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of the present chapter is to discuss ways that statistics and research methods instructors
can teach their students to think critically. First, however, we briefly discuss what critical
thinking entails along with barriers that statistics and research methods instructors may
encounter on their way to reaching this important goal.
What is “Critical Thinking”?
Although instructors often speak freely of “critical thinking,” this concept is not easy to
define. Halonen (1995), for example, defined critical thinking as “the propensity and
skills to engage in activity with reflective skepticism focused on deciding what to believe
or do” (p. 76), but she also stated: “Ask 12 psychology faculty members to define the term
critical thinking, and you may receive 12 overlapping but distinct definitions” (p. 75).
Nonetheless, psychologists have made progress in identifying certain behaviors that are
indicative of critical thinking. In their report on learning outcomes and goals for
undergraduate psychology education, APA’s Task Force on Psychology Major Compe-
tencies (2007) listed the following, among others, as characteristics of critical thinking:
(a) examining the quality of information (e.g., making a distinction between empirical
evidence and speculation); (b) analyzing media reports of psychological research;
(c) tolerating ambiguity; (d) recognizing poorly defined and well-defined problems; and
(e) evaluating the quality of a particular solution and revising it if needed.
Despite disagreements about the definition of critical thinking, there is relative consen-
sus among educators that critical thinking is an essential skill that students should acquire
(e.g., Appleby, 2005). Furthermore, given that much of the material in statistics and
research methods courses lends itself nicely to critical thinking—one characteristic of
which is using a scientific approach when problem solving (APA, 2007)—these courses
provide a prime context in which to teach this important skill. In fact, to teach statistics
and research methods without a focus on critical thinking would, in our opinion, be a
mistake. Before statistics and research methods instructors dive headfirst into this task,
however, they should be aware of barriers that may stand in the way of their ability to
teach their students to think critically about the material they encounter.
Barriers to Addressing Critical Thinking
By most accounts, teaching students to think critically is an important goal that many
statistics and research methods instructors attempt to accomplish during their courses.
Furthermore, because critical thinking is often a skill that takes time for students to learn,
many statistics and research methods instructors tackle the issue right off the bat, address-
ing these skills in one form or another from the first day of class onward. However, just as
teaching other topics in psychology often requires instructors first to consider barriers that
may impede students’ ability to grasp certain concepts—for example, the notion that
humans only use 10% of their brains (see Chew, 2005)—so too must statistics and research