than 50 possible educational objectives, with only partial overlap among them. It makes sense instead to try to understand the reasons for the multiplicity and diversity, and to make a selection according to one’s own reasons for singling out abilities to be developed in a critical thinking curriculum. Two reasons for diversity among lists of critical thinking abilities are the underlying conception of critical thinking and the envisaged educational level. Appraisal-only conceptions, for example, involve a different suite of abilities than constructive-only conceptions. Some lists, such as those in (Glaser 1941), are put forward as educational objectives for secondary school students, whereas others are proposed as objectives for college students (e.g., Facione 1990a).

The abilities described in the remaining paragraphs of this section emerge from reflection on the general abilities needed to do well the thinking activities identified in section 6 as components of the critical thinking process described in section 5 . The derivation of each collection of abilities is accompanied by citation of sources that list such abilities and of standardized tests that claim to test them.

Observational abilities : Careful and accurate observation sometimes requires specialist expertise and practice, as in the case of observing birds and observing accident scenes. However, there are general abilities of noticing what one’s senses are picking up from one’s environment and of being able to articulate clearly and accurately to oneself and others what one has observed. It helps in exercising them to be able to recognize and take into account factors that make one’s observation less trustworthy, such as prior framing of the situation, inadequate time, deficient senses, poor observation conditions, and the like. It helps as well to be skilled at taking steps to make one’s observation more trustworthy, such as moving closer to get a better look, measuring something three times and taking the average, and checking what one thinks one is observing with someone else who is in a good position to observe it. It also helps to be skilled at recognizing respects in which one’s report of one’s observation involves inference rather than direct observation, so that one can then consider whether the inference is justified. These abilities come into play as well when one thinks about whether and with what degree of confidence to accept an observation report, for example in the study of history or in a criminal investigation or in assessing news reports. Observational abilities show up in some lists of critical thinking abilities (Ennis 1962: 90; Facione 1990a: 16; Ennis 1991: 9). There are items testing a person’s ability to judge the credibility of observation reports in the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests, Levels X and Z (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005). Norris and King (1983, 1985, 1990a, 1990b) is a test of ability to appraise observation reports.

Emotional abilities : The emotions that drive a critical thinking process are perplexity or puzzlement, a wish to resolve it, and satisfaction at achieving the desired resolution. Children experience these emotions at an early age, without being trained to do so. Education that takes critical thinking as a goal needs only to channel these emotions and to make sure not to stifle them. Collaborative critical thinking benefits from ability to recognize one’s own and others’ emotional commitments and reactions.

Questioning abilities : A critical thinking process needs transformation of an inchoate sense of perplexity into a clear question. Formulating a question well requires not building in questionable assumptions, not prejudging the issue, and using language that in context is unambiguous and precise enough (Ennis 1962: 97; 1991: 9).

Imaginative abilities : Thinking directed at finding the correct causal explanation of a general phenomenon or particular event requires an ability to imagine possible explanations. Thinking about what policy or plan of action to adopt requires generation of options and consideration of possible consequences of each option. Domain knowledge is required for such creative activity, but a general ability to imagine alternatives is helpful and can be nurtured so as to become easier, quicker, more extensive, and deeper (Dewey 1910: 34–39; 1933: 40–47). Facione (1990a) and Halpern (1998) include the ability to imagine alternatives as a critical thinking ability.

Inferential abilities : The ability to draw conclusions from given information, and to recognize with what degree of certainty one’s own or others’ conclusions follow, is universally recognized as a general critical thinking ability. All 11 examples in section 2 of this article include inferences, some from hypotheses or options (as in Transit , Ferryboat and Disorder ), others from something observed (as in Weather and Rash ). None of these inferences is formally valid. Rather, they are licensed by general, sometimes qualified substantive rules of inference (Toulmin 1958) that rest on domain knowledge—that a bus trip takes about the same time in each direction, that the terminal of a wireless telegraph would be located on the highest possible place, that sudden cooling is often followed by rain, that an allergic reaction to a sulfa drug generally shows up soon after one starts taking it. It is a matter of controversy to what extent the specialized ability to deduce conclusions from premisses using formal rules of inference is needed for critical thinking. Dewey (1933) locates logical forms in setting out the products of reflection rather than in the process of reflection. Ennis (1981a), on the other hand, maintains that a liberally-educated person should have the following abilities: to translate natural-language statements into statements using the standard logical operators, to use appropriately the language of necessary and sufficient conditions, to deal with argument forms and arguments containing symbols, to determine whether in virtue of an argument’s form its conclusion follows necessarily from its premisses, to reason with logically complex propositions, and to apply the rules and procedures of deductive logic. Inferential abilities are recognized as critical thinking abilities by Glaser (1941: 6), Facione (1990a: 9), Ennis (1991: 9), Fisher & Scriven (1997: 99, 111), and Halpern (1998: 452). Items testing inferential abilities constitute two of the five subtests of the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (Watson & Glaser 1980a, 1980b, 1994), two of the four sections in the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005), three of the seven sections in the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005), 11 of the 34 items on Forms A and B of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (Facione 1990b, 1992), and a high but variable proportion of the 25 selected-response questions in the Collegiate Learning Assessment (Council for Aid to Education 2017).

Experimenting abilities : Knowing how to design and execute an experiment is important not just in scientific research but also in everyday life, as in Rash . Dewey devoted a whole chapter of his How We Think (1910: 145–156; 1933: 190–202) to the superiority of experimentation over observation in advancing knowledge. Experimenting abilities come into play at one remove in appraising reports of scientific studies. Skill in designing and executing experiments includes the acknowledged abilities to appraise evidence (Glaser 1941: 6), to carry out experiments and to apply appropriate statistical inference techniques (Facione 1990a: 9), to judge inductions to an explanatory hypothesis (Ennis 1991: 9), and to recognize the need for an adequately large sample size (Halpern 1998). The Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005) includes four items (out of 52) on experimental design. The Collegiate Learning Assessment (Council for Aid to Education 2017) makes room for appraisal of study design in both its performance task and its selected-response questions.

Consulting abilities : Skill at consulting sources of information comes into play when one seeks information to help resolve a problem, as in Candidate . Ability to find and appraise information includes ability to gather and marshal pertinent information (Glaser 1941: 6), to judge whether a statement made by an alleged authority is acceptable (Ennis 1962: 84), to plan a search for desired information (Facione 1990a: 9), and to judge the credibility of a source (Ennis 1991: 9). Ability to judge the credibility of statements is tested by 24 items (out of 76) in the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005) and by four items (out of 52) in the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (Ennis & Millman 1971; Ennis, Millman, & Tomko 1985, 2005). The College Learning Assessment’s performance task requires evaluation of whether information in documents is credible or unreliable (Council for Aid to Education 2017).

Argument analysis abilities : The ability to identify and analyze arguments contributes to the process of surveying arguments on an issue in order to form one’s own reasoned judgment, as in Candidate . The ability to detect and analyze arguments is recognized as a critical thinking skill by Facione (1990a: 7–8), Ennis (1991: 9) and Halpern (1998). Five items (out of 34) on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (Facione 1990b, 1992) test skill at argument analysis. The College Learning Assessment (Council for Aid to Education 2017) incorporates argument analysis in its selected-response tests of critical reading and evaluation and of critiquing an argument.

Judging skills and deciding skills : Skill at judging and deciding is skill at recognizing what judgment or decision the available evidence and argument supports, and with what degree of confidence. It is thus a component of the inferential skills already discussed.

Lists and tests of critical thinking abilities often include two more abilities: identifying assumptions and constructing and evaluating definitions.

In addition to dispositions and abilities, critical thinking needs knowledge: of critical thinking concepts, of critical thinking principles, and of the subject-matter of the thinking.

We can derive a short list of concepts whose understanding contributes to critical thinking from the critical thinking abilities described in the preceding section. Observational abilities require an understanding of the difference between observation and inference. Questioning abilities require an understanding of the concepts of ambiguity and vagueness. Inferential abilities require an understanding of the difference between conclusive and defeasible inference (traditionally, between deduction and induction), as well as of the difference between necessary and sufficient conditions. Experimenting abilities require an understanding of the concepts of hypothesis, null hypothesis, assumption and prediction, as well as of the concept of statistical significance and of its difference from importance. They also require an understanding of the difference between an experiment and an observational study, and in particular of the difference between a randomized controlled trial, a prospective correlational study and a retrospective (case-control) study. Argument analysis abilities require an understanding of the concepts of argument, premiss, assumption, conclusion and counter-consideration. Additional critical thinking concepts are proposed by Bailin et al. (1999b: 293), Fisher & Scriven (1997: 105–106), Black (2012), and Blair (2021).

According to Glaser (1941: 25), ability to think critically requires knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning. If we review the list of abilities in the preceding section, however, we can see that some of them can be acquired and exercised merely through practice, possibly guided in an educational setting, followed by feedback. Searching intelligently for a causal explanation of some phenomenon or event requires that one consider a full range of possible causal contributors, but it seems more important that one implements this principle in one’s practice than that one is able to articulate it. What is important is “operational knowledge” of the standards and principles of good thinking (Bailin et al. 1999b: 291–293). But the development of such critical thinking abilities as designing an experiment or constructing an operational definition can benefit from learning their underlying theory. Further, explicit knowledge of quirks of human thinking seems useful as a cautionary guide. Human memory is not just fallible about details, as people learn from their own experiences of misremembering, but is so malleable that a detailed, clear and vivid recollection of an event can be a total fabrication (Loftus 2017). People seek or interpret evidence in ways that are partial to their existing beliefs and expectations, often unconscious of their “confirmation bias” (Nickerson 1998). Not only are people subject to this and other cognitive biases (Kahneman 2011), of which they are typically unaware, but it may be counter-productive for one to make oneself aware of them and try consciously to counteract them or to counteract social biases such as racial or sexual stereotypes (Kenyon & Beaulac 2014). It is helpful to be aware of these facts and of the superior effectiveness of blocking the operation of biases—for example, by making an immediate record of one’s observations, refraining from forming a preliminary explanatory hypothesis, blind refereeing, double-blind randomized trials, and blind grading of students’ work. It is also helpful to be aware of the prevalence of “noise” (unwanted unsystematic variability of judgments), of how to detect noise (through a noise audit), and of how to reduce noise: make accuracy the goal, think statistically, break a process of arriving at a judgment into independent tasks, resist premature intuitions, in a group get independent judgments first, favour comparative judgments and scales (Kahneman, Sibony, & Sunstein 2021). It is helpful as well to be aware of the concept of “bounded rationality” in decision-making and of the related distinction between “satisficing” and optimizing (Simon 1956; Gigerenzer 2001).

Critical thinking about an issue requires substantive knowledge of the domain to which the issue belongs. Critical thinking abilities are not a magic elixir that can be applied to any issue whatever by somebody who has no knowledge of the facts relevant to exploring that issue. For example, the student in Bubbles needed to know that gases do not penetrate solid objects like a glass, that air expands when heated, that the volume of an enclosed gas varies directly with its temperature and inversely with its pressure, and that hot objects will spontaneously cool down to the ambient temperature of their surroundings unless kept hot by insulation or a source of heat. Critical thinkers thus need a rich fund of subject-matter knowledge relevant to the variety of situations they encounter. This fact is recognized in the inclusion among critical thinking dispositions of a concern to become and remain generally well informed.

Experimental educational interventions, with control groups, have shown that education can improve critical thinking skills and dispositions, as measured by standardized tests. For information about these tests, see the Supplement on Assessment .

What educational methods are most effective at developing the dispositions, abilities and knowledge of a critical thinker? In a comprehensive meta-analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental studies of strategies for teaching students to think critically, Abrami et al. (2015) found that dialogue, anchored instruction, and mentoring each increased the effectiveness of the educational intervention, and that they were most effective when combined. They also found that in these studies a combination of separate instruction in critical thinking with subject-matter instruction in which students are encouraged to think critically was more effective than either by itself. However, the difference was not statistically significant; that is, it might have arisen by chance.

Most of these studies lack the longitudinal follow-up required to determine whether the observed differential improvements in critical thinking abilities or dispositions continue over time, for example until high school or college graduation. For details on studies of methods of developing critical thinking skills and dispositions, see the Supplement on Educational Methods .

12. Controversies

Scholars have denied the generalizability of critical thinking abilities across subject domains, have alleged bias in critical thinking theory and pedagogy, and have investigated the relationship of critical thinking to other kinds of thinking.

McPeck (1981) attacked the thinking skills movement of the 1970s, including the critical thinking movement. He argued that there are no general thinking skills, since thinking is always thinking about some subject-matter. It is futile, he claimed, for schools and colleges to teach thinking as if it were a separate subject. Rather, teachers should lead their pupils to become autonomous thinkers by teaching school subjects in a way that brings out their cognitive structure and that encourages and rewards discussion and argument. As some of his critics (e.g., Paul 1985; Siegel 1985) pointed out, McPeck’s central argument needs elaboration, since it has obvious counter-examples in writing and speaking, for which (up to a certain level of complexity) there are teachable general abilities even though they are always about some subject-matter. To make his argument convincing, McPeck needs to explain how thinking differs from writing and speaking in a way that does not permit useful abstraction of its components from the subject-matters with which it deals. He has not done so. Nevertheless, his position that the dispositions and abilities of a critical thinker are best developed in the context of subject-matter instruction is shared by many theorists of critical thinking, including Dewey (1910, 1933), Glaser (1941), Passmore (1980), Weinstein (1990), Bailin et al. (1999b), and Willingham (2019).

McPeck’s challenge prompted reflection on the extent to which critical thinking is subject-specific. McPeck argued for a strong subject-specificity thesis, according to which it is a conceptual truth that all critical thinking abilities are specific to a subject. (He did not however extend his subject-specificity thesis to critical thinking dispositions. In particular, he took the disposition to suspend judgment in situations of cognitive dissonance to be a general disposition.) Conceptual subject-specificity is subject to obvious counter-examples, such as the general ability to recognize confusion of necessary and sufficient conditions. A more modest thesis, also endorsed by McPeck, is epistemological subject-specificity, according to which the norms of good thinking vary from one field to another. Epistemological subject-specificity clearly holds to a certain extent; for example, the principles in accordance with which one solves a differential equation are quite different from the principles in accordance with which one determines whether a painting is a genuine Picasso. But the thesis suffers, as Ennis (1989) points out, from vagueness of the concept of a field or subject and from the obvious existence of inter-field principles, however broadly the concept of a field is construed. For example, the principles of hypothetico-deductive reasoning hold for all the varied fields in which such reasoning occurs. A third kind of subject-specificity is empirical subject-specificity, according to which as a matter of empirically observable fact a person with the abilities and dispositions of a critical thinker in one area of investigation will not necessarily have them in another area of investigation.

The thesis of empirical subject-specificity raises the general problem of transfer. If critical thinking abilities and dispositions have to be developed independently in each school subject, how are they of any use in dealing with the problems of everyday life and the political and social issues of contemporary society, most of which do not fit into the framework of a traditional school subject? Proponents of empirical subject-specificity tend to argue that transfer is more likely to occur if there is critical thinking instruction in a variety of domains, with explicit attention to dispositions and abilities that cut across domains. But evidence for this claim is scanty. There is a need for well-designed empirical studies that investigate the conditions that make transfer more likely.

It is common ground in debates about the generality or subject-specificity of critical thinking dispositions and abilities that critical thinking about any topic requires background knowledge about the topic. For example, the most sophisticated understanding of the principles of hypothetico-deductive reasoning is of no help unless accompanied by some knowledge of what might be plausible explanations of some phenomenon under investigation.

Critics have objected to bias in the theory, pedagogy and practice of critical thinking. Commentators (e.g., Alston 1995; Ennis 1998) have noted that anyone who takes a position has a bias in the neutral sense of being inclined in one direction rather than others. The critics, however, are objecting to bias in the pejorative sense of an unjustified favoring of certain ways of knowing over others, frequently alleging that the unjustly favoured ways are those of a dominant sex or culture (Bailin 1995). These ways favour:

• reinforcement of egocentric and sociocentric biases over dialectical engagement with opposing world-views (Paul 1981, 1984; Warren 1998)
• distancing from the object of inquiry over closeness to it (Martin 1992; Thayer-Bacon 1992)
• indifference to the situation of others over care for them (Martin 1992)
• orientation to thought over orientation to action (Martin 1992)
• being reasonable over caring to understand people’s ideas (Thayer-Bacon 1993)
• being neutral and objective over being embodied and situated (Thayer-Bacon 1995a)
• doubting over believing (Thayer-Bacon 1995b)
• reason over emotion, imagination and intuition (Thayer-Bacon 2000)
• solitary thinking over collaborative thinking (Thayer-Bacon 2000)
• written and spoken assignments over other forms of expression (Alston 2001)
• attention to written and spoken communications over attention to human problems (Alston 2001)
• winning debates in the public sphere over making and understanding meaning (Alston 2001)

A common thread in this smorgasbord of accusations is dissatisfaction with focusing on the logical analysis and evaluation of reasoning and arguments. While these authors acknowledge that such analysis and evaluation is part of critical thinking and should be part of its conceptualization and pedagogy, they insist that it is only a part. Paul (1981), for example, bemoans the tendency of atomistic teaching of methods of analyzing and evaluating arguments to turn students into more able sophists, adept at finding fault with positions and arguments with which they disagree but even more entrenched in the egocentric and sociocentric biases with which they began. Martin (1992) and Thayer-Bacon (1992) cite with approval the self-reported intimacy with their subject-matter of leading researchers in biology and medicine, an intimacy that conflicts with the distancing allegedly recommended in standard conceptions and pedagogy of critical thinking. Thayer-Bacon (2000) contrasts the embodied and socially embedded learning of her elementary school students in a Montessori school, who used their imagination, intuition and emotions as well as their reason, with conceptions of critical thinking as

thinking that is used to critique arguments, offer justifications, and make judgments about what are the good reasons, or the right answers. (Thayer-Bacon 2000: 127–128)

Alston (2001) reports that her students in a women’s studies class were able to see the flaws in the Cinderella myth that pervades much romantic fiction but in their own romantic relationships still acted as if all failures were the woman’s fault and still accepted the notions of love at first sight and living happily ever after. Students, she writes, should

be able to connect their intellectual critique to a more affective, somatic, and ethical account of making risky choices that have sexist, racist, classist, familial, sexual, or other consequences for themselves and those both near and far… critical thinking that reads arguments, texts, or practices merely on the surface without connections to feeling/desiring/doing or action lacks an ethical depth that should infuse the difference between mere cognitive activity and something we want to call critical thinking. (Alston 2001: 34)

Some critics portray such biases as unfair to women. Thayer-Bacon (1992), for example, has charged modern critical thinking theory with being sexist, on the ground that it separates the self from the object and causes one to lose touch with one’s inner voice, and thus stigmatizes women, who (she asserts) link self to object and listen to their inner voice. Her charge does not imply that women as a group are on average less able than men to analyze and evaluate arguments. Facione (1990c) found no difference by sex in performance on his California Critical Thinking Skills Test. Kuhn (1991: 280–281) found no difference by sex in either the disposition or the competence to engage in argumentative thinking.

The critics propose a variety of remedies for the biases that they allege. In general, they do not propose to eliminate or downplay critical thinking as an educational goal. Rather, they propose to conceptualize critical thinking differently and to change its pedagogy accordingly. Their pedagogical proposals arise logically from their objections. They can be summarized as follows:

• Focus on argument networks with dialectical exchanges reflecting contesting points of view rather than on atomic arguments, so as to develop “strong sense” critical thinking that transcends egocentric and sociocentric biases (Paul 1981, 1984).
• Foster closeness to the subject-matter and feeling connected to others in order to inform a humane democracy (Martin 1992).
• Develop “constructive thinking” as a social activity in a community of physically embodied and socially embedded inquirers with personal voices who value not only reason but also imagination, intuition and emotion (Thayer-Bacon 2000).
• In developing critical thinking in school subjects, treat as important neither skills nor dispositions but opening worlds of meaning (Alston 2001).
• Attend to the development of critical thinking dispositions as well as skills, and adopt the “critical pedagogy” practised and advocated by Freire (1968 [1970]) and hooks (1994) (Dalgleish, Girard, & Davies 2017).

A common thread in these proposals is treatment of critical thinking as a social, interactive, personally engaged activity like that of a quilting bee or a barn-raising (Thayer-Bacon 2000) rather than as an individual, solitary, distanced activity symbolized by Rodin’s The Thinker . One can get a vivid description of education with the former type of goal from the writings of bell hooks (1994, 2010). Critical thinking for her is open-minded dialectical exchange across opposing standpoints and from multiple perspectives, a conception similar to Paul’s “strong sense” critical thinking (Paul 1981). She abandons the structure of domination in the traditional classroom. In an introductory course on black women writers, for example, she assigns students to write an autobiographical paragraph about an early racial memory, then to read it aloud as the others listen, thus affirming the uniqueness and value of each voice and creating a communal awareness of the diversity of the group’s experiences (hooks 1994: 84). Her “engaged pedagogy” is thus similar to the “freedom under guidance” implemented in John Dewey’s Laboratory School of Chicago in the late 1890s and early 1900s. It incorporates the dialogue, anchored instruction, and mentoring that Abrami (2015) found to be most effective in improving critical thinking skills and dispositions.

What is the relationship of critical thinking to problem solving, decision-making, higher-order thinking, creative thinking, and other recognized types of thinking? One’s answer to this question obviously depends on how one defines the terms used in the question. If critical thinking is conceived broadly to cover any careful thinking about any topic for any purpose, then problem solving and decision making will be kinds of critical thinking, if they are done carefully. Historically, ‘critical thinking’ and ‘problem solving’ were two names for the same thing. If critical thinking is conceived more narrowly as consisting solely of appraisal of intellectual products, then it will be disjoint with problem solving and decision making, which are constructive.

Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives used the phrase “intellectual abilities and skills” for what had been labeled “critical thinking” by some, “reflective thinking” by Dewey and others, and “problem solving” by still others (Bloom et al. 1956: 38). Thus, the so-called “higher-order thinking skills” at the taxonomy’s top levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation are just critical thinking skills, although they do not come with general criteria for their assessment (Ennis 1981b). The revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson et al. 2001) likewise treats critical thinking as cutting across those types of cognitive process that involve more than remembering (Anderson et al. 2001: 269–270). For details, see the Supplement on History .

As to creative thinking, it overlaps with critical thinking (Bailin 1987, 1988). Thinking about the explanation of some phenomenon or event, as in Ferryboat , requires creative imagination in constructing plausible explanatory hypotheses. Likewise, thinking about a policy question, as in Candidate , requires creativity in coming up with options. Conversely, creativity in any field needs to be balanced by critical appraisal of the draft painting or novel or mathematical theory.

• Abrami, Philip C., Robert M. Bernard, Eugene Borokhovski, David I. Waddington, C. Anne Wade, and Tonje Person, 2015, “Strategies for Teaching Students to Think Critically: A Meta-analysis”, Review of Educational Research , 85(2): 275–314. doi:10.3102/0034654314551063
• Aikin, Wilford M., 1942, The Story of the Eight-year Study, with Conclusions and Recommendations , Volume I of Adventure in American Education , New York and London: Harper & Brothers. [ Aikin 1942 available online ]
• Alston, Kal, 1995, “Begging the Question: Is Critical Thinking Biased?”, Educational Theory , 45(2): 225–233. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.1995.00225.x
• –––, 2001, “Re/Thinking Critical Thinking: The Seductions of Everyday Life”, Studies in Philosophy and Education , 20(1): 27–40. doi:10.1023/A:1005247128053
• American Educational Research Association, 2014, Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing / American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education , Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
• Anderson, Lorin W., David R. Krathwohl, Peter W. Airiasian, Kathleen A. Cruikshank, Richard E. Mayer, Paul R. Pintrich, James Raths, and Merlin C. Wittrock, 2001, A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives , New York: Longman, complete edition.
• Bailin, Sharon, 1987, “Critical and Creative Thinking”, Informal Logic , 9(1): 23–30. [ Bailin 1987 available online ]
• –––, 1988, Achieving Extraordinary Ends: An Essay on Creativity , Dordrecht: Kluwer. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2780-3
• –––, 1995, “Is Critical Thinking Biased? Clarifications and Implications”, Educational Theory , 45(2): 191–197. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.1995.00191.x
• Bailin, Sharon and Mark Battersby, 2009, “Inquiry: A Dialectical Approach to Teaching Critical Thinking”, in Juho Ritola (ed.), Argument Cultures: Proceedings of OSSA 09 , CD-ROM (pp. 1–10), Windsor, ON: OSSA. [ Bailin & Battersby 2009 available online ]
• –––, 2016a, “Fostering the Virtues of Inquiry”, Topoi , 35(2): 367–374. doi:10.1007/s11245-015-9307-6
• –––, 2016b, Reason in the Balance: An Inquiry Approach to Critical Thinking , Indianapolis: Hackett, 2nd edition.
• –––, 2021, “Inquiry: Teaching for Reasoned Judgment”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 31–46. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_003
• Bailin, Sharon, Roland Case, Jerrold R. Coombs, and Leroi B. Daniels, 1999a, “Common Misconceptions of Critical Thinking”, Journal of Curriculum Studies , 31(3): 269–283. doi:10.1080/002202799183124
• –––, 1999b, “Conceptualizing Critical Thinking”, Journal of Curriculum Studies , 31(3): 285–302. doi:10.1080/002202799183133
• Blair, J. Anthony, 2021, Studies in Critical Thinking , Windsor, ON: Windsor Studies in Argumentation, 2nd edition. [Available online at https://windsor.scholarsportal.info/omp/index.php/wsia/catalog/book/106]
• Berman, Alan M., Seth J. Schwartz, William M. Kurtines, and Steven L. Berman, 2001, “The Process of Exploration in Identity Formation: The Role of Style and Competence”, Journal of Adolescence , 24(4): 513–528. doi:10.1006/jado.2001.0386
• Black, Beth (ed.), 2012, An A to Z of Critical Thinking , London: Continuum International Publishing Group.
• Bloom, Benjamin Samuel, Max D. Engelhart, Edward J. Furst, Walter H. Hill, and David R. Krathwohl, 1956, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain , New York: David McKay.
• Boardman, Frank, Nancy M. Cavender, and Howard Kahane, 2018, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life , Boston: Cengage, 13th edition.
• Browne, M. Neil and Stuart M. Keeley, 2018, Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking , Hoboken, NJ: Pearson, 12th edition.
• Center for Assessment & Improvement of Learning, 2017, Critical Thinking Assessment Test , Cookeville, TN: Tennessee Technological University.
• Cleghorn, Paul. 2021. “Critical Thinking in the Elementary School: Practical Guidance for Building a Culture of Thinking”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessmen t, Leiden: Brill, pp. 150–167. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_010
• Cohen, Jacob, 1988, Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2nd edition.
• College Board, 1983, Academic Preparation for College. What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do , New York: College Entrance Examination Board, ERIC document ED232517.
• Commission on the Relation of School and College of the Progressive Education Association, 1943, Thirty Schools Tell Their Story , Volume V of Adventure in American Education , New York and London: Harper & Brothers.
• Council for Aid to Education, 2017, CLA+ Student Guide . Available at http://cae.org/images/uploads/pdf/CLA_Student_Guide_Institution.pdf ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Dalgleish, Adam, Patrick Girard, and Maree Davies, 2017, “Critical Thinking, Bias and Feminist Philosophy: Building a Better Framework through Collaboration”, Informal Logic , 37(4): 351–369. [ Dalgleish et al. available online ]
• Dewey, John, 1910, How We Think , Boston: D.C. Heath. [ Dewey 1910 available online ]
• –––, 1916, Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education , New York: Macmillan.
• –––, 1933, How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process , Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.
• –––, 1936, “The Theory of the Chicago Experiment”, Appendix II of Mayhew & Edwards 1936: 463–477.
• –––, 1938, Logic: The Theory of Inquiry , New York: Henry Holt and Company.
• Dominguez, Caroline (coord.), 2018a, A European Collection of the Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions Needed in Different Professional Fields for the 21st Century , Vila Real, Portugal: UTAD. Available at http://bit.ly/CRITHINKEDUO1 ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• ––– (coord.), 2018b, A European Review on Critical Thinking Educational Practices in Higher Education Institutions , Vila Real: UTAD. Available at http://bit.ly/CRITHINKEDUO2 ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• ––– (coord.), 2018c, The CRITHINKEDU European Course on Critical Thinking Education for University Teachers: From Conception to Delivery , Vila Real: UTAD. Available at http:/bit.ly/CRITHINKEDU03; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Dominguez Caroline and Rita Payan-Carreira (eds.), 2019, Promoting Critical Thinking in European Higher Education Institutions: Towards an Educational Protocol , Vila Real: UTAD. Available at http:/bit.ly/CRITHINKEDU04; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Ennis, Robert H., 1958, “An Appraisal of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal”, The Journal of Educational Research , 52(4): 155–158. doi:10.1080/00220671.1958.10882558
• –––, 1962, “A Concept of Critical Thinking: A Proposed Basis for Research on the Teaching and Evaluation of Critical Thinking Ability”, Harvard Educational Review , 32(1): 81–111.
• –––, 1981a, “A Conception of Deductive Logical Competence”, Teaching Philosophy , 4(3/4): 337–385. doi:10.5840/teachphil198143/429
• –––, 1981b, “Eight Fallacies in Bloom’s Taxonomy”, in C. J. B. Macmillan (ed.), Philosophy of Education 1980: Proceedings of the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society , Bloomington, IL: Philosophy of Education Society, pp. 269–273.
• –––, 1984, “Problems in Testing Informal Logic, Critical Thinking, Reasoning Ability”, Informal Logic , 6(1): 3–9. [ Ennis 1984 available online ]
• –––, 1987, “A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities”, in Joan Boykoff Baron and Robert J. Sternberg (eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice , New York: W. H. Freeman, pp. 9–26.
• –––, 1989, “Critical Thinking and Subject Specificity: Clarification and Needed Research”, Educational Researcher , 18(3): 4–10. doi:10.3102/0013189X018003004
• –––, 1991, “Critical Thinking: A Streamlined Conception”, Teaching Philosophy , 14(1): 5–24. doi:10.5840/teachphil19911412
• –––, 1996, “Critical Thinking Dispositions: Their Nature and Assessability”, Informal Logic , 18(2–3): 165–182. [ Ennis 1996 available online ]
• –––, 1998, “Is Critical Thinking Culturally Biased?”, Teaching Philosophy , 21(1): 15–33. doi:10.5840/teachphil19982113
• –––, 2011, “Critical Thinking: Reflection and Perspective Part I”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines , 26(1): 4–18. doi:10.5840/inquiryctnews20112613
• –––, 2013, “Critical Thinking across the Curriculum: The Wisdom CTAC Program”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines , 28(2): 25–45. doi:10.5840/inquiryct20132828
• –––, 2016, “Definition: A Three-Dimensional Analysis with Bearing on Key Concepts”, in Patrick Bondy and Laura Benacquista (eds.), Argumentation, Objectivity, and Bias: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference of the Ontario Society for the Study of Argumentation (OSSA), 18–21 May 2016 , Windsor, ON: OSSA, pp. 1–19. Available at http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ossaarchive/OSSA11/papersandcommentaries/105 ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• –––, 2018, “Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: A Vision”, Topoi , 37(1): 165–184. doi:10.1007/s11245-016-9401-4
• Ennis, Robert H., and Jason Millman, 1971, Manual for Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X, and Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z , Urbana, IL: Critical Thinking Project, University of Illinois.
• Ennis, Robert H., Jason Millman, and Thomas Norbert Tomko, 1985, Cornell Critical Thinking Tests Level X & Level Z: Manual , Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publication, 3rd edition.
• –––, 2005, Cornell Critical Thinking Tests Level X & Level Z: Manual , Seaside, CA: Critical Thinking Company, 5th edition.
• Ennis, Robert H. and Eric Weir, 1985, The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test: Test, Manual, Criteria, Scoring Sheet: An Instrument for Teaching and Testing , Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications.
• Facione, Peter A., 1990a, Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction , Research Findings and Recommendations Prepared for the Committee on Pre-College Philosophy of the American Philosophical Association, ERIC Document ED315423.
• –––, 1990b, California Critical Thinking Skills Test, CCTST – Form A , Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.
• –––, 1990c, The California Critical Thinking Skills Test--College Level. Technical Report #3. Gender, Ethnicity, Major, CT Self-Esteem, and the CCTST , ERIC Document ED326584.
• –––, 1992, California Critical Thinking Skills Test: CCTST – Form B, Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.
• –––, 2000, “The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking: Its Character, Measurement, and Relationship to Critical Thinking Skill”, Informal Logic , 20(1): 61–84. [ Facione 2000 available online ]
• Facione, Peter A. and Noreen C. Facione, 1992, CCTDI: A Disposition Inventory , Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.
• Facione, Peter A., Noreen C. Facione, and Carol Ann F. Giancarlo, 2001, California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory: CCTDI: Inventory Manual , Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.
• Facione, Peter A., Carol A. Sánchez, and Noreen C. Facione, 1994, Are College Students Disposed to Think? , Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press. ERIC Document ED368311.
• Fisher, Alec, and Michael Scriven, 1997, Critical Thinking: Its Definition and Assessment , Norwich: Centre for Research in Critical Thinking, University of East Anglia.
• Freire, Paulo, 1968 [1970], Pedagogia do Oprimido . Translated as Pedagogy of the Oppressed , Myra Bergman Ramos (trans.), New York: Continuum, 1970.
• Gigerenzer, Gerd, 2001, “The Adaptive Toolbox”, in Gerd Gigerenzer and Reinhard Selten (eds.), Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox , Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 37–50.
• Glaser, Edward Maynard, 1941, An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking , New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Groarke, Leo A. and Christopher W. Tindale, 2012, Good Reasoning Matters! A Constructive Approach to Critical Thinking , Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 5th edition.
• Halpern, Diane F., 1998, “Teaching Critical Thinking for Transfer Across Domains: Disposition, Skills, Structure Training, and Metacognitive Monitoring”, American Psychologist , 53(4): 449–455. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.53.4.449
• –––, 2016, Manual: Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment , Mödling, Austria: Schuhfried. Available at https://pdfcoffee.com/hcta-test-manual-pdf-free.html; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Hamby, Benjamin, 2014, The Virtues of Critical Thinkers , Doctoral dissertation, Philosophy, McMaster University. [ Hamby 2014 available online ]
• –––, 2015, “Willingness to Inquire: The Cardinal Critical Thinking Virtue”, in Martin Davies and Ronald Barnett (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education , New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 77–87.
• Haran, Uriel, Ilana Ritov, and Barbara A. Mellers, 2013, “The Role of Actively Open-minded Thinking in Information Acquisition, Accuracy, and Calibration”, Judgment and Decision Making , 8(3): 188–201.
• Hatcher, Donald and Kevin Possin, 2021, “Commentary: Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking Assessment”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 298–322. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_017
• Haynes, Ada, Elizabeth Lisic, Kevin Harris, Katie Leming, Kyle Shanks, and Barry Stein, 2015, “Using the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT) as a Model for Designing Within-Course Assessments: Changing How Faculty Assess Student Learning”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines , 30(3): 38–48. doi:10.5840/inquiryct201530316
• Haynes, Ada and Barry Stein, 2021, “Observations from a Long-Term Effort to Assess and Improve Critical Thinking”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 231–254. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_014
• Hiner, Amanda L. 2021. “Equipping Students for Success in College and Beyond: Placing Critical Thinking Instruction at the Heart of a General Education Program”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 188–208. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_012
• Hitchcock, David, 2017, “Critical Thinking as an Educational Ideal”, in his On Reasoning and Argument: Essays in Informal Logic and on Critical Thinking , Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 477–497. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53562-3_30
• –––, 2021, “Seven Philosophical Implications of Critical Thinking: Themes, Variations, Implications”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 9–30. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_002
• hooks, bell, 1994, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom , New York and London: Routledge.
• –––, 2010, Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom , New York and London: Routledge.
• Johnson, Ralph H., 1992, “The Problem of Defining Critical Thinking”, in Stephen P, Norris (ed.), The Generalizability of Critical Thinking , New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 38–53.
• Kahane, Howard, 1971, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life , Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Kahneman, Daniel, 2011, Thinking, Fast and Slow , New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Kahneman, Daniel, Olivier Sibony, & Cass R. Sunstein, 2021, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment , New York: Little, Brown Spark.
• Kenyon, Tim, and Guillaume Beaulac, 2014, “Critical Thinking Education and Debasing”, Informal Logic , 34(4): 341–363. [ Kenyon & Beaulac 2014 available online ]
• Krathwohl, David R., Benjamin S. Bloom, and Bertram B. Masia, 1964, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook II: Affective Domain , New York: David McKay.
• Kuhn, Deanna, 1991, The Skills of Argument , New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511571350
• –––, 2019, “Critical Thinking as Discourse”, Human Development, 62 (3): 146–164. doi:10.1159/000500171
• Lipman, Matthew, 1987, “Critical Thinking–What Can It Be?”, Analytic Teaching , 8(1): 5–12. [ Lipman 1987 available online ]
• –––, 2003, Thinking in Education , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition.
• Loftus, Elizabeth F., 2017, “Eavesdropping on Memory”, Annual Review of Psychology , 68: 1–18. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044138
• Makaiau, Amber Strong, 2021, “The Good Thinker’s Tool Kit: How to Engage Critical Thinking and Reasoning in Secondary Education”, in Daniel Fasko, Jr. and Frank Fair (eds.), Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Theory, Development, Instruction, and Assessment , Leiden: Brill, pp. 168–187. doi: 10.1163/9789004444591_011
• Martin, Jane Roland, 1992, “Critical Thinking for a Humane World”, in Stephen P. Norris (ed.), The Generalizability of Critical Thinking , New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 163–180.
• Mayhew, Katherine Camp, and Anna Camp Edwards, 1936, The Dewey School: The Laboratory School of the University of Chicago, 1896–1903 , New York: Appleton-Century. [ Mayhew & Edwards 1936 available online ]
• McPeck, John E., 1981, Critical Thinking and Education , New York: St. Martin’s Press.
• Moore, Brooke Noel and Richard Parker, 2020, Critical Thinking , New York: McGraw-Hill, 13th edition.
• Nickerson, Raymond S., 1998, “Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises”, Review of General Psychology , 2(2): 175–220. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175
• Nieto, Ana Maria, and Jorge Valenzuela, 2012, “A Study of the Internal Structure of Critical Thinking Dispositions”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines , 27(1): 31–38. doi:10.5840/inquiryct20122713
• Norris, Stephen P., 1985, “Controlling for Background Beliefs When Developing Multiple-choice Critical Thinking Tests”, Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice , 7(3): 5–11. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3992.1988.tb00437.x
• Norris, Stephen P. and Robert H. Ennis, 1989, Evaluating Critical Thinking (The Practitioners’ Guide to Teaching Thinking Series), Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications.
• Norris, Stephen P. and Ruth Elizabeth King, 1983, Test on Appraising Observations , St. John’s, NL: Institute for Educational Research and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
• –––, 1984, The Design of a Critical Thinking Test on Appraising Observations , St. John’s, NL: Institute for Educational Research and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland. ERIC Document ED260083.
• –––, 1985, Test on Appraising Observations: Manual , St. John’s, NL: Institute for Educational Research and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
• –––, 1990a, Test on Appraising Observations , St. John’s, NL: Institute for Educational Research and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2nd edition.
• –––, 1990b, Test on Appraising Observations: Manual , St. John’s, NL: Institute for Educational Research and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2nd edition.
• OCR [Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations], 2011, AS/A Level GCE: Critical Thinking – H052, H452 , Cambridge: OCR. Past papers available at https://pastpapers.co/ocr/?dir=A-Level/Critical-Thinking-H052-H452; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities . Available at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/ssciences9to122013.pdf ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Passmore, John Arthur, 1980, The Philosophy of Teaching , London: Duckworth.
• Paul, Richard W., 1981, “Teaching Critical Thinking in the ‘Strong’ Sense: A Focus on Self-Deception, World Views, and a Dialectical Mode of Analysis”, Informal Logic , 4(2): 2–7. [ Paul 1981 available online ]
• –––, 1984, “Critical Thinking: Fundamental to Education for a Free Society”, Educational Leadership , 42(1): 4–14.
• –––, 1985, “McPeck’s Mistakes”, Informal Logic , 7(1): 35–43. [ Paul 1985 available online ]
• Paul, Richard W. and Linda Elder, 2006, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools , Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 4th edition.
• Payette, Patricia, and Edna Ross, 2016, “Making a Campus-Wide Commitment to Critical Thinking: Insights and Promising Practices Utilizing the Paul-Elder Approach at the University of Louisville”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines , 31(1): 98–110. doi:10.5840/inquiryct20163118
• Possin, Kevin, 2008, “A Field Guide to Critical-Thinking Assessment”, Teaching Philosophy , 31(3): 201–228. doi:10.5840/teachphil200831324
• –––, 2013a, “Some Problems with the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA) Test”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines , 28(3): 4–12. doi:10.5840/inquiryct201328313
• –––, 2013b, “A Serious Flaw in the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Test”, Informal Logic , 33(3): 390–405. [ Possin 2013b available online ]
• –––, 2013c, “A Fatal Flaw in the Collegiate Learning Assessment Test”, Assessment Update , 25 (1): 8–12.
• –––, 2014, “Critique of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test: The More You Know, the Lower Your Score”, Informal Logic , 34(4): 393–416. [ Possin 2014 available online ]
• –––, 2020, “CAT Scan: A Critical Review of the Critical-Thinking Assessment Test”, Informal Logic , 40 (3): 489–508. [Available online at https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/6243]
• Rawls, John, 1971, A Theory of Justice , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Rear, David, 2019, “One Size Fits All? The Limitations of Standardised Assessment in Critical Thinking”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education , 44(5): 664–675. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1526255
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1762, Émile , Amsterdam: Jean Néaulme.
• Scheffler, Israel, 1960, The Language of Education , Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
• Scriven, Michael, and Richard W. Paul, 1987, Defining Critical Thinking , Draft statement written for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction. Available at http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766 ; last accessed 2022 07 16.
• Sheffield, Clarence Burton Jr., 2018, “Promoting Critical Thinking in Higher Education: My Experiences as the Inaugural Eugene H. Fram Chair in Applied Critical Thinking at Rochester Institute of Technology”, Topoi , 37(1): 155–163. doi:10.1007/s11245-016-9392-1
• Siegel, Harvey, 1985, “McPeck, Informal Logic and the Nature of Critical Thinking”, in David Nyberg (ed.), Philosophy of Education 1985: Proceedings of the Forty-First Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society , Normal, IL: Philosophy of Education Society, pp. 61–72.
• –––, 1988, Educating Reason: Rationality, Critical Thinking, and Education , New York: Routledge.
• –––, 1999, “What (Good) Are Thinking Dispositions?”, Educational Theory , 49(2): 207–221. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.1999.00207.x
• Simon, Herbert A., 1956, “Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment”, Psychological Review , 63(2): 129–138. doi: 10.1037/h0042769
• Simpson, Elizabeth, 1966–67, “The Classification of Educational Objectives: Psychomotor Domain”, Illinois Teacher of Home Economics , 10(4): 110–144, ERIC document ED0103613. [ Simpson 1966–67 available online ]
• Skolverket, 2018, Curriculum for the Compulsory School, Preschool Class and School-age Educare , Stockholm: Skolverket, revised 2018. Available at https://www.skolverket.se/download/18.31c292d516e7445866a218f/1576654682907/pdf3984.pdf; last accessed 2022 07 15.
• Smith, B. Othanel, 1953, “The Improvement of Critical Thinking”, Progressive Education , 30(5): 129–134.
• Smith, Eugene Randolph, Ralph Winfred Tyler, and the Evaluation Staff, 1942, Appraising and Recording Student Progress , Volume III of Adventure in American Education , New York and London: Harper & Brothers.
• Splitter, Laurance J., 1987, “Educational Reform through Philosophy for Children”, Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children , 7(2): 32–39. doi:10.5840/thinking1987729
• Stanovich Keith E., and Paula J. Stanovich, 2010, “A Framework for Critical Thinking, Rational Thinking, and Intelligence”, in David D. Preiss and Robert J. Sternberg (eds), Innovations in Educational Psychology: Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Human Development , New York: Springer Publishing, pp 195–237.
• Stanovich Keith E., Richard F. West, and Maggie E. Toplak, 2011, “Intelligence and Rationality”, in Robert J. Sternberg and Scott Barry Kaufman (eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 3rd edition, pp. 784–826. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511977244.040
• Tankersley, Karen, 2005, Literacy Strategies for Grades 4–12: Reinforcing the Threads of Reading , Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• Thayer-Bacon, Barbara J., 1992, “Is Modern Critical Thinking Theory Sexist?”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines , 10(1): 3–7. doi:10.5840/inquiryctnews199210123
• –––, 1993, “Caring and Its Relationship to Critical Thinking”, Educational Theory , 43(3): 323–340. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.1993.00323.x
• –––, 1995a, “Constructive Thinking: Personal Voice”, Journal of Thought , 30(1): 55–70.
• –––, 1995b, “Doubting and Believing: Both are Important for Critical Thinking”, Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the Disciplines , 15(2): 59–66. doi:10.5840/inquiryctnews199515226
• –––, 2000, Transforming Critical Thinking: Thinking Constructively , New York: Teachers College Press.
• Toulmin, Stephen Edelston, 1958, The Uses of Argument , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Turri, John, Mark Alfano, and John Greco, 2017, “Virtue Epistemology”, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017 Edition). URL = < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2017/entries/epistemology-virtue/ >
• Vincent-Lancrin, Stéphan, Carlos González-Sancho, Mathias Bouckaert, Federico de Luca, Meritxell Fernández-Barrerra, Gwénaël Jacotin, Joaquin Urgel, and Quentin Vidal, 2019, Fostering Students’ Creativity and Critical Thinking: What It Means in School. Educational Research and Innovation , Paris: OECD Publishing.
• Warren, Karen J. 1988. “Critical Thinking and Feminism”, Informal Logic , 10(1): 31–44. [ Warren 1988 available online ]
• Watson, Goodwin, and Edward M. Glaser, 1980a, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form A , San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
• –––, 1980b, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal: Forms A and B; Manual , San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation,
• –––, 1994, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form B , San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
• Weinstein, Mark, 1990, “Towards a Research Agenda for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking”, Informal Logic , 12(3): 121–143. [ Weinstein 1990 available online ]
• –––, 2013, Logic, Truth and Inquiry , London: College Publications.
• Willingham, Daniel T., 2019, “How to Teach Critical Thinking”, Education: Future Frontiers , 1: 1–17. [Available online at https://prod65.education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/education-for-a-changing-world/media/documents/How-to-teach-critical-thinking-Willingham.pdf.]
• Zagzebski, Linda Trinkaus, 1996, Virtues of the Mind: An Inquiry into the Nature of Virtue and the Ethical Foundations of Knowledge , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139174763

How to cite this entry . Preview the PDF version of this entry at the Friends of the SEP Society . Look up topics and thinkers related to this entry at the Internet Philosophy Ontology Project (InPhO). Enhanced bibliography for this entry at PhilPapers , with links to its database.

• Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking (AILACT)
• Critical Thinking Across the European Higher Education Curricula (CRITHINKEDU)
• Critical Thinking Definition, Instruction, and Assessment: A Rigorous Approach
• Critical Thinking Research (RAIL)
• Foundation for Critical Thinking
• Insight Assessment
• Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21)
• The Critical Thinking Consortium
• The Nature of Critical Thinking: An Outline of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities , by Robert H. Ennis

abilities | bias, implicit | children, philosophy for | civic education | decision-making capacity | Dewey, John | dispositions | education, philosophy of | epistemology: virtue | logic: informal

Copyright © 2022 by David Hitchcock < hitchckd @ mcmaster . ca >

• Accessibility

Support SEP

Mirror sites.

View this site from another server:

• Info about mirror sites

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is copyright © 2024 by The Metaphysics Research Lab , Department of Philosophy, Stanford University

Library of Congress Catalog Data: ISSN 1095-5054

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

How does self-efficacy, learner personality, and learner anxiety affect critical thinking of students.

• 1 School of Foreign Language, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, Hubei, China
• 2 Department of Management Science, Comsats University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan

The goal of critical thinking for students is to help them learn how to think critically and systematically so they can solve problems and make informed decisions. It aids students in developing their capacity for independent thought, allowing them to generate their own conclusions and base those decisions on facts and evidence. Therefore, one of the key goals of this study was to explore the factors affecting critical thinking of English as foreign language (EFL) learners. This article used social cognitive theory (SCT) to investigate how personal and cognitive factors affect EFL learners’ critical thinking. Data from 305 Chinese EFL learners were collected online, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the data. The results showed that metacognitive learning strategies (MLS) were positively related to critical thinking and that self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, and learner anxiety were significantly related to MLS. Moreover, MLS mediated the link between self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety, and critical thinking. The findings further indicated that learner proactivity moderated the association between MLS and critical thinking. By applying social cognitive theory to examine the variables influencing EFL learners’ critical thinking, this study adds uniqueness. It does this by emphasizing the moderating influence of learner proactivity and the mediating function of metacognitive learning strategies. The findings of the research have significant ramifications for educators since they emphasize how vital it is to support metacognitive strategies for learning in order to improve EFL learners’ critical thinking abilities. Additionally, to create an atmosphere that is favorable for the development of critical thinking skills in EFL education, policymakers should think about implementing support systems and interventions that focus on learner anxiety, learner proactivity, and self-efficacy.

Introduction

Learning a foreign language is supposed to provide settings that encourage critical thinking (CT). CT has been defined as an individual’s ability to think and draw appropriate conclusions independently ( Tseng, 2019 ). Furthermore, critical thinking has been stated as an intentional choice to accept, reject, or defer judgment regarding a proposition, as well as the degree of assurance with which language learners accept or reject it ( Ennis, 2015 ). To promote ESL learners’ critical thinking, ESL instructors should research or invent the most relevant teaching methods and strategies. One of the interactive methods that lecturers can use is collaborative learning strategies, in which students are required to actively participate in class discussions on any topic connected to life situations ( Lau, 2015 ).

According to academic research, affective factors are crucial in deciding whether or not students successfully acquire a second language in the contexts of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). Metacognitive learning strategies, which can enhance language acquisition and have an impact on critical thinking, are one of the affective factors that have been mentioned in the research. For ESL learners, critical thinking, and metacognitive learning strategies (MLS) are essential because they enable them to monitor and control their cognitive processes, develop self-awareness of the learning process, and successfully perform a variety of language activities. The main goal of the current study is to close the gap in the literature by looking at other variables that may have an impact on these variables when applied to ESL/EFL learners.

Self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism (SOP), and learner anxiety are some of the key affective factors that influence MLS and CT among ESL learners ( Hayat et al., 2020 ). Although SOP has been stated as an important factor in learning context, its importance in relation with MLS and CT has not received much attention in the study of language acquisition, which is more closely related to psychological complications ( Rhéaume et al., 2000 ). One more factor to be examined in this analysis is self-efficacy, which indicates people’s beliefs in their capacities to perform a task with desired outcomes, and it is an essential component of social cognitive theory (SCT). Given that it affects their beliefs in their capacity to complete different language assignments efficiently and to use suitable strategies to track and control their learning process, self-efficacy is a significant variable that impacts MLS and critical thinking among EFL learner ( Razmi et al., 2020 ). In the field of foreign language education, the above three affective factors have been investigated from different aspects, such as the learner’s self-efficacy in writing, and the association between perfectionism and test anxiety for language learners ( Stoeber et al., 2009 ). However, research examining MLS, critical thinking, and above-mentioned factors from the viewpoint of students is rare.

Moreover, social cognitive theory (SCT) states that individual factors are critical for defining outcome variables ( Bandura, 1986 ). Individual personality has been identified as the key factor and boundary condition while exploring the relationship between different factors ( Sun et al., 2016 ; Khan et al., 2019 ; Mehmood et al., 2022 ). Among the individual personalities, some scholars examined the positive relation between learner proactivity and critical thinking. Past studies have used learner proactivity as moderating variable ( Kong et al., 2021 ). Learner proactivity fosters metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking among EFL learners because it impacts their readiness and capacity to take responsibility and take ownership of their own learning process and achievements. Kong et al. (2021) investigated the impact of learner proactivity on self-efficacy. They discovered that learner proactivity impacted the relationship between self-efficacy and academic burnout in undergraduate nursing. As a result, learner proactivity was used as the boundary condition (as a moderating variable) in this investigation ( Khan et al., 2023 ) of the association between metacognitive learning methods (MLS) and critical thinking. This study adds three contributions to the EFL/ESL literature. Firstly, we empirically investigated our conceptual framework using SCT theory to clarify what factors influence students’ critical thinking advancement in EFL. Secondly, in the context of EFL learning, this study incorporates the universal but understudied constructs of academic self-efficacy (SE), self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety (LA), and critical thinking. Overall, this study’s novelty lies in how it modifies the impact of learner proactivity and highlights the importance of metacognitive strategies while analyzing the factors influencing critical thinking in EFL learners through the lens of social cognitive theory. For educators, legislators, and researchers who are interested in encouraging critical thinking abilities in EFL students, the findings offer insightful information.

The summary of this study is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews previous research on key variables and theory. After that, the conceptual framework and hypotheses are introduced in section 3. The method is explained in section 4. Section 5 then presents the data analysis and testing results for the hypotheses. This paper concludes by discussing the implications for theory and management, along with a few limitations and future research areas.

Literature review

Social cognitive theory.

According to SCT, which has been used in psychology, education, and communication, the components of an individual’s active learning process are strongly influenced by monitoring others in the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside societal factors ( Bandura, 1986 ; Xiongfei et al., 2020 ). Albert Bandura proposed this theory as an extension of his social learning theory. With the incorporation of cognitive approaches to learning, a better balance has emerged between the behaviorist perspective and cognitive science, which is now based on behavioral psychology ( Bandura, 1986 ).

We used SCT as our theoretical basis as both social cognitive theory and critical thinking highlight the significance of cognitive processes in shaping human behavior. Critical thinking requires the use of cognitive processes to evaluate and assess information, whereas social cognitive theory proposes that cognitive procedures are utilized in learning through observation and modeling. Both notions point out the significance of cognitive processes in influencing human behavior, as well as the necessity to nurture these processes to make informed decisions and act effectively.

The key insight of SCT is that three mutually reinforcing factors influence a person’s functioning, namely, personal attributes, behavior, and environment. For example, concerning this study and according to SCT, personal attributes (SE, SOP, LA), behavior (i.e., critical thinking), and a specific environment (i.e., the context of EFL learning at college or university) would act together and consequently influence each other. SCT was used in this study to compare and identify relationships between personal attributes (SE, SOP, LA, and Learner Proactivity), behavioral (critical thinking), and environmental (i.e., the context of EFL learning at college or university) factors. In this analysis, we have proposed MLS as a mechanism between personal attributes (SE, SOP, and LA) and behavior (CT) to elaborate the mediation mechanism between the two. The SCT provides the basic justification of this mechanism as it highlights the role of cognitive processes in determining human behavior and the significance of evolving these processes to think critically and for making optimal decisions.

The conception of self-efficacy, learners’ anxiety, and self-oriented learning perfectionism

Due to the complexity of critical thinking and the problem of describing and quantifying the constructs, researchers have examined its connection to learners’ EFL success and affective factors ( Ghorban Mohammadi et al., 2013 ). Earlier investigations have concentrated on the association between academic self-efficacy, learner anxiety, self-oriented learning perfectionism, and critical thinking.

Self-efficacy has been characterized as people’s views in their capacities to complete a task with desired outcomes ( Khan et al., 2020 ; Wang, 2021 ), and it is an essential component of social cognitive theory (SCT). Self-efficacy beliefs significantly impact many facets of modern life, including decision-making, cognitive processes, and problem-solving techniques ( Dweck and Leggett, 1988 ). Academic self-efficacy describes students’ beliefs and opinions about their academic abilities and their confidence in their skills to accomplish academic duties ( Schunk and Ertmer, 2000 ). Stronger self-efficacy beliefs have been associated with positive learning behaviors, improved motivation, and, ultimately, higher academic accomplishment in studies ( Kong et al., 2021 ; Teng and Yang, 2023 ). A recent study on Chinese university students explored the effects of different aspects of self-efficacy beliefs on academic writing performance by applying SCT theory ( Teng and Wang, 2023 ). In this study, we expected that the self-efficacy of EFL learners would affect academic achievement positively and indirectly enhance critical thinking through learning a foreign language. Based on SCT, we unfold the mechanism through which the self-efficacy of EFL learners affects critical thinking indirectly through metacognitive learning strategies in this study.

Besides self-efficacy, many studies demonstrate that anxiety has a detrimental impact on educational performance ( Ghorban Mohammadi et al., 2013 ; Abbas et al., 2019a , b ). To understand the connection between anxiety and educational performance in language learning, it is critical to differentiate between the role of anxiety in language learning (learner anxiety) and its part in language performance. According to MacIntyre and Gardner (1989) , Learner anxiety is a sensation of stress and worries that is distinctively associated with second language situations, for example speaking, listening, and learning (p. 284). Researchers have long considered learner anxiety a specific type of anxiety that occurs when studying a second or foreign language ( MacIntyre and Gardner, 1989 ; Azhar et al., 2018 ).

In addition, perfectionism (i.e., striving for total completion of tasks) is one of the most important personality variables in educational psychology in terms of being a complex multidimensional trait ( Frost et al., 1990 ). Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized as an individual having excessively high-performance standards and a high level of critical self-evaluation. According to Hewitt et al. ( Filett et al., 1991 ), there are two types of perfectionism: SOP, socially imposed perfectionism, and other-oriented perfectionism. In this study, the concept of self-oriented learning perfectionism was used as it emphasizes the significance of trying for perfection in terms of one’s ideals, and it is associated with having intrinsic motivation for learning. Despite the importance of individual perfectionism in enhancing critical thinking, no previous studies have measured self-oriented learning perfectionism about critical thinking. This study aimed to address this gap. Building on SCT, in this study we unfold the mechanism through which self-oriented learning perfectionism of EFL learners affects critical thinking indirectly through metacognitive learning strategies. We expect a positive role of MLS between SOP and CT.

The mediating role of metacognitive learning strategies between affective factors and critical thinking

Since a critical thinker should be able to consider the justifications for her belief systems and take precautions to guarantee that they are sound, critical thinking should require a certain amount of metacognition ( Lau, 2015 ). The role of MLS in mediating the association between self-efficacy and critical thinking refers to how MLS can alter the connection between a person’s belief in their ability to succeed (self-efficacy) and their capacity to think critically. Studies have shown that MLS has a moderating effect on students’ self-efficacy, positive emotions, and their academic performance ( Hayat et al., 2020 ). According to SCT metacognition governs people’s cognitive processes and overall learning patterns. MLS are learning strategies in which learners actively govern their own cognitive processes. In addition to the relation between metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking, earlier examination suggests that self-efficacy performs an important role in decision-making, cognitive processes, and problem-solving techniques ( Dweck and Leggett, 1988 ; Zhou et al., 2023 ). A recent study by Teng and Yue (2022) examined Chinese university students’ metacognition, critical thinking skills, and academic writing. They stated the importance of CT in academic learning.

SOP is a capacity to set irrationally high expectations for oneself and engage in excessive self-criticism ( Razmi et al., 2020 ). MLS can assist students with learning perfectionism by allowing them to reflect on their own thinking and increase their control over their own learning. This understanding of the learning process improves one’s individual capacity for self-control while controlling one’s own learning desire.

Finally, MLS can aid anxious learners by allowing them to reflect on their own thoughts and increase their authority over their own learning ( soliemanifar et al., 2022 ). Additionally, MLS can help students become more adept at critical thinking by helping them focus more deliberately, reflect on what they already know versus what needs to be learned, identify flaws in their thinking, and create learning habits. The study, therefore, considers metacognitive learning methods as a mediating factor between academic self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, LA, and critical thinking, drawing on SCT. We expect the extended model of SCT through the mediation mechanism of metacognitive learning strategies would better explain the relationship between personal attributes (SE, LA, and SOP) and behavior (CT).

The moderating role of LP between MLS and critical thinking

Besides the affective factors, another crucial personality factor that can influence college students’ critical thinking is the learner’s proactive personality (or learner proactivity in the context of this study). Bateman and Crant (1993) defined proactivity refer to a dispositional inclination to influence one’s surroundings via personal activities. Previous research has found that proactivity strongly affects students’ MLS, learning-related emotions, and educational achievement ( Hayat et al., 2020 ). Personality characteristics can affect language learning in exciting, difficult, and possibly unanticipated ways. Despite numerous studies on personality characteristics and proficiency in second language acquisition conducted over many years, a complete picture of the relationship between personality qualities and proficiency in second language acquisition is still lacking. As a result, learner initiative may be reflected in learning preferences, which then motivate learning strategies and provide a particular learning outcome ( Heinström, 2012 ). For example, deep learning has been linked to personality qualities including openness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. Deep learning shows intrinsic drive and frequently yields a positive study outcome ( Heinström, 2012 ). To help understand how student critical thinking develops, using the SCT lens, learner proactivity was examined as a moderating component in this study as it is a significant variable for forecasting EFL learning ( Kong et al., 2021 ). Thus, corroborating the moderating role of learner proactivity in the relationship between metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking is necessary to comprehend the EFL learning process better.

The present study

Considering the important role of critical thinking in English language learning as mediated by metacognitive learning strategies, we examined the mediating role of metacognitive learning strategies on academic self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, and learner anxiety on the development of critical thinking among EFL learners. Moreover, we proposed learner proactivity as a boundary condition between metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking relationships, as shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 1 . Study model.

The research questions for this study were as follows:

• Does MLS mediate the link between self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety, and critical thinking in the context of EFL learning?

• Is there any association between metacognitive learning strategies and the development of critical thinking in EFL learning?

• Does learner proactivity moderate the association between metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking in EFL learning?

Concerning these three study questions, the subsequent hypotheses were articulated:

H1 : Academic self-efficacy has a positive relation with MLS.

H2 : Self-oriented learning perfectionism has a positive relation with MLS.

H3 : Learner anxiety has a negative relation with MLS.

H4 : MLS has a positive relation with critical thinking.

H5 : MLS mediates the relationship between (H5a) academic SE, (H5b) SOP, and (H5c) learner anxiety and critical thinking.

H6 : Learner proactivity moderates the connection between MLS and critical thinking in such a way that this association will be stronger for students with a high level of proactivity than for those with low proactivity.

Research methodology

Participants and procedure.

The participants in this study were Chinese adolescents who have been learning English as a second language since kindergarten. A total of 305 Chinese students were recruited through the web-based survey tool Wen Juan Xing ( https://www.wjx.cn/ ). With the use of the online survey tool Wen Juan Xing, researchers can design, administer, gather, and evaluate data for their studies. The researchers were able to contact a greater number of subjects effectively and conveniently by using Wen Juan Xing. Because the survey tool was web-based, participants could complete it whenever it was convenient for them and there was no need for data collecting to take place in person. The sample was almost equally distributed between girls (155) and boys (150). The mean age of the participants was 18.5 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.70), and all were studying in different colleges and universities in Central China. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant authorities before conducting the online survey. The respondents were protected during the research process by having their details anonymized. They were aware that their involvement in the survey was entirely voluntary and that they could opt out at any time. To ensure accuracy, the questionnaires were translated into Chinese by an English language teacher and then back into English by a second English language teacher.

We utilized the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling sufficiency to determine the sample size’s suitability for model validation ( Hair et al., 2010 ; Bano et al., 2019 ; Khan, 2021a ). This measurement produced a value for our sample size of 0.92. According to previous research a value between 0.80 and 1.0 denotes that the sample size is sufficient for testing the model. We also utilized the G*Power analysis ( Faul et al., 2007 ), which assessed sample adequacy at a value of 0.15 and a threshold for significance of 0.05, to further establish sample size sufficiency. According to the G* Power test, a sample size of 305 participants was sufficient to examine the impact of independent factors on variables (critical t = 1.99, p < 0 .05). These results lead us to the conclusion that the sample of 305 participants.

Instruments

Unless otherwise specified, a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 5 (“strongly agree”), was used to measure the learners’ responses. This study used five-point Likert scale as these are easy to understand and use for both survey administrators and respondents. Moreover, five-point Likert scales provide a good balance between reliability and validity and are widely used in research ( Khan and Ali, 2018 ; Pitafi et al., 2020a , b ; Xiongfei et al., 2020 ), which makes it easier to compare results across different studies ( Cao et al., 2018 ; Raza et al., 2020 ; Khan and Khan, 2021 ; Ali and Khan, 2023 ).

Academic SE was measured using a four-item scale taken from the study of ( Artino et al., 2010 ). A sample item included was: “Even in the face of difficulties, I am certain I can learn the material presented in the English learning course.” The instrument showed satisfactory internal reliability (α = 0.86). SOP was measured using the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) standard subscale ( Slaney et al., 2001 ). A sample item of this seven-item scale included: “I have a strong need to strive for excellence.” This scale showed good internal reliability (α = 0.91). We used a four-item English LA scale developed by Hong et al. (2014) to measure LA concerning English language learning. One of the sample items included: “I worry that my proficiency in English will affect my English learning.” The internal reliability (α = 0.85) of this scale was acceptable.

A scale to measure MLS was taken from a previous study ( Pintrich and De Groot, 1990 ) involving 13 Likert-type items on a 5-point scale (with “1” equivalent to “not at all true of me” and “5” equivalent to “very true of me”). One example of a statement from the scale included: “When I study English, I put important ideas into my own words.” The scale showed acceptable internal reliability (α = 0.95). Critical thinking was measured using a 10-item scale developed by Erawan (2010) . The sample items from the ten-item scale included: “have related thinking and reasonable thinking.” This scale proved to have satisfactory internal reliability (α = 0.94). Learner proactivity was measured using a four-item scale created by Ashford and Black (1996) . One example of the sample items included: “I am always looking for better ways to do things.” The internal reliability (α = 0.87) for this scale was adequate.

Data analysis

By analyzing the skewness (Sk) and kurtosis (Ku) values, we first verified that our data had a normal distribution. As in previous research ( Khan et al., 2021 ; Ju and Wang, 2023 ), the values were below the suggested cut-offs (|Sk| < 2 and |Ku| < 7), indicating that the normalcy assumptions were met by our data. Table 1 shows the correlations among the main variables of this study. The patterns of the relationships among the variables followed the hypothesized direction. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the latent constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to address the study hypotheses. SEM is a statistical technique for examining complex associations between variables. While SEM is frequently employed in social science research ( Xiongfei et al., 2019 ; Khan, 2021b ; Li and Khan, 2022 ), it is also applicable in other domains, including psychology, business, and education ( Mehmood et al., 2020 ; Pitafi et al., 2020a , b ; Ali et al., 2021 ). Research questions with several variables and intricate interactions can benefit from the application of SEM. AMOS (Version 24.0) software was used to estimate all CFA and SEM results using full information maximum likelihood estimation. The CFA results showed good model fit (normed fit index = 0.905; comparative fit index = 0.914; root mean square error of approximation = 0.059), with these values being higher than the threshold. Individual item reliability, internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were used to confirm the reflective constructs.

Table 1 . Descriptive statistics, square roots of average variance extracted (AVE), and correlation matrix.

Table 2 shows that the minimum factor loading was 0.667 and that the maximum value was 0.880, both of which were greater than the standard lower limit of 0.50 ( Hair et al., 2010 ), indicating that there were no issues with individual item reliability in the analysis. If the value of a factor loading is greater than 0.40 but less than 0.50, an item can be retained if it does not affect the composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE). Internal consistency reliability must be evaluated to determine the CR of each variable. According to Hair et al. (2010) , the CR construct should be higher than 0.60. As shown in Table 2 , all CR values were greater than the threshold, confirming the reliability of all constructs. Convergent validity was assessed using AVE values, as shown in Table 2 , and the AVE values exceeded the acceptable range of 0.50 ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ), confirming the convergent validity benchmark.

Table 2 . Items loadings, composite reliability, and average variance extracted of all variables.

We also found that the AVE of each variable was larger than the sum of its correlations with the other constructs ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ), indicating sufficient discriminant validity. This study also investigated the variance influence factors (VIF), which were found to be below the recommended value of 10 (highest VIF = 1.98), indicating that there was no serious problem with multicollinearity ( Hair et al., 2010 ). Reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity measurements were sufficient. Moreover, we applied Harman’s single-factor technique to assess CMB in the data. The results showed that the first factor had only 36.5% of the total variance, which was lower than the threshold of 50, confirming that there was no issue with CMB ( Bahadur et al., 2020 ; Hui and Khan, 2022 ; Khan, 2022 ).

Results of hypotheses testing

Hypothesis 1 stated that SE is positively related to MLS. As depicted in Figure 2 showed that academic SE was positively related to MLS (β = 0.41, p < 0.001), supporting hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 stated that SOP has a direct effect on MLS. The results showed that SOP was positively related to MLS (β = 0.18, p < 0.01), thus supporting hypothesis 2. Hypothesis 3 stated that LA has a direct effect on MLS. As shown in Figure 2 supported hypothesis 3 (β = −0.20, p < 0.01), as LA was negatively related to MLS, the variance explained by these factors into MLS was R 2 = 0.42. Hypothesis 4 stated that MLS has a positive effect on CT, which the results showed to be the case (β = 0.75, p < 0.001), thus supporting hypothesis 4; furthermore, the overall variance explained in CT was R 2 = 0.59. Moreover, age and gender were added as control variables in the studied model; however, their role was insignificant.

Figure 2 . Result of path analysis; * p < 0.05, ** < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Following the recommendations of ( Preacher et al., 2007 ), the bootstrapping method was applied concerning indirect effects to assess the mediation hypothesis. The findings as depicted in Table 3 showed that the following effects: SE → MLS → CT (β = 0.238, p < 0.001), SOP → MLS → CT (β = 0.237, p < 0.001), and LA → MLS → CT (β = −0.214, p < 0.001) were all significant. The bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals did not show any intervals straddling a zero, thus further validating the research results. Therefore, hypotheses 5a, 5b, and 5c were also supported.

Table 3 . Bootstrap test results for the mediating relationship.

Finally, the moderating hypothesis was tested in relation to hypothesis 6, which stated that LP moderates the effect of MLS on CT. As depicted in Figure 2 , the results of the moderating analysis showed an interaction effect of LP and MLS on CT (β = 0.140, p < 0.05), supporting hypothesis 6. We also graphically presented these effects in Figure 3 . The results showed that the direct effects of MLS on CT were stronger at higher levels (β = 0.810, p < 0.001) of LP than at lower levels (β = 0.510, p < 0.001).

Figure 3 . Interaction graph of metacognitive learning strategies (MLS) and learner proactivity in relation to critical thinking.

Affective factors have been put forth as important contributing factors to EFL learning. Earlier research has examined the relationship between the two ( Artino et al., 2010 ). Others also have argued for its role in thinking ( Ghorban Mohammadi et al., 2013 ). The present research intended to assess the impacts of self-efficacy, SOP, and learner anxiety on critical thinking and the mediating role of MLS in the link between self-efficacy, SOP, learner anxiety, and critical thinking. We also assessed the moderating effects of learner proactivity on the positive association between MLS and critical thinking.

The potential effects of SE, SOP, and LA on critical thinking

It has been suggested that self-efficacy might influence EFL students’ critical thinking in some way. According to the literature review, many studies have been conducted on CT, self-efficacy, and learning techniques, as well as their correlations with numerous variables. However, very little information was discovered, particularly among Chinese EFL learners, regarding the issue of whether the three factors are interrelated or not and how the association between them can be considered. The findings of this research showed that Chinese EFL learners’ CT skills are significantly influenced by their sense of self-efficacy ( Schunk and Ertmer, 2000 ).

These findings are consistent with data taken from prior investigations. For example, Fahim and Nasrollahi-Mouziraji (2013) discovered a significant positive association between leaners’ academic self-efficacy and their CT inclinations. Past studies have shown that perfectionism is a significant personality trait that influences the language performance of Chinese college students: the more perfectionism tendencies, the lower the amount of learning language skills, especially in listening and speaking. The evidence reported in this study fills the gap in the correlation between self-oriented perfectionism and critical thinking in EFL teaching, explaining at least that the interaction of metacognitive instruction and perfectionism status had a direct relation on the development of EFL learners’ critical thinking, with perfectionists being more affected by metacognitive instruction than non-perfectionists.

Based on prior findings, it may be stated that if we wish to improve the language abilities of EFL learners or reduce their anxiety, we must enhance their critical thinking. But the current finding holds that LA was negatively related to metacognitive learning strategies supports the proposition that when learning a foreign language, students with high-level anxiety may feel lost and cannot use effective learning strategies to monitor the learning process and adjust themselves, which will lead to poor performance in critical thinking and language acquisition.

The mediation of MLS between SE, SOP, LA, and critical thinking

Another finding worth highlighting is that Chinese EFL students who demonstrate self-efficacy and self-oriented perfectionist tendencies employ more metacognitive learning approaches than students who do not, and as a result, experience less anxiety when learning a new language. At this point, the critical thinking of perfectionist learners who set high expectations for themselves to promote English learning can be vastly enhanced when they have a solid and tenacious attitude toward sticking to the norms. Following prior studies, metacognitive learning strategies are related positively to critical thinking for language learning ( Ku and Ho, 2010 ), the present investigation expands on prior research that found MLS to be a mediator between self-oriented perfectionism, self-efficacy, and critical thinking.

The moderating role of learner proactivity between MLS and critical thinking

Finally, our findings related to our moderation hypothesis showed that learner proactivity enhanced the positive relationship between metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking. Although no previous study has tested the moderating role of learner proactivity in the context of metacognitive learning strategies and critical thinking, this finding is similar to findings in other fields where researchers have assessed the moderating effects of individuals’ personalities in different contexts ( Sun et al., 2016 ; Ali et al., 2019 ). It is important to note that motivated people are worried about the caliber of their work, both professionally as well as personally ( Lebni et al., 2020 ; Moin et al., 2021 ; Meng et al., 2023 ), and it is essential to evaluate the effect this has on the growth of critical thinking setting and in EFL class in general.

Implications

By applying SCT, this study clarified how affective factors associated with cognitive factors can influence EFL learners’ critical thinking. The outcome of this research is in accordance with prior research assessment of cognitive factors in the context of EFL learners. More precisely, our study’s findings showed that self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and EFL learners’ critical thinking, accounting for the majority of the variance in MLS. This finding is consistent with SCT and shows that self-efficacy and metacognitive learning methods may be the main origins of EFL learners’ critical thinking. Learners with high levels of self-efficacy have been reported to use effective metacognitive learning strategies ( Hayat et al., 2020 ) and such strategies enable EFL learners to think critically about making optimal present and future decisions ( Halpern, 2014 ).

Our findings showed that self-oriented perfectionists were more likely to use several MLS that are typically related to constructive educational outcomes and demonstrate determined motivation to attain self-imposed high standards to think critically for academic success ( Mills and Blankstein, 2000 ). Considering the direct negative relationship between learner anxiety and MLS and the related indirect effects on EFL learners’ critical thinking, teachers need to deal appropriately with students’ learner anxiety while they are working on a learning task. Overall, incorporating creative learning with minimal teacher intervention may allow learners to engage in the learning process more effectively, experience the learning benefits of the activity more comprehensively, and reduce their anxiety about the learning task more successfully ( Abbas et al., 2019a , b ; Aqeel et al., 2022a , b ; Moin and Khan, 2023 ).

Finally, our results showed that LP enhanced the positive relationship between MLS and EFL learners’ critical thinking. Personality is the key element concerning learning new things and thinking critically ( Mills and Blankstein, 2000 ). Our results suggest that parents and universities should provide psychological interventions to foster certain types of personality development among students to encourage critical thinking. Students’ interpersonal skills are also influenced by critical thinking.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. First, only a self-reported survey was used to collect the data. Different techniques, including classroom interviews and observations, could be used in future studies to strengthen the study’s findings. Second, this study did not comprise a large sample size. The data were obtained from only one country; therefore, further studies involving larger sample sizes and data obtained from other countries would help clarify and confirm the association between the variables of interest in this study. Third, this study only examined the mediating role of metacognitive learning strategies on affective factors and critical thinking. Other potential explanatory variables could be investigated and identified in future studies (e.g., interactive classroom activities in critical thinking development). Fourth, this study did not measure causality but only correlational relationships. Finally, teacher-parent support has been investigated in student learning and stress settings ( Moin et al., 2022 ; Wijaya et al., 2022 ; Aqeel et al., 2022a , b ), therefore, this study suggested that future researcher may look at the possible influences of teacher-parent support on critical thinking.

To sum up, this research study represents a first step toward a more thorough comprehension of critical thinking in the context of EFL. It draws attention to the necessity of learner proactivity, the influence of personal characteristics, and the importance of metacognitive strategies for learning. By taking care of these issues, educators and policymakers may help EFL students develop into self-sufficient thinkers who are capable of navigating the challenges of the contemporary world.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Management committee of School of foreign language, Hubei Engineering University. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardians/next of kin.

Author contributions

JF: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Validation, Writing – original draft. YD: Investigation, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft. KN: Methodology, Project administration, Validation, Writing – original draft. GZ: Methodology, Software, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The research on teaching reform of critical thinking English classroom with ChatGPT in local universities. Project Number: 2023007. Fund support Hubei Engineering University.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1289594/full#supplementary-material

Abbas, J., Aman, J., Nurunnabi, M., and Bano, S. (2019a). The impact of social media on learning behavior for sustainable education: evidence of students from selected universities in Pakistan. Sustainability 11:1683. doi: 10.3390/SU11061683

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Abbas, J., Aqeel, M., Abbas, J., Shaher, B., Jaffar, A., Sundas, J., et al. (2019b). The moderating role of social support for marital adjustment, depression, anxiety, and stress: evidence from Pakistani working and nonworking women. J. Affect. Disord. 244, 231–238. doi: 10.1016/J.JAD.2018.07.071

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ali, A., and Khan, A. N. (2023). Task stressors, team reflexivity, and proactive customer service performance. Serv. Ind. J. , 1–29. doi: 10.1080/02642069.2023.2197221

Ali, M., Khan, A. N., Khan, M. M., Butt, A. S., and Shah, S. H. H. (2021). Mindfulness and study engagement: mediating role of psychological capital and intrinsic motivation. J Professional Capital and Commun 7, 144–158. doi: 10.1108/JPCC-02-2021-0013/FULL/XML

Ali, A., Wang, H., and Khan, A. N. (2019). Mechanism to enhance team creative performance through social media: A transactive memory system approach. Comput. Hum. Behav. 91, 115–126. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.033

Aqeel, M., Abbas, J., Shuja, K. H., Rehna, T., Ziapour, A., Yousaf, I., et al. (2022a). The influence of illness perception, anxiety and depression disorders on students mental health during COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan: A web-based cross-sectional survey. Intern J Hum Rights in Healthcare 15, 17–30. doi: 10.1108/IJHRH-10-2020-0095

Aqeel, M., Rehna, T., Shuja, K. H., and Abbas, J. (2022b). Comparison of students’ mental wellbeing, anxiety, depression, and quality of life during COVID-19’s full and partial (smart) lockdowns: A follow-up study at a 5-month interval. Front. Psych. 13:835585. doi: 10.3389/FPSYT.2022.835585

Artino, A. R., La Rochelle, J. S., and Durning, S. J. (2010). Second-year medical students’ motivational beliefs, emotions, and achievement. Med. Educ. 44, 1203–1212. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03712.x

Ashford, S. J., and Black, J. S. (1996). Proactivity during organizational entry: the role of desire for control. J. Appl. Psychol. 81, 199–214. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.81.2.199

Azhar, A., Abbas, J., Wenhong, Z., Akhtar, T., and Aqeel, M. (2018). Linking infidelity stress, anxiety and depression: evidence from Pakistan married couples and divorced individuals. Intern J Hum Rights in Healthcare 11, 214–228. doi: 10.1108/IJHRH-11-2017-0069/FULL/XML

Bahadur, W., Khan, A. N., Ali, A., and Usman, M. (2020). Investigating the effect of employee empathy on service loyalty: the mediating role of trust in and satisfaction with a service employee. J Relationship Marketing 19, 229–252. doi: 10.1080/15332667.2019.1688598

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive view . Michigan State: Prentice-Hall.

Google Scholar

Bano, S., Cisheng, W., Khan, A., and Khan, N. A. (2019). WhatsApp use and student’s psychological well-being: role of social capital and social integration. Child Youth Serv. Rev. 103, 200–208. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.06.002

Bateman, T. S., and Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. J. Organiz. Behav. 14, 103–118. doi: 10.1002/job.4030140202

Cao, X., Khan, A. N., Zaigham, G. H., and Khan, N. A. (2018). The stimulators of social media fatigue among students: role of moral disengagement. J. Educ. Comput. Res. 0, 1–25. doi: 10.1177/0735633118781907

Dweck, C. S., and Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychol. Rev. 95, 256–273. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256

Ennis, R. H. (2015). Critical thinking: A streamlined conception . In: eds. M. Davies and R. Barnett The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. doi: 10.1057/9781137378057_2

Erawan, P. (2010). Developing life skills scale for high school students through mixed methods research. Eur. J. Sci. Res. 47, 169–186.

Fahim, M., and Nasrollahi-Mouziraji, A. (2013). The relationship between Iranian EFL students’ self-efficacy beliefs and critical thinking ability. Theory Practice Lang Stud 3:538. doi: 10.4304/tpls.3.3.538-543

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., and Buchner, A. (2007). G*power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav. Res. Methods 39, 175–191. doi: 10.3758/BF03193146/METRICS

Filett, G. L., Hewit, P. L., Blankstein, K. R., and MOSher, S. W. (1991). Perfectionism, self-actualization, and personal adjustment. J Soci Behav Personality 5, 147–160.

Fornell, C., and Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: algebra and statistics. J. Mark. Res. 18, 382–388. doi: 10.1177/002224378101800313

Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., and Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research 1990 14, 449–468. doi: 10.1007/BF01172967

Ghorban Mohammadi, E., Biria, R., Koosha, M., and Shahsavari, A. (2013). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and language learning strategies among university students. Theory and Prac. Lang. Studi. 3, 637–646.

Hair, J., Black, W., and Babin, B. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th). NY: Pearson.

Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking 5th ed. Psychology Press.

Hayat, A. A., Shateri, K., Amini, M., and Shokrpour, N. (2020). Relationships between academic self-efficacy, learning-related emotions, and metacognitive learning strategies with academic performance in medical students: A structural equation model. BMC Med. Educ. 20, 1–11. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-01995-9

Heinström, J. (2012). Personality effects on learning. Encyclopedia of the Sci Learning , 2588–2591. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_735

Hong, J. C., Hwang, M. Y., Tai, K. H., and Chen, Y. L. (2014). Using calibration to enhance students’ self-confidence in English vocabulary learning relevant to their judgment of over-confidence and predicted by smartphone self-efficacy and English learning anxiety. Compu. Edu. 72, 313–322. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2013.11.011

Hui, Z., and Khan, A. N. (2022). Beyond pro-environmental consumerism: role of social exclusion and green self-identity in green product consumption intentions. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29, 76339–76351. doi: 10.1007/S11356-022-21082-4

Ju, X., and Wang, G. (2023). How do network ties affect firm performance growth and its variability? The mediating roles of exploratory and exploitative knowledge utilization. J. Bus. Res. 160:113781. doi: 10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2023.113781

Khan, A. N. (2021a). A diary study of psychological effects of misinformation and COVID-19 threat on work engagement of working from home employees. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. 171:120968. doi: 10.1016/J.TECHFORE.2021.120968

Khan, A. N. (2021b). Misinformation and work - related outcomes of healthcare community: sequential mediation role of COVID - 19 threat and psychological distress. J Community Psychol 50, 944–964. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22693

Khan, A. N. (2022). Is green leadership associated with employees’ green behavior? Role of green human resource management. J. Environ. Plan. Manag. 66, 1962–1982. doi: 10.1080/09640568.2022.2049595

Khan, A. N., and Ali, A. (2018). Factors affecting Retailer’s Adopti on of Mobile payment systems: A SEM-neural network modeling approach. Wirel. Pers. Commun. 103, 2529–2551. doi: 10.1007/s11277-018-5945-5

Khan, A. N., and Khan, N. A. (2021). The nexuses between transformational leadership and employee green organisational citizenship behaviour: role of environmental attitude and green dedication. Business Strategy Environ , Early View , 1–12. doi: 10.1002/bse.2926

Khan, A. N., Khan, N. A., and Bodla, A. A. (2021). The after-shock effects of high-performers turnover in hotel industry: a multi-level study. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 33, 3277–3295. doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-12-2020-1439

Khan, N. A., Khan, A. N., Moin, M. F., and Pitafi, A. H. (2020). A trail of chaos: how psychopathic leadership influence employee satisfaction and turnover intention via self-efficacy in tourism enterprises. J. Leis. Res. 52, 347–369. doi: 10.1080/00222216.2020.1785359

Khan, A. N., Mehmood, K., Le, J., and Khan, N. A. (2023). Visionary leadership and leaders’ burnout: a weekly diary analysis. Asia Pac. J. Manag. 1–30. doi: 10.1007/S10490-023-09889-2/METRICS

Khan, A. N., Xiongfei, C., and Pitafi, A. H. (2019). Personality traits as predictor of M-payment systems: A SEM-neural networks approach. J Organizational and End User Computing 31, 89–110. doi: 10.4018/JOEUC.2019100105

Kong, L. N., Yang, L., Pan, Y. N., and Chen, S. Z. (2021). Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students in China. J. Prof. Nurs. 37, 690–695. doi: 10.1016/J.PROFNURS.2021.04.003

Ku, K. Y. L., and Ho, I. T. (2010). Metacognitive strategies that enhance critical thinking. Meta. Lea. 5, 251–267. doi: 10.1007/s11409-010-9060-6

Lau, J. Y. F. (2015). “Metacognitive education: going beyond critical thinking” in The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in higher education eds. M. Davies and R. Barnett (New York: Palgrave Macmillan US)

Lebni, J. Y., Toghroli, R., Abbas, J., NeJhaddadgar, N., Salahshoor, M. R., Mansourian, M., et al. (2020). A study of internet addiction and its effects on mental health: A study based on Iranian university students. J Educ Health Promotion 9:205. doi: 10.4103/JEHP.JEHP_148_20

Li, W., and Khan, A. N. (2022). Investigating the impacts of information overload on psychological well-being of healthcare professionals: role of COVID-19 stressor Inquiry . A J Med Care Organization, Provision and Financing 59:004695802211096. doi: 10.1177/00469580221109677

MacIntyre, P. D., and Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and second language learning: toward a theoretical clarification. Lang. Learn. 39, 251–275. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1989.tb00423.x

Mehmood, K., Jabeen, F., Iftikhar, Y., Yan, M., Khan, A. N., AlNahyan, M. T., et al. (2022). Elucidating the effects of organisational practices on innovative work behavior in UAE public sector organisations: the mediating role of employees’ wellbeing. Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being 14, 715–733. doi: 10.1111/APHW.12343

Mehmood, K., Li, Y., Jabeen, F., Khan, A. N., Chen, S., and Khalid, G. K. (2020). Influence of female managers’ emotional display on frontline employees’ job satisfaction: a cross-level investigation in an emerging economy. Int. J. Bank Mark. 38, 1491–1509. doi: 10.1108/IJBM-03-2020-0152

Meng, Q., Yan, Z., Abbas, J., Shankar, A., and Subramanian, M. (2023). Human–computer interaction and digital literacy promote educational learning in pre-school children: mediating role of psychological resilience for kids’ mental well-being and school readiness. Intern J Human–Computer Interaction . doi: 10.1080/10447318.2023.2248432

Mills, J. S., and Blankstein, K. R. (2000). Perfectionism, intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation, and motivated strategies for learning: a multidimensional analysis of university students. Personal. Individ. Differ. 29, 1191–1204. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00003-9

Moin, M. F., and Khan, A. N. (2023). The determinants of abusive supervision. Intern J Conflict Manag. doi: 10.1108/IJCMA-03-2023-0040/FULL/XML

Moin, M. F., Spagnoli, P., Khan, A. N., and Hameed, Z. (2022). Challenge-hindrance stressors and service employees job outcomes. Curr. Psychol. 42, 24623–24634. doi: 10.1007/S12144-022-03531-Y/METRICS

Moin, M. F., Wei, F., Khan, A. N., Ali, A., and Chang, S. C. (2021). Abusive supervision and job outcomes: a moderated mediation model. J. Organ. Chang. Manag. 35, 430–440. doi: 10.1108/JOCM-05-2020-0132

Pintrich, P. R., and De Groot, E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom. J. Educ. Psychol. 82, 33–40. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.82.1.33

Pitafi, A. H., Kanwal, S., and Khan, A. N. (2020a). Effects of perceived ease of use on SNSs-addiction through psychological dependence, habit: the moderating role of perceived usefulness. International Journal of Business Information Systems 33, 383–407. doi: 10.1504/IJBIS.2020.105831

Pitafi, A. H., Khan, A. N., Khan, N. A., and Ren, M. (2020b). Using enterprise social media to investigate the effect of workplace conflict on employee creativity. Telematics Inform. 55:101451. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2020.101451

Preacher, K., Rucker, D., and Hayes, A. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivar. Behav. Res. 42, 185–227. doi: 10.1080/00273170701341316

Raza, M. Y., Khan, A. N., Khan, N. A., Ali, A., and Bano, S. (2020). Dark side of social media and academic performance of public sector schools students: role of parental school support. J. Public Aff. 20, 1–11. doi: 10.1002/pa.2058

Razmi, M. H., Jabbari, A. A., and Fazilatfar, A. M. (2020). Perfectionism, self-efficacy components, and metacognitive listening strategy use: A multicategorical multiple mediation analysis. J. Psycholinguist. Res. 49, 1047–1065. doi: 10.1007/S10936-020-09733-4/METRICS

Rhéaume, J., Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R., Bouchard, C., Gallant, L., Talbot, F., et al. (2000). Functional and dysfunctional perfectionists: are they different on compulsive-like behaviors? Behav. Res. Ther. 38, 119–128. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00203-4

Schunk, D. H., and Ertmer, P. A. (2000). “Self-regulation and academic learning: self-efficacy enhancing interventions” in Handbook of self-regulation . eds. M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, and M. Zeidner Academic Press. 631–649.

Slaney, R. B., Rice, K. G., Mobley, M., Trippi, J., and Ashby, J. S. (2001). The revised almost perfect scale. Meas. Eval. Couns. Dev. 34, 130–145. doi: 10.1080/07481756.2002.12069030

Soliemanifar, O., Nikoubakht, A., and Shaabani, F. (2022). The relationship between trait mindfulness and critical thinking: the mediating effect of metacognitive awareness. Psychol. Stud. 67, 139–149. doi: 10.1007/s12646-021-00633-8

Stoeber, J., Feast, A. R., and Hayward, J. A. (2009). Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism: Differential relationships with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and test anxiety. Per Indivi. Diff. 47, 423–428. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.04.014

Sun, S., Chen, H., and Song, Z. (2016). Cross-level moderating effects of conscientiousness on within-person relationships of self-efficacy to effort allocation. Hum. Perform. 29, 447–459. doi: 10.1080/08959285.2016.1245733

Teng, M. F., and Wang, C. (2023). Assessing academic writing self-efficacy belief and writing performance in a foreign language context. Foreign Lang. Ann. 56, 144–169. doi: 10.1111/FLAN.12638

Teng, M. F., and Yang, Z. (2023). Metacognition, motivation, self-efficacy belief, and English learning achievement in online learning: longitudinal mediation modeling approach. Innov. Lang. Learn. Teach. 17, 778–794. doi: 10.1080/17501229.2022.2144327

Teng, M., and Yue, M. (2022). Metacognitive writing strategies, critical thinking skills, and academic writing performance: A structural equation modeling approach. Metacogn. Learn. doi: 10.31234/OSF.IO/6RZKV

Tseng, S. S. (2019). Using concept mapping activities to enhance students’ critical thinking skills at a high School in Taiwan. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 2019 29:3 29, 249–256. doi: 10.1007/S40299-019-00474-0

Wang, C. J. (2021). Learning and academic self-efficacy in self-regulated learning: validation study with the BOPPPS model and IRS methods. Asia Pac. Educ. Res. 32, 37–51. doi: 10.1007/S40299-021-00630-5

Wijaya, T. T., Rahmadi, I. F., Chotimah, S., Jailani, J., and Wutsqa, D. U. (2022). A case study of factors that affect secondary school mathematics achievement: teacher-parent support, stress levels, and students’ well-being. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 19:16247. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192316247

Xiongfei, C., Khan, A. N., Ali, A., and Khan, N. A. (2020). Consequences of cyberbullying and social overload while using SNSs: A study of users’ discontinuous usage behavior in SNSs. Inf. Syst. Front. 22, 1343–1356. doi: 10.1007/s10796-019-09936-8

Xiongfei, C., Khan, A. N., Zaigham, G. H. K., and Khan, N. A. (2019). The stimulators of social media fatigue among students: role of moral disengagement. J. Educ. Comput. Res. 57, 1083–1107.

Zhou, C., Liu, Y., Khan, A. N., and Yu, J. (2023). Systematic study of knowledge graph analysis for digital music operation: research landscape and future directions. J Data, Inform Manag 5, 91–99. doi: 10.1007/S42488-023-00091-Z

Keywords: metacognitive learning strategies, critical thinking, academic self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety, learner proactivity

Citation: Fu J, Ding Y, Nie K and Zaigham GHK (2023) How does self-efficacy, learner personality, and learner anxiety affect critical thinking of students. Front. Psychol . 14:1289594. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1289594

Received: 15 September 2023; Accepted: 06 November 2023; Published: 01 December 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Fu, Ding, Nie and Zaigham. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Ghulam Hussain Khan Zaigham, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Environment

The five senses and the nature of perception, perceiving the world looks, sounds, and feels easy. it isn't..

Posted November 11, 2014 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

We perceive the world through our five senses—our eyes, ears, skin, nose, and mouth are all receptors. Everything that comes into the brain enters through one of these doors. Because most of us take the world in through our senses effortlessly, we don’t give much thought or attention to how we do this.

Even scientists were guilty of underappreciating the complexity of the senses. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, when computers were in their infancy, the thinking was that it would take a decade or so to build “perceiving machines” that could respond to sight, sound, touch and so on as well as a human being. Such a machine still doesn’t exist.

Lose a sense, however, and you will quickly appreciate what is missing. I know because that’s what happened to me when I found out my son was deaf. There was so much to learn about the way hearing works and the role of sound in the brain that I wrote a whole book about it. That was the long version.

This is the short version. What has to happen to put on the show that is our awareness of our environment? An awful lot. Neuroscientists have recently done some radical rethinking about the very nature of perception .

“Historically, the way we intuitively think about all perception is that we’re like a passive recording device with detectors that are specialized for certain things, like a retina for seeing, a cochlea for hearing, and so forth,” says David Poeppel , a professor of psychology and neural science at New York University and a director of the newly established Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics . “We’re kind of a camera or microphone that gets encoded somehow and then magically makes contact with the stuff in your head.”

At the same time, many of the big thinkers who pondered perception, as far back as the 19th-century German physician Hermann von Helmholtz, knew that couldn’t be quite right. If we reached for a glass or listened to a sentence, didn’t it help to be able to anticipate what might come next?

In the mid-to-late 20th century, a handful of prominent researchers proposed models of perception that suggested that we engaged in “active sensing,” seeking out what was possible as we went along. Such ideas didn’t gain much traction until the past decade, when they suddenly became a hot topic in the study of cognition . What everyone is talking about today is the brain’s power of prediction.

On one level, prediction is just common sense, which may be one reason it didn’t get much scientific respect for so long. If you see your doctor in the doctor’s office, you recognize her quickly. If you see her in the grocery store dressed in jeans, you’ll be slower to realize you know her.

Predictable events are easy for the brain; unpredictable events require more effort. “Our expectations for what we’re going to perceive seem to be a critical part of the process,” says Greg Hickok , a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine. “It allows the system to make guesses as to what it might be seeing and to use computational shortcuts.”

In the old view of perception, a cascade of responses flows from the ear or the eye through the brain and ends with the ability to follow a complicated sentence or pick out the one person you are looking for in a crowded theater. That is known as bottom-up processing. It starts with basic input to any sense—raw data—and ends with such higher-level skills as reasoning and judgment and critical thinking—in other words, our expectations and knowledge.

But that is only half the story. Neuroscientists now believe that the process is also happening in reverse, that the cascade flows both ways, with information being prepared, treated, and converted in both directions simultaneously, from the bottom up and the top down.

This holds for simple responses as well as for complex thinking about philosophy or physics. If a sound is uncomfortably loud, for instance, it is the cortex that registers that fact and sends a message all the way back to the cochlea to stiffen hair cells as a protective measure. The same is true of the retina, adjusting for the amount of light available. It’s not your eye or ear doing that, it’s your brain.

Imagine someone beating rhythmically on a table with a pencil: tap, tap, tap, tap. By the third beat, you have anticipated the timing. By the fourth, scientists like Poeppel and Hickok could see activity in the brain that represents that prediction.

Perception then is an active process of constructing a reality, a conversation between the senses and the cortex that balances new information from the outside world with predictions from the interior world of our brain.

Parts of this post originally appeared in I Can Hear You Whisper: An Intimate Journey through the Science of Sound and Language (Dutton 2014).

Lydia Denworth is a science journalist and author of Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Teletherapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Understanding what emotional intelligence looks like and the steps needed to improve it could light a path to a more emotionally adept world.

• Coronavirus Disease 2019
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

• First Appointment Online Booking
• One To One Therapy
• Specialist in PTSD & Trauma Online Counselling
• Executive Coaching & Management Therapy
• Professional Patient Referral Therapy Services
• Bipolar Disorder Therapy
• Anger Management Therapy
• Anxiety Therapy
• Confidence Therapy
• Depression Therapy
• Marriage Therapy
• Panic Therapy
• Sex Therapy
• Trauma / PTSD Therapy
• Full List of Therapy Services
• How To Stress Less.
• How To Change Your Life.
• Hypnotherapy Audiobooks
• Meditation Audiobooks
• Audiobooks With Audible
• Audiobooks With iTunes
• Erectile Dysfunction Solutions
• Premature Ejaculation Solution
• Weight Loss Support
• Supplements For The Brain
• Recommended Brands
• Recommended Reading
• Training & Workshops For Your Business

Shaping Our Reality: The Influence of Critical Thinking on Perception and Mental Health

Our perception of reality is shaped by a complex interplay of our thoughts, experiences, and beliefs. it influences how we interpret the world around us, how we relate to others, and ultimately, our mental health..

Critical thinking, the ability to analyse, evaluate, and form judgements, plays a significant role in shaping our perception and its impact on mental health. 

Here we will explore this intriguing intersection and its implications for mental health counselling.

Understanding Perception 

Perception refers to the process by which we interpret and understand sensory information. It involves taking in information from our environment, processing it through our cognitive and emotional filters, and constructing our version of reality. Our perception is, therefore, not an exact reflection of reality but a subjective interpretation shaped by our personal experiences, beliefs, and cognitive processes.

Our perception plays a pivotal role in mental health. It influences how we interpret events, how we respond to stressors, and how we navigate our relationships. Negative or distorted perceptions can lead to emotional distress, problematic behaviours, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

The Role of Critical Thinking in Shaping Perception 

Critical thinking can significantly influence our perception. It involves analysing, evaluating, and making judgements about information, enabling us to develop a more objective and nuanced understanding of our environment.

Critical thinking encourages us to question our assumptions, consider alternative perspectives, and make decisions based on evidence rather than emotions or biases. This cognitive approach can help us recognise and correct distorted perceptions, leading to a more accurate and balanced understanding of reality.

Critical Thinking and Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases, systematic errors in thinking that influence our judgements and decisions, can significantly distort our perception. They can lead us to overemphasise negative information, jump to conclusions, or interpret neutral events as threatening

Critical thinking can help us recognise and counter these cognitive biases. By questioning our thoughts, considering the evidence, and evaluating alternative interpretations, we can mitigate the impact of cognitive biases on our perception. This can lead to a more objective understanding of our environment, improved decision-making, and enhanced mental health. 

Critical Thinking and Emotional Regulation 

Our perception is not only influenced by our cognitive processes but also our emotions. When we are anxious or depressed, we are more likely to interpret events negatively, contributing to a downward spiral of negative thinking and emotional distress. 

Critical thinking can play a crucial role in managing these emotional influences on our perception. By helping us analyse and evaluate our thoughts, it can prevent us from getting caught up in our emotions and enable us to develop a more balanced and rational perspective.

Critical Thinking in Counselling

In the context of mental health counselling, critical thinking is a valuable skill for both counsellors and clients. Counsellors can use critical thinking to help clients recognise and challenge distorted perceptions, develop healthier thinking patterns, and improve their mental health. 

Clients, on the other hand, can benefit from developing their critical thinking skills. It can empower them to take charge of their mental health, challenge their negative perceptions, and cultivate a more positive and balanced outlook.

In conclusion, critical thinking plays a significant role in shaping our perception and its impact on mental health. By promoting objectivity, reducing the influence of cognitive biases, and fostering emotional regulation, it can help us develop a more accurate and balanced perception of reality.

Developing critical thinking skills is a lifelong journey that requires practice, patience, and perseverance. With the right guidance and support, individuals can harness the power of critical thinking to transform their perception, enhance their mental health, and lead a more fulfilled and balanced life.

At times, life can be overwhelming and leave us feeling lost, anxious, or depressed.

Counselling can provide the support and guidance needed to navigate difficult times and achieve mental well-being. We offer a safe and confidential space to explore your thoughts, feelings, and concerns. We believe that everyone deserves access to quality mental health care, and we strive to provide an inclusive and non-judgmental environment for all. 

If you are struggling with mental health issues or feeling overwhelmed, we invite you to reach out to us for support. We are here to listen, guide, and empower you towards a healthier and happier life. Don't let mental health challenges hold you back from living your best life. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and take the first step towards better mental health.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Springer Nature - PMC COVID-19 Collection

Perception and Reality

Nadipuram r. prasad.

Klipsch School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88001 USA

The paper highlights a lifetime experience of knowledge gained through interactions with Professor Hung T. Nguyen and the profound impact he has made in advancing the state-of-the-art in modeling, simulating, and understanding the dynamics of uncertain systems. His seminal works on Random Fuzzy Sets have (a) significantly impacted our perceptions of seeking methods and approaches to acquire and assimilate data or information from uncertain sources, (b) enhanced our understanding to develop strategies for deep learning the interconnections, implications, and consequences, thereby allowing the processing of data to its logical conclusions and (c) has infinitely broadened the horizon towards conceiving machine-based decision-making architectures that optimize our perceived understanding to build systems that can mimic human decision-making capabilities. These three universal attributes fit the breadth and scope of Soft Computing. The paper focuses on three distinct topics wherein we explore human perceptions that merge the conscious attributes combining facts, myths, traditions, culture, beliefs, and a sense of reasoning towards a higher level of consciousness, and provides avenues for their adoption and physical realizations. The first topic discusses the possibilities of harvesting vast amounts of hydrokinetic energy from low-head flows in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The Mekong River has a perceived power potential of between 50 and 70 Gigawatts (GW). The reality is only one-quarter of the perceived power is plausible for harvesting. We discuss the possibility of transforming existing concrete structures across the arteries and tributaries of the Mekong River in the Delta Region to mini-hydropower plants. One example shows the possibilities of harvesting up to 250 KW at an existing structure that can serve the energy needs of local businesses involved in aquaculture, local commerce, and residential needs. Since recognizing conventional hydropower is ecologically damaging, Vietnam has focused its energy policy solely on Solar and Wind, which are 3–4 times higher in cost than Water. Low-head energy, which is currently unused, could be perceived as a significant contributor to the renewable energy portfolio for Vietnam. The second topic discusses the possibility for Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient Indian practice of herbal medicine, as a complementary form of medication compared to modern medicine. The Tulsi plant is recognized for its life-saving properties that make Hindus believe it is a Holy plant. Scientific observations have shown the plant can produce substantial amounts of pure Oxygen by absorbing carbon dioxide from the ambient. Research has also shown that Tulsi can absorb fluorides from water. The discussions highlight the adoption of Ayurvedic medicine based on historical and traditional beliefs that Nature grown ingredients can induce natural body responses that aid in recovery from illnesses. Ayurvedic medicine exploits the power of the mind based on beliefs and traditions as a means for healing from illnesses. Finally, the third topic is a search for the meaning to the phrase “Pointing the finger at the Moon,” and leading to the discovery of a three-dimensional holographic image on the Moon. The discovery sheds light on a long-standing question of what The Buddha was pointing to on the Moon. Historical background based on art is combined with basic Moon facts and a sense of geometry to uncover a three-dimensional holographic image that symbolizes Gautama Buddha’s path to enlightenment. The form is identified as Abhaya Mudra , the Fearless Form. Among the many forms displayed in Buddhist sculptures of the meditation posture, the Abhaya Mudra is significant as it is a gesture for tolerance, fearlessness, and compassion. In Buddhist philosophy, the attributes of intolerance, fearfulness, and hatred are erased from the human mind through detachment.

At the outset, it is an honor and a great privilege to write this paper honoring Professor Hung T. Nguyen for his immense contributions to the mathematical foundations of Random Fuzzy Set Theory, with applications to virtually anything imaginable that can be perceived and realized. His contributions are an ocean of knowledge that should motivate and inspire anyone in any discipline to explore and understand Life as a whole and the challenges towards meeting our professional goals and aspirations. If I could summarize what I learned from my deep engagements with Professor Hung Nguyen over three decades from a systems science perspective, it would be that “Everything in Life is fuzzy. Life is a continuum of actions and reactions. Reactions follow actions, and every reaction bears a consequence. There are reasons and motives for the consequences. Motives have aspirations. Aspiration is a perception of some future vision of the science, technology, and engineering needed to advance society. Virtual reality drives our perceptions. Perceptions of modelable and un-modelable uncertainty lead to realizations of robust systems.”

In the age of high social interconnectivity and media interaction, there is a need to know relevant facts about everything past and present. It is essential to detect and disassociate false narratives. The future depends on the present. One might ask how facts can be preserved as pure facts and not as exaggerated facts, unless and until the root causes are uncovered. Our beliefs drive our perceptions that something could be true if it exists. The spectrum of possibilities ranges between mythological beliefs and the philosophy of science that overlaps with metaphysics exploring the nature of the human mind, ontology to study the existential possibilities, and epistemology in exploring the relationship between science and truth, and distinguishing between justified belief and opinion.

The publication of this paper ironically coincides with a momentous time in our history wherein our perceptions of normalcy has been suddenly disrupted. We fight the COVID-19 virus pandemic with a perception of discovering a vaccine soon enough to realize a sense of normalcy. The realities of finding a vaccine that is effective and will prevent acute infection is a temporal uncertainty. The discovery of an effective vaccine that can cure the disease is uncertain. The pandemic in its unpredictable ways has revealed a truth about the existential threat to Earth—an observable danger that is Physics-based. Shutdown and lockdown in Nations all across the globe to prevent the growth of infection have resulted in a significant drop in air pollution. Yet the perceptions of concerned scientists have little or no impact on those who believe otherwise and, therefore, Global Warming and Climate Change remains an issue.

Understanding Perception and Reality

As we look back in time, perceptions of the recent past are quite clear with little or no ambiguity, and which can be proven given that facts exist. Facts allow the backtracking of an event-sequence to the absolute truth. We can quote the exact words that someone spoke a hundred years ago in no uncertain terms with a high degree of specificity and certainty. Nearly a century ago, on January 27, 1921, Albert Einstein, in his address to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin on the topic of Geometry and Experience stated, “ So far as the mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain. And so far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality .” These statements reinforce the notions of impermanence and the theory of relativity and the degree to which mathematics can help humankind understand Life in its purest form.

Perceptions are mental formations based on the five senses for vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste, and a so-called sixth-sense that is a fusion of the five unique senses. Human perceptions are driven by facts, myths, traditions, customs, and beliefs, and a sense of reasoning that help to align the conscious attributes towards the desired vision. Recognizing that seeing is believing and that everything has a cause and an effect, one must see facts to assure the truth-value in decision making. Myths are unprovable and yet considered to be true in terms of cause and effect. We come to know about myths and practices during our upbringing and are conditioned to observe the conventions governing the myths. For instance, in Hinduism, each day of the week is associated with a specific Deity in the Hindu pantheon. The deep-rooted practice of Hinduism requires the observance of fasts and consumption of foods in a highly disciplined manner in commemoration of the deity worshipped each day. There are good days, and there are bad days for celebratory occasions. There is a good time of day and a bad time of day to conduct important daily chores. If you don’t wear the sacred thread around your shoulder, then you are not a Brahmin. Scholars will argue the hidden powers behind these observances that can cause a metaphysical interaction between the soul and the higher being and allow one to achieve a transcendental state. It is the belief that one can be touched by a higher being and be granted one’s wish in a paranormal state. Again, this is a belief, and one would dare not to refute this with a believer. The point is, myths exist, and superstitious belief has an overarching effect on everything. It is widely discussed and reported that political leaders of Nations consult with astrologers before making critical decisions. How and why planetary positions can influence the outcome of decision-making is in itself a deep-rooted belief that can neither be proven nor unproven, or disregarded.

Traditions transcend the sensation of touch, giving meaning to a feeling of closeness, a bond between entities, a mutual understanding of friendship, love, affection, gratitude, sympathy, and compassion. For instance, the culture to give flowers is a gesture of kindness and joy towards relatives and friends. The tradition is to offer a lotus flower arrangement as a heart-warming gift to someone you care and admire. Customs are analogous to the sweet smell of living within the confines of pleasure, comfort, and peace of mind. It is customary to place footwear at the front door-step to prevent outside dirt from entering the house. It is customary to bow in front of a deity with folded hands to receive the blessing from a higher entity. Customs induce moral values and respect for others. Belief lies in the understanding of the core values that speak the truth, and that whatever is written in the scriptures is true. Finally, the sixth-sense is a logical interpretation of all five sensory aggregates taken collectively. These perceptive attributes are clearly defined and described in canonical literature called the “Skandhas.”

In Buddhist philosophy, the Sanskrit words “ Pancha Skandha ” translated as “five aggregates” sum up an individual’s state of mind and physical existence. ”  The five aggregates are (1) the environment, matter, body, shape, and form (rūpa, Avatār), which are the manifest form of the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water; it is a physical state that defines beauty and the individual persona and presentation. The Avatār epitomizes beauty, composition, and uniqueness of the shape and structure of everything in the Universe. It symbolizes the form of an object, which is living or inanimate. There is only one Planet Earth as we know and there is nothing like it anywhere we know so far, and NASA has named it the Blue Marble, a living and breathing object in Space. (2) Cognition, a state of thinking and building perceptions of things (saṃajñā), is a succession of thoughts that provide a clear sense for deductive reasoning, for grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics of the object, and deep conceptual understanding. For instance, a river flowing from a higher elevation to a lower elevation with many waterfalls and fast-flowing waters has both potential and kinetic energy. It is a Physics-based conceptual understanding that can lead to the necessary mathematics and engineering. (3) Sensations, or feelings (vedanā), the urge to seek a greater understanding of the sensitivities and margins of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness. What is good and acceptable for one may not be suitable and beneficial for the other. (4) Mental formations (saṃskāras), are planned and well thought out logical decision-making processes and connections, scenario-based decision-making clusters, and psychological forces that condition and spur mental activity. Mental formations are forces that shape moral and spiritual development through knowledge and insight. (5) Consciousness (vijñāna), the experience that brings together a greater understanding of perceived notions along with situational awareness and mindfulness towards those perceived notions. In short, the five aggregates, along with a sixth aggregate, a fusion of intuition, religious beliefs, and instincts, generate perceptions that lead to thinking, understanding, gaining knowledge, and raising the state of the conscious mind.

Increased awareness, according to the Skandhas, is an awakening. The practice of meditation is the type of training needed to achieve a higher state of the conscious mind. In principle, the human mind is a positive feedback system and is a characteristic that offers a glimpse into advances that can be made in deep learning and artificial intelligence. Whatever we wish to perceive exists somewhere, and in some shape and form. It is up to research, to uncover previously hidden facts, understand the effects and its possible implications, and create mental formations that allow us to perceive the realities in ways that reveal the truth and give rise to discovery.

With the Earth’s precious environment in decline due to global warming and climate change, energy production and energy use must be moderated in ways that can sustain human civilization and bring economic growth and progress to the society. Methods to improve Earth’s environment and processes for energy development must be explored simultaneously. Energy use no doubt will continue to rise as new cities and towns are born, communities grow, and small towns grow into large cities and explode amidst chaos and confusion due to overpopulation and overcrowded environment. With the year 2030 only a decade away, and Carbon emissions continuing to rise in India, China, and Vietnam, there is little chance that anything significant could be achieved within the next decade. Whether decarbonization will happen in the next two decades by the Year 2040 is doubtful despite efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels by switching to Solar, Wind, and Water. Water is the cheapest resource among the three natural renewable energy sources. Large Solar and Wind power installations are 3–4 times more expensive and consume vast areas of land resources. The rate at which renewable energy resources are coming online is not fast enough to cause much change in the effects of global warming. Whether a noticeable shift in decarbonization will happen by 2050 remains pure speculation and a challenge for developers of renewable energy harvesting technology to conceive revolutionary ideas that are environmentally benign, and serve the energy needs efficiently.

While the perception that global use of renewable energy will peak by the Year 2050, the degree to which the perceived benefits will impact human society, in reality, remains uncertain. Both perception and reality are inseparable aggregates in our imaginative mind. One’s perceptions and the realities in which the perceived attributes could materialize may be widely separated, and yet offer the possibilities for its realization. For instance, impressions of the Mekong River in terms of its total hydroelectric potential is over 50 GW, and some may say it is close to 70 GW. Size matters because it points to the immense amount of electric power that could uplift humanity in a giant leap. However, if all the perceived power were to be extracted, many more dams would be built across the Mekong River. Damming river flows would cause large reservoirs to drown out agricultural land, reduce the flows downstream, curtail fish migration, decimate mangrove forests, and destroy the ecosystem that supports aquatic and wildlife. Eventually, the entire ecosystem along the river would cease to exist. Impounding water upstream causes reduced flow downstream. Perceptions must, therefore, synchronize with the realities.

We choose to live within a realm of reality based on our imaginations and our own volition and understanding of what the environment offers. Deep thoughts, which probe the possibilities of existence, provide a level of fitness supporting the perception. Intuition is indeed a level of fitness. Something we had presumed to exist may be shown to exist if our hypothesis is correct, and hence, there exists a fitness function. For instance, gravitational waves, which Albert Einstein predicted must exist, were shown to exist. A massive Black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy that was known to exist was recently shown to exist. The LIGO-Virgo collaboration detected gravitational waves rippling out across space-time from the epic collision of two black holes from 2.4 billion light-years away. These are examples of how mathematics has influenced the development of technologies to discover Space and provide a better understanding of the structure of the Universe.

Human instincts to develop new technologies is motivated by the lack of existing resources to accomplish some desired objective adequately. It is uncertain if a technology that is commercially available today is suitable at a time when the conditions are not as previously anticipated. It may not work if the realities do not permit the use of the technology due to unpredictable uncertainties. A hydroelectric turbine developed for an irrigation canal where there are no fish cannot be used in a river where there is plenty of fish. Depth-of-perception could be a measure of the perceived reality. The more one focuses on the thought process, the more one learns and understands what the perception could mean and whether there is any truth in the perceived reality. The knowledge gained is a growth in our understanding of the physical laws that give the basic shape and form to the observed reality. It leads to a state of increased awareness of the perceived reality in the conscious mind. While the mathematics based on physical laws are exact, it excludes the realities that exist.

We need to explore the depths of human perception in ways that we may piece together our understanding of the reality in which our conscious attributes merge towards a higher level of consciousness. From an engineering viewpoint, perceptions of immensity and the potential of an immense body of water to serve human energy needs, for instance, must be realized in ways that appear not only reasonable at first glance, but lead to a location where exploration may follow. A bird’s eye view motivates and inspires one to discover the ground-truth that exists and to find ways of exploring the ground-truth to align with a realistic vision.

During a road trip to the Mekong Delta, there was an urge to sense the immense amount of water in the Mekong River. It is the 12th largest river in the World. Short of taking an aerial view, the only option I had was to compare the size of bridges. From an engineering viewpoint, perceiving something big or small depends on the context of how and in what ways our perceptions potentially benefit society. Whether it is a large bridge or a small bridge that connects two landmasses, as illustrated in Fig.  1 , the purpose of the bridge remains the same, namely, to allow the transportation of humans and material goods. However, what lies under the bridge may be perceived differently. The figure illustrates a large bridge across the main branch of the Mekong River and a relatively smaller bridge across a tributary. The relative sizes are indicative of the shore-to-shore width of the river at the respective bridge locations of the main branch and its feeder as it flows out into the South China Sea.

A large bridge across the main branch of Mekong River and a small bridge across its tributary provides a perception of the immensity of the river and the enormous amount of unused kinetic energy

Philosophical interpretation leads to transformation in the mindset towards seeking the ground-truth. In research, a shared ideology when all else fails is to philosophize and seek an understanding of the ideal truths. Our perceptions at first appear impossible and unreachable. However, a seemingly impossible task, when made possible, is a breakthrough. The following examples serve to identify how perceptions can lead to realizations.

Perceptions of Unused Low-Head Energy in the Mekong River

Historically rivers have been the birthplace of civilizations and have an inseparable link with humans. With food and water readily available, rivers have served the critical needs of societies for centuries. Humans, therefore, have a natural bond with waterways as a natural energy resource. Rivers and streams from the high mountainous regions of Cambodia and Laos flow across Vietnam from the West to the East, creating low-head energy as the flow discharges into the South Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Since recognizing that conventional hydropower is harmful to the ecology and is not a viable option, Vietnam has made little effort to explore the vast amount of unused low-head energy. Instead, the focus is on Solar and Wind energy. Low-head flows in the Mekong Delta offers immense amounts of hydropower to enable rapid growth in the Region’s economy. The perception one can draw from a bird’s eye view-point is that energy from the Mekong River alone could adequately serve the Delta Region while providing a path towards a Greener Vietnam. Yet many new coal-fired power plants are commissioned to meet the energy demands of the Delta Region. It is a dichotomy between our perceptions of clean air from Green energy and the realities driving economic growth. The cost to benefit ratio is reflected in one’s perception to adopt the least cost technology that has the most benefit to society.

As luck would have it, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, an aerial view of the Mekong River was awe-inspiring. Figure  2 illustrates the enormity of water flows, which would naturally increase during the monsoons and decrease during the off-season as it should.

Aerial view of the Mekong River on June 23, 2019, and co-located in Google Earth picture taken on January 1, 2019. Comparison points to perennial flows in the Mekong River

The camera image shows river flows that are possibly enhanced by heavy monsoon rains upstream—a perception based on the knowledge of conditions that most likely exists during the monsoon season in the Lower and Upper Mekong River Basins of Laos and Cambodia. Co-located on a Google Earth image taken on January 1, 2019, one may infer from the relative size of the recent picture taken on June 23, 2019, that there are large quantities of perennial flows along the main arteries and tributaries.

A vast amount of electric power generation can be perceived along the entire length of the Mekong River. Flows in the Mekong Delta Region are along a low gradient due to the proximity of the South China Sea. As such, the flow velocity is low, but the discharge of water is large. Given that kinetic energy is one-half of the mass of water times the square of the flow velocity, it is easy to perceive the overall energy potential and the abundance of the natural renewable resource. If the flow-velocity is low, then an impeller placed along the axial length of the flow will also rotate at a low angular velocity. Coupled to gearboxes that convert low speed to higher speeds will enable effective power generation using commercially available generating equipment.

Novel approaches are needed to harness the vast amounts of unused low-head power, and we must seek out the methods through research and development. The following example shows in deterministic terms the amount of energy that could be harvested as a precursor to the engineering, design, and development of technology. The numbers reflect the magnitude and impact of producing large amounts of electric power from currently unused resources, and a basis for further exploration.

We take a look at one possibility in the Bach Lieu Province of the Mekong Delta, as an example, with the intent to transform an existing structure across the Bach Lieu River into a mini hydroelectric power plant. Figure  3 illustrates an existing concrete structure built across the river Song Bach Lieu, in the Bach Liew Province of the Mekong Delta. It serves as an example to perceive the possibilities for low-head hydropower generation at existing structures and to extend such perceptions at other similar structures along the river. The parameters are all based on visual observations.

Existing concrete structure across the Mekong River tributary Song Bach Lieu, Bach Lieu Province, Vietnam

The concrete structure allows water to flow through a gap approximately 20 m wide, 25 m deep, and 30 m long. By allowing 5 m depth for navigation purposes over the 30 m length, the available canal depth is 20 m. With the effective canal dimensions, 20 m wide and 20 m deep and 30 m long, the cross-sectional area A is 400 m 2 .

Conceptual illustration of five low-speed impellers approximately 6 m apart

We turn now to something entirely different, where the belief in herbal medicine is gaining worldwide attention and transforming the mindset of societies towards health and wellness through herbal care.

Ayurveda as an Alternative for Modern Health Care

I recall as a kid learning to ride the bicycle, playing cricket, and playing soccer, and having frequent accidents on the playground, which caused bruises and, of course, pain. My mother would grind a special nut to make a paste and apply the paste to parts of the aching body and the injuries, and drink a little bit of the paste with warm milk to relieve the aching discomfort, and lo-and-behold the next day, I was good to go. The nut called Jaakai in India is none other than the nutmeg. Nutmeg is known to induce sleep and aid in the healing and recovery process. I recall using turmeric powder once to stop profuse bleeding from a deep cut. Turmeric is not only a disinfectant, but it is also a rapid coagulant. The same can be said about the treatment of colds and fever for which Ayurvedic medicine shows the ability to compete with modern medicine in terms of recovery from illness. There are many off-the-shelf products in modern pharmacy that offer the same or similar result but with the possibility for a reaction due to its synthesized chemical composition. It would be reasonable to perceive Ayurvedic medicine, therefore, as a complementary form of treatment to modern medical treatment based on evidence suggesting that there are indeed significant remedial benefits.

Unlike modern medicine that can have side effects due to chemical interaction, there are no side effects in Ayurvedic medicine because of natural ingredients and the absence of synthesized chemical compounds. The elements that comprise Ayurvedic treatment include the natural extracts of Nature grown herbs, tubers, roots, fruits, nuts, and plants that offer remedial comfort and relief to common illnesses. It is believed the combination of Yoga and Ayurveda can maintain the delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit leading to health and wellness. Ayurvedic medicine is one of the World’s oldest forms of holistic healing systems. Its primary purpose is to promote good health through healthy food and disciplined practice.

Among the many plants and herbs listed in the Ayurvedic apothecary, the Tulsi plant is considered a Holy plant by all Hindus because of its medicinal values, as described in Ayurveda, one of five Vedic scriptures in Hindu philosophy. An article in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine concludes “ Modern - day scientific research into Tulsi demonstrates the many psychological and physiological benefits from consuming Tulsi and provides a testament to the wisdom inherent in Hinduism and Ayurveda, which celebrates Tulsi as a plant that can be worshipped, ingested, made into a tea and used for medicinal and spiritual purposes within daily life .” [ 1 ]. Drawing a distinction between what we know today about the medicinal benefits of Tulsi, and how the human society may have first realized the potential for health and wellness leads one to perceive past reality and discover the truth. Modern science has shown that Tulsi plants produce Oxygen for 20 h every day while also producing Ozone for approximately 4 h every day. Maximum Oxygen production occurs at dawn and dusk when the humidity and dew point temperature are just right. Granted modern science with all the technology allows in-depth exploration that helps to understand the Chemistry of the Tulsi plant; there is no way of knowing exactly how people in the early days of civilization realized the benefit. It leaves one to speculate about the possibility that by observing the differences in health between those living close to the plants and those who were not, Tulsi was recognized to have remedial effects for those with breathing and pulmonary problems. Perceptions, therefore, that Tulsi could benefit those with pulmonary ailments can motivate and strengthen the willingness of people to adopt Ayurvedic medicine as a complementary form of treatment. Furthermore, the fact that the Tulsi plant produces large quantities of Oxygen by absorbing Carbon Dioxide from the air is particularly significant as it opens up the doors for widespread planting of Tulsi trees in parks, recreation centers, indoor terrariums, and greenhouses. Tulsi farming is already a big business venture that is primarily focused on marketing Tulsi tea. The Tulsi plant, therefore, appears to be an attractive solution for clean air and a clean environment.

Our beliefs are rooted in the customs and traditions of past realities that have withstood the test of time. The traditional practice in Hinduism requires one to accept “ Theertham ,” water flavored with Tulsi leaves, as a blessing given to the devotee on behalf of the giver of knowledge, namely, the temple deity. No matter what, the core belief is that the theertham (water) is from the Holy River Ganges (although not true by any means), and is, therefore, readily accepted and consumed. The acceptance, based strictly on assuming the water is from the Ganges, is indeed blind faith. But having faith in religion is to have the willingness to put the power of the mind over matter towards healing and comfort, a belief that is engrained into the mindset. As such, the psychological response towards acceptance bears a direct effect on the physiological response as a consequence of one’s belief. Scientific research shows Tulsi to drastically reduce the fluoride content in water due to its property of absorbing fluorides at a rapid rate and improving the taste of water. NASA intends to grow Tulsi plants in Space. The World Health Organization recommends a level of 0.5–1.0 part per million of fluorides in water that is safe for human consumption. Knowledge of all these facts tends to strengthen the belief and create a mindset for positive change. The perception, therefore, that Tulsi is indeed a miracle plant is believable. It is incredible to note that although ancient civilizations did not know the scientific facts as we know it today, they developed a deep bond with Nature in ways we in the present day are only left to imagine and speculate by perceiving the past and its realities as it existed then and establish pathways into the future.

There are no limits to one’s imagination and creativity and no limits to what we can explore. Knowledge of facts is a driving force for the curious mind to study, understand, and investigate. If there is a question that begs an answer, we must find it. It does not matter where, when, or what. It is Why? We now turn to a discovery made in late 2007 and was reported in a blog under a pseudonym. 1 It is reported here for the first time in a formal presentation.

Pathways to Discovery

It is reasonable to expect a discovery of something every minute somewhere around the globe. NASA discoveries are bountiful in that constant observation of deep Space is bound to acquire new information about the structure and formation of the Universe. Seeing is believing. So how do we discover that which we cannot readily perceive? Something hidden behind the scenes and waiting to be discovered.

Perceptions of ancient historical facts are difficult to correlate. One has to accept the facts based on religious beliefs and unconditional acceptance of the truth as written in scriptures and ancient classical art. We can assume with a high level of confidence, the literary translations of ancient canonical texts are as accurate as can be. The circumstances under which these facts were generated form a basis to understand the present, and perceive the future. Our perceptions of the present are influenced by the effects and consequences of the past. While historical events dating back over 2,600 years can be recounted with a level of certainty that the events did occur, the actual periods when the events occurred remain fuzzy and uncertain. The date and the period when events took place is based on scriptures and literary art, which may also be further supported by assertions embedded in the strictest customs and traditions that civilizations have observed, followed, and practiced throughout history. Religion and religious beliefs have withstood the test of time since their origins. Teachings from The Bhagwath Gita, The Bible, and The Koran are etched into the core beliefs of more than 7 billion humans on Earth.

The historical Buddha was a human who attained enlightenment approximately two thousand six hundred years ago. The UNESCO World Heritage Center has estimated the birth as 623 BCE, although there is a debate that he may have born sometime between 680 and 560 BCE. At the age of 29, he departed from his privileged life to seek answers to overcome human pain and suffering. His spiritual enlightenment paved a path to Nirvana, a transcendental state of mind devoid of pain and suffering, desires, and anger. He lived until the age of 80. These are facts.

Teachings of The Buddha appear in scriptures written in the Pali language, a derivative of Sanskrit. It is said that Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment following 49 days of intense meditation. Plate  1 depicts Buddha’s first sermon to his five disciples in the presence of Gods and demi-Gods on the first full moon night following His enlightenment. Murals depicting the life and death of Gautam Buddha are displayed in every monastery, Pagoda, and Buddhist temple across Asia.

Gautama Buddha’s first sermon following His enlightenment, Bach Lieu Pagoda, Bach Lieu Province, Vietnam, July 14, 2019

There is a vast body of literature that supports the belief that on His path to spiritual enlightenment in a deep meditative state, Gautama Buddha had to overcome all obstacles posed by Mara, the King of evil. Mara is an ideal personification of five deadly characters that could induce chaos, create deception, perform vile acts, exert cruelty, and cause death in one’s personality and drive them into Hell 2 [ 2 ]. He attained a state of Nirvana, having detached himself from the clutches of attachment and desires. He had found a way of achieving a transcendental state of mind where there is no pain nor suffering, no desires or a sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of prior sins (karma) and the cycle of death and rebirth. Nirvana is the final goal of Buddhism.

Legend has it that Mara’s two daughters transformed into nymphs and unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt his focus and concentration through seduction and other vile acts. Mara himself transformed into five evil forces attacking Gautama’s mind in every possible way, creating chaos, deception, engaging in despicable acts, demonstrating anger and cruelty and death. Plate  2 depicts The Buddha in a posture referred to as Abhaya Mudra (fearless form) when confronted by Mara. The large mural painting from Bach Lieu Pagoda in the Mekong Delta vividly portrays hostility, cruelty, violence, and death posed by Mara, and courage, love, compassion, peace, and harmony displayed by The Buddha.

Mural of The Buddha in a calm and peaceful state amidst the threat posed by Mara. Bach Lieu Pagoda, Bach lieu Province, Vietnam, July 14, 2019

The guiding principles of Buddhism are tolerance, mindfulness, and compassion attained through detachment. Tolerance induces patience and confidence, and a sense of fearlessness and courage to face odds and challenges. Mindfulness and compassion bring out one’s sense of sharing, caring, giving, and empathy towards the well-being of others. These principles are firmly rooted in what is called Mudras . 3 Mudras are symbolic hand gestures that channel the internal energy towards desired outcomes in the state of mind. The five principle hand gestures that sculptures of the Buddha show in meditation postures represent the Wheel of Dharma, touching the Earth, charity, compassion, and boon-granting, and the fearless form. Statues of The Buddha in Abhaya Mudra posture, similar to Fig.  5 , appear everywhere in Southeast Asia.

Buddha statue at the Truc Lam Monastery overlooking Da Nang Bay in Vietnam shows the Abhaya Mudra form

Historically, the Moon has been admired for its celestial beauty and is the center of attraction for all things considered beautiful in time immemorial. Literary pieces of art portray the Moon as a mirror for all humanity on Earth. The synergy in the Earth-Moon relationship is overwhelming because while the Earth is rotating, the Near Side of the Moon is continuously facing Earth. It is analogous for all Earthlings to looking into a mirror and asking who we are? The Full Moon night is celebrated in the Asian culture for its historical role honoring the Harvest Moon and family togetherness.

Attracted by gravitational force, Earth and Moon rotate along their axes in the anticlockwise direction as they orbit the Sun. The geometrical positions are such that only half the Moon’s spherical surface, referred to as the near-side, is always facing Earth. Considering the libration of the Moon, which is a swaying phenomenon of the Moon as it orbits the Earth, nearly 59% of the Moon’s surface is visible from Earth. The period of waxing towards a full Moon and then waning towards a new Moon is characterized by the Moon phases when the Moon exits from the shadow of Earth and then reenters, giving a cycle of motion that can be calculated precisely. Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion accurately describe the positions of Earth and Moon around the Sun. There is no ambiguity in the Earth-Moon planetary motion around the Sun.

The Bhava-Chakra ( Life - Circle ), or the Circle of Life, is the epitome of Buddhist philosophy. 4 It is a symbolic representation of the three poisons, namely, ignorance, attachment, and aversion, that can lead one along a path of self-destruction. It is said that The Buddha himself created the first depiction and passed it on to King Rudrāyaṇa, who, after studying the drawing, was enlightened.

Plate  3 illustrates only the top segment of the Bhavachakra from a 5th Century Tibetan wall painting to highlight the key characteristics that are useful in seeking an answer to what Buddha was pointing to on the Moon. Scholars interpret the image of The Buddha pointing toward the moon as the path to liberation.

The top portion of the Bhavechakra shows on the right Buddha pointing to the Moon. Mars is at the top left. With both hands, Mara, the embodiment of evil, holds the Circle of Life, the disc representing impermanence (symbolism of the Moon). The representation on the left upper corner is a state of Nirvana where one is freed from all sins

Like modern published works that have a title, an abstract, and the details of work, the layout of the Bhavachakra may be described similarly. The symbolic abstract of the Bhavachakra is indeed Buddha pointing his finger at the Moon. 5 Buddhist paintings depicting the root causes of human pain and suffering were recreated by word-of-mouth descriptions and through the words of Bodhidharma and the Bodhisattvas, followers, and messengers of The Buddha. They propagated Buddhist teaching throughout Southeast Asia.

When the Buddha gave his first sermon to his disciples on the first Full Moon night following his enlightenment, He explained his enduring struggles with Mara during his path to Nirvana. Legend has it that while pointing to the Moon, he said if one wishes to seek the truth, one must see where the truth is.

Plate  4 shows a Tibetan art icon from early 1st Century AD with Gautama Buddha pointing his finger at the Full Moon. The artist appears to have sketched an object on the Moon that is either a buffalo or an antelope. Growing up as kids, adults pointed to the Moon and asked if we see a Rabbit on the Moon. The Internet is abuzz with tracings of outlines that separate the dark and bright regions of the Moon. 6 Therefore, what appears on the Moon is unknown. So, what did Buddha point to on the Moon? What is the message to humanity in pointing to the Moon?

A 1st century AD Tibetan wall painting depicts the famous gesture of “Pointing the finger at the Moon.” The message is suggestive of the fact that there is something extraordinary on the Moon. What can it be?

Since anything is possible, it is possible that in pointing to the Moon, Gautama Buddha described the existence of symbolic representations of life on Earth. Some image objects of life are in plain view. However, these are synonymous with trinkets one would find in a jewelry store while the most priced jewel remains hidden somewhere. One image that stands out is the notion of a family is quite striking as Fig.  6 illustrates the understanding of togetherness and the concept of family ( sams ā ra ).

Original image of the Moon (left), Perceived image sams ā ra (right)

In his seminal paper on the mathematical theory of communication theory [ 3 ], Claude Shannon states, “ The fundamental problem of communication is that of reproducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message selected at another point. Frequently the messages have meaning; that is, they refer to or are correlated according to some system with certain physical or conceptual entities. ” What did Shannon imply by decoding information either exactly or approximately? Every message has a meaning. So, what is the message? The question is really what The Buddha was pointing to on the Moon in the context of His sermon, in which He describes his path to enlightenment.

There is no path to discoveries. It happens in unexpected ways. For brevity, details of the discovery are left out, and the reader is referred to a blog posting referenced in the Footnote. 7 The finding highlights the connectedness of all beings on Earth, and that everything we feel and experience in some form or the other gives us the strength and courage to sustain and strengthen the conditions of life on Planet Earth. Some excerpts from the blog are reproduced here for completeness.

Briefly, all NASA manned and robotic missions carried out thus far in Lunar exploration have used vertical landing as the means to land on the Lunar surface. Moon’s gravity is one-sixth Earth gravity, and the lunar environment is in the vacuum of space. Because there is no environment on the Moon, aerodynamic drag does not exist to enable parachutes to slow down the descent. There is no other way for humans to land on the Moon safely other than to land vertically with rocket thrusters. Rocket propulsion is the only option. How about transporting cargo to the Moon and the possibilities for reducing the cost without rocket propulsion?

During the Summer of 2007, while engaged in a NASA fellowship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, there were many discussions of cargo transportation addressing the planned Lunar Outpost. Of course, the cost of transportation was a critical issue. Using inflatable objects to land safely on Mars had already been tested and proven. So, with a mission to deploy an Earth-observing telescope, an idea was conceived to land an inflatable ball-shaped robot on a curved rolling surface in much the same way as a plane lands on an airport runway. It would be a bowl-shaped rollway instead of a runway. Mathematically speaking, the bowl-shape had to satisfy the Lyapunov criteria for stability. All that had to be done immediately upon touchdown was to deflate the ball in a controlled manner so it would slow down the rate of motion rapidly and allow the ball to deflate entirely upon reaching the target location and deploy the Earth-observing telescope. The question boiled down to finding a Crater with just the right characteristics that would enable such a robotic mission.

The Messier Crater, with its elliptical shape and the relatively smooth interior, offered the best possibility for landing a soccer-ball-shaped robotic object inside the crater. Located in Mare Fecunditatis, the Sea of Fertility, the Crater is known to have been formed over 3 Billion years ago. The idea was to let a ball-shaped robot to touchdown tangentially near the inside edge of the Messier Crater, roll towards the target location in a controlled manner, and deploy an Earth-observing telescope at the far end in the darkest spot on the Moon with a full view of Earth. The purpose of the telescope is to continuously observe Earth and beyond to detect near-Earth asteroids and serve as an early warning system against a threat from an asteroid collision. The mission would demonstrate the low cost of transporting cargo to the Moon. It would set the stage for commercial space cargo transportation, a necessary infrastructure towards the development of a Lunar habitat. It was just an idea then and is still a possibility for a future NASA mission. Figure  7 illustrates this concept.

Messier Crater pair (left). Deploying an Earth-observing telescope in Messier (right)

The Craters reflect 99.9% of the incident sunlight and create rays of white light that point in the westerly direction (with Tycho as reference). The two beams of reflected UV radiation are mesmerizing. Figure  8 shows pictures taken during Apollo 15 and 17 missions and highlights the reflectivity of the crater interiors and the high energy beams that clearly show potential for a wide range of Lunar-based applications.

Photographs from Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 missions: Messier A and Messier Lunar Craters show high reflectivity of the crater interior. The interior has a higher albedo than the surrounding Mare

It is theorized that the impact of a comet or a meteor or an asteroid occurred at a low incidence angle (<2 0 ), causing the formation of Messier A and then Messier—analogous to how a rock would skip the surface of the water if it were thrown at a low incidence angle. The high reflection coefficient of the interior of the Craters causes the cone of reflected light to shine brightly like a searchlight from the East to the West. Because there is no environment on the Moon, the rays of reflected light travel linearly over many kilometers of the lunar surface with no edge dispersion. The reflected light sources provide a means to navigate precisely to the location.

Simple geometry using a straight edge and a protractor shows the regions from where the Messier rays may be visible to the naked eye. One could surmise that the cone of radiated light energy in the vacuum of space could cover all the Marias that are West of Mare Fecunditatis. The point here is that an observer located anywhere above the region covered by Marias Nubium, Cognitum, Insularum, Vaporum, Tranquillitatis, and Nectaris can see the point sources of light from Messier A and Messier. The convenience of using Matlab® image-processing functions to analyze the key features of the light patterns of high-resolution images of the Moon provided some degree of confirmation. There was a degree of truth to conjectures and speculative thinking. The premise that rays of light could give directional guidance for orbiting Lunar modules to eject cargo payload that will reach the Messier Crater and land safely appeared feasible. However, the cone of light formed by the reflected light sources from the Messier Craters and the countless number of craters causes an interference pattern above the Lunar surface.

In the course of examining ways to isolate the rays from Messier Craters from the interference pattern, out of the blues, a 3D holographic image of the Buddha form was discovered above Tycho, the South Pole of the Moon. My immediate thought was: Could this be the answer to what The Buddha pointed to the Moon? It is indeed ironic that one could stumble into something so different, unique, and relevant and in an unexpected way.

The image is composed of all wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. The holographic image is located within the region enveloped by Marias Nubium, Cognitum, and Insularum on the left, Mare Vaporum at the top, and Marias Tranquillitatis and Nectaris on the right. The face of a human form is located just below Maria labeled “Mare Vaporum” in Fig.  9 .

Messier Craters, Mare Fecunditatis, from Apollo 15 mission. Location of Lunar Marias showing an image representative of the Abhaya Mudra

The holographic image is perceived to be formed by directed radiation crisscrossing the lunar surface from multitudes of lunar craters that span the regions enveloped by Marias Nubrium, Cognitum, and Insularum on the left, Mare Vaporum on top, and Marias Tranquillitatis and Nectaris on the right. These are point sources of reflected UV radiation in addition to the radiated beams from the Messier Craters

Figure  10 illustrates the Full moon in visible light and a false-color image taken by the Galileo spacecraft from approximately 425,000 km from the Moon. The highlighted segment shows a discernible object.

Location of the Buddha form at full-scale shown above Tycho

A closeup of the image formed in visible light and a false-color image is illustrated in Fig.  11 at different contrast levels to aid in identifying the 3D image.

View of the image at different contrast shows the posture of the Abhaya Mudra form

Figure  12 is a further close-up of the 3D holographic image near the facial area. It shows how legendary knowledge of the horrifying character described as Mara may have appeared within the mental formations of The Buddha.

Close-up of the face at different contrast shows the right ear, mouth, and chin of a human-like face, which appears Green in the false-color image. A demonic face-mask covers the eyes and the forehead in Red, showing a crown, a prominent nose, and grotesque mustache of Mara, the evil

Figures  10 , ​ ,11, 11 , and ​ and12 12 points to the location and distinct features of the holographic image on the Moon. Images in visible light and those in false colors are shown with slightly different contrast levels to enhance the viewing experience and aid in feature identification. Figure  12 shows the facial characteristics in what appears to be a composite image of a human face with a mask that partially covers the top half of the human face. By deduction, one may conclude the foreground is the face of Mara, the evil King with his crown and intimidating mustache. Mara’s face masks part of the human face. We must contend with the pixel resolution of the human face behind the mask. It is interesting that the shade of grey-green clearly distinguishes the hologram of what appears as the form of a human with the right ear fully visible. Part of the right side of the head, the chin and mouth, are also easily distinguishable in grey-green. The right shoulder is recognized by tracing upwards from the right palm. 8

What is the significance of this finding? If The Buddha was indeed pointing to the image, then what is the message that He wished to convey to humanity? How could He have perceived or seen such an object with his naked eyes? Observing the finger provides no information while what is on the Moon is many more than one can imagine. His battle of wits with Mara, as described in the literature, is consistent with details in the Bhavachakra. The three-dimensional holographic image, which is an epitome of His enlightenment, exemplifies the battle of wits in a singular and eternal shape and form on the Moon.

The rhythm of the Moon’s phases has for time immemorial guided humanity in developing the pillars of religions and the ethical and moral guidelines that foster the beliefs in the existence of Gods and demi-Gods in their abstract forms, and Saints who have lived in flesh and blood to provide the inner strength and wisdom. Gautama Buddha, as a human, understood human intolerance as an outgrowth of ignorance and desire, which is the root cause of all the pain and suffering.

In closing, one could surmise that the intent in pointing to the Moon is to unlock the doors of the human mind and arouse the consciousness of humanity at its roots to build a mindset towards tolerance, confidence, fearlessness, mindfulness, and compassion. We may perceive the message to mean that a human is always under the grip of a force that, if unrecognized, can lead to a path of self-destruction. The symbolic representations in the Bhavachakra epitomize the paths one can lead in their life. The findings are at the tip of an iceberg leaving much more to be explored and understood. Of course, as humans explore the Moon, it is likely the shapes and forms we know now will not remain the same, raising issues of how humans contribute to the impermanence. Exploration requires one to leave things behind the way you find it so the future generations can experience, understand, and develop a mindset for positive change.

On Earth, while one can perceive a zero-Carbon environment with Solar, Wind, and Water alone and nothing else, the realities are that humans will continue the use of fossil fuels unless and until the cost of electric power consumption is a fraction of a cent per kilowatt-hour. Although we know it will happen sometime in the future, it leaves one to perceive the future and the reality that may exist then.

As health and wellness are a significant aspect of our daily life, Ayurveda is a discipline that I have adopted to practice. Our perceptions of healing come from a belief that herbs of all types had to have been the only remedial elements of the ancient apothecary. We may, therefore, perceive the adoption of Ayurvedic medicine as a complementary form to modern medicine that helps to moderate the mind and body to stay healthy and fit.

Professor Hung T. Nguyen is among the greatest mathematicians of our times who has made an everlasting impact on my life and others close to me, and on the lives of many of his students who I know very well. Enjoying life in the beautiful surroundings of Chiang Mai, Thailand, his presence is felt across the globe. Hung is truly an epitome of what General MacArthur said in his departure address to the US Congress more than a half-century ago in 1951, stating, “ old soldiers never die, they just fade away. ” He is indeed a great inspiration to anyone considering retirement. Retire, but don’t disappear. It is a challenge that shows commitment to advancing knowledge to the highest degree regardless of where you are or what you are doing.

Hung Nguyen’s seminal contributions to the Theory of Random Fuzzy Sets embodies everything one can imagine. It applies to all disciplines, including engineering, economics, environmental science, natural sciences, physical science, social sciences, and medicine. With all things considered fuzzy, our interactions were driven from an engineering perspective to integrate fuzzy information to the control of real-World physical processes and systems. Hung’s contribution to the mathematical foundations of statistical and fuzzy inferencing, data fusion, large data analysis, sampling, filtering, clustering, image analysis, anomaly detection, and for estimation, prediction, and control, greatly influenced our explorations in Control Theory. Modeling ambiguity and uncertainty, present in virtually every aspect of human decision-making, had become a primary focus of our research in the area of threat assessment, analysis, and threat mitigation.

During a trip to Bhubaneswar, India, in 1998, we visited the City of Puri, a historically famous city and known for the Jagannath Temple, a temple that every Hindu believes must visit at least once in their lifetime. Before arriving in India, Hung had asked me if we could go to a place where he could see Indian Buddhist monks practicing Buddhism, and I was searching for places to visit. Although there are many Hindu temples all across India, I was not sure where to find one that was in our travel plans. For instance, many monasteries and numerous Buddhist temples and pagodas dot the landscape in every city and town in Thailand and Vietnam, and I was looking to visit a Buddhist monastery in India. I had never been to one in India. As we approached the entrance of the Jagannath Temple, a temple administrator without saying a word, and chewing a mouthful of beetle-nut and leaves, pointed his finger at a sign on the wall that read “Hindus Only.” I knew Hung is a Buddhist, and I am a Hindu, and I thought, does it mean I can go in and Hung cannot? Looking at me, the temple administrator said in Hindi that he would permit me inside but not Hung. Confused at first, I told the administrator that Hung was a Buddhist. But the administrator insisted in Hindi and pointing to the sign that said Hindus Only! Surprised and still not satisfied with his answer, I asked him why he would not let a Buddhist in, the administrator’s reply was stunning. He said, “Even India Gandhi, the Prime Minister, was not allowed in because her husband Feroze Gandhi was a Muslim.” But here is the irony.

Buddhism is an offspring of Hinduism. At the entrance to any Hindu temple, there is a pillar called Ashoka Pillar, named after King Ashoka the Great, who adopted and practiced Buddhism during the time of his reign between 273 and 236 BCE. King Ashoka, a devout follower of Buddhism, called it the Buddha Stupa, only about 300 years following the historical Buddha. The Buddha Stupa symbolizes the metaphysical transfer of knowledge and wisdom from all higher-level deities (Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu mythology) through The Buddha, giving meaning to human contact with all other human beings entering the deity’s abode. In other words, the notion of transfer of energy from higher-beings to ordinary human beings is through The Buddha. Knowing that every Hindu temple has a representation of The Buddha, the refusal to let Hung enter the temple seemed conflicting. The administrator had perhaps failed to recognize that the Buddha Stupa stands as a bridge between all humans and God. Or maybe, he was obeying orders as dictated by the signposted message on the wall. It was an overwhelming feeling to realize that knowledge exists, and one must find it. I even asked the temple administrator how he would know that I was a Hindu just by looking at my appearance. Of course, his reply in Hindi was, “You look Hindu.” Although his guess was right, my physical looks at that time could also have misled their perceptions that I was not a Hindu! At our next stop in Delhi during the same trip, a pious-looking individual sitting on the steps of Jama Masjid, a famous 16th Century mosque, while staring at my grey and white beard asked in Hindi “Are you Muslim?”. I was intrigued by the manner and the circumstances under which it happened. There appeared to be some form of a fitness function in identifying religious affiliation based upon a perception of an individual’s persona, the color of the skin, the shape of the eyes, height and other stigmas that give the means for biometric identification. Many such thoughts deeply inspired me towards engaging in perception modeling, a topic that shaped my research with Hung following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Of course, the realities then and the realities now are far different. The consequences of technology must be perceived in light of a shift in the human mindset.

As a colleague and a close friend, Hung motivated me, inspired me, and advised me on life-changing matters. During his tenure at New Mexico State University, we engaged in research and teaching for over three decades [ 4 , 5 ]. Hung brought to light many mathematical tools required in decision-making in ways that an engineer could understand. He has had a transformational effect on my life and many others. It is indeed an honor knowing him for all these years.

1 http://sun-faced-buddha-moon-faced-buddha.blogspot.com/2011/08/discovery-of-buddha-form.html .

2 The notions of decision-making in the human mind can be described as a competition between a rational mind and an irrational mind. At no cost will the rational mind accept the irrational mind. There is only one winner and that’s the rational mind. Mara is synonymous to irrational mind.

3 Mudras of the Great Buddha: Symbolic gestures and postures. https://web.stanford.edu/class/history11sc/pdfs/mudras.pdf .

4 A concise summary of the various elements of the Bhavachakra appears in https://www.glensvensson.org/uploads/7/5/6/1/7561348/wheel_of_life.pdf .

5 The gesture of pointing to the Moon is very suggestive. The gesture does not proclaim anything except for one to look at the Moon and unravel the truth. What should one expect to see? It cannot be anything ordinary. Rather, it must be extraordinary. The expectation should be nothing short of a revelation. But what is it? We explore further.

6 Caricature images http://wfmh.org.pl/thorgal/Moon/ .

7 http://sun-faced-buddha-moon-faced-buddha.blogspot.com/2011/08/discovery-of-buddha-form.html .

8 The images of the Moon are obtained from the NASA website: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2460/lunar-near-side/?category=moons_earths-moon .