an example of a critical thinking question

85 Critical Thinking Questions to Carefully Examine Any Information

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The ability to think critically will often determine your success in life.

Let’s face it. Every day, we are bombarded by news, social media updates, and an avalanche of information. If you take all of this at face value, it’s easy to be deceived, misled or ripped off.

That’s why it’s important to  develop a mindset that focuses on critical thinking . This is a skill that needs to be developed in the classroom. But it’s also a valuable life skill.

With that in mind, the following post will share 85 critical thinking questions you can use to increase your awareness about different problems by carefully examining available information. 

Let’s get started…

Table of Contents

What Are Critical Thinking Questions?

Critical thinking questions are inquiries that help you think rationally and clearly by understanding the link between different facts or ideas. These questions create a seemingly endless learning process that lets you critique, evaluate, and develop a depth of knowledge about a given subject. Moreover, you get to reinforce your viewpoints or see things in a new way.

We make decisions every day, whether at work or home. Adopting logical, rational, and practical approaches in addressing various issues requiring critical thinking is essential in decision-making. Therefore, before arriving at a decision, always ask yourself relevant questions and carefully analyze the matter’s pros and cons.

Critical Thinking Questions When in an Argument

When you make an argument using a critical thinking approach, you focus on justified claims that are valid and based on evidence. It helps one establish a strong argument.

• Do I disagree with the other person? Might the person I'm arguing with be misinformed on what they are saying?
• Would I be comfortable saying what I am telling him/her if I was in front of a group of people? 
• What would happen if I lose this argument? Is engaging in this argument worth my time and energy? How will I feel if I lose?
• Is there room for ambiguity or misinterpretation? Are we arguing because I didn't make my point explicit? Should I take my time to understand his school of thought?
• Do I need some rest before saying something? Am I arguing because of other reasons other than the issues at hand? Do I need to take some time and cool down?

• Is it more important that I’m right? Am I trying to ask to prove an unnecessary point?
• Is this argument inductive, deductive, or abductive? Is it a weak or strong argument that I need to engage in? Is it compelling or sound? 
• Is my opponent sincere? Given that they are wrong, are they willing to admit that they are wrong? Can they depend on available evidence, wherever it leads?
• Are my opponents only trying to shift their burden to me? What is the best way to prove them wrong without making them feel bad?
• Are the people I'm arguing with only interested in winning, or are they trying to pass some information across and help me discover the truth?

Critical Thinking Questions When Reading a Book 

When you read a book, you probably ask yourself many “why” questions. Why is this a problem? Why did the character say that? Why is this important? The most challenging part of reading a book is assessing the information you are reading. These questions can help.

• If I learn only two things from this book, what will they be? How will they help me? How will I apply them in my daily life?
• What message are the authors trying to pass across? Are they making suggestions or providing evidence for their arguments?
• Given that almost every book is about solving problems, what is the most prevalent issue that the author is trying to solve?
• What is the author’s writing style? What strategy or master plan does the author employ to convey his/her main ideas throughout the book?
• Do I have background information about the book’s topic? If so, how is what the author is saying different from what I already know?
• What didn’t I understand from the book? Should I re-read the book to understand everything the writer is trying to convey?
• Which sections of the book do I love the most, and why? Generally, do I like this book? Should I look for more books that are written by the same author?
• If I had a chance to meet this book’s author, what questions would I ask him/her? What would I tell the writer about the book? Is it a great book worth recommending to your friends and family members?
• Who are the main characters of the book? If there is only one main character, what overarching goal does the character accomplish?
• In what ways did the protagonist change from the start of the book to the end? What caused the changes? Was the protagonist reckless in some ways? Which ways?

Critical Thinking Questions to Spot a Scam

Asking questions when you feel that a fraud or a scam is being presented to you is a good way to stretch your critical thinking muscles. Are you being emailed or messaged by a stranger? Or maybe there are other red flags you are unsure about. If so, ask these questions.

• Does it seem to be too good to be true? Is this stranger pushy or trying to lure me into making a poor decision?
• When trying out online dating: Is my new “friend” professing strong feelings towards me although we’ve only interacted for a few hours?
• Why is a stranger calling me to ask about my Social Security Number (SSN), personal contact information, or bank details while claiming they are from the bank or a phone company? 
• When buying products online, why does the seller ask me to pay for goods using an insecure payment option like Bitcoin or money order?
• Does the email I have received have any spelling or grammatical errors? Is the language used overly formal or informal?
• If I do a quick search about the exact words of the email I received, does Google indicate it's a fraud or scam?
• Why should a stranger manipulate me using obvious questions like “Would you want to be rich or poor?” While they already know the answer?
• Is the email asking me to download an attachment? Or click a link to some insecure website? 
• Is the person trying to make me feel selfish or guilty for not sending them money, whether for a donation or buying a product? 
• Is the stranger portraying a sense of urgency and using pressure tactics? Are they telling me that their family member needs urgent medical attention?

Critical Thinking Questions About Your Life

It can also help to ask yourself a few critical thinking questions about your life. This way, you can gather basic information and uncover solutions to problems you might not have otherwise thought of.

• Where do I wish to be in a few years, probably two, three, or five years? What short-term and long-term goals should I set?
• What have I achieved so far from the time I set my previous goals? What should I be grateful for?
• Do I have any values that guide me in life? If so, what are these values? Am I always true to these values?
• Am I always worried about what people around me think? Can I act independently without the need to meet social expectations?
• What should people say about me at my funeral? Would they talk about how good I made them feel or how rich and flashy I was?
• If I wasn't afraid of anyone or anything, what would I have done? What if I didn't have any fear in me?
• If today was my last day, what extraordinary thing would I do? Can I do it right now?
• What should I do with the things that matter the most to me? 
• What things will make the greatest difference in my future life if I take action now?
• How should I react when I feel unwanted by the people I love the most? Should I tell them?

Critical Thinking Questions for a Debate or Discussion

When you are in the middle of a debate or discussion, you need to know that what you are saying is fact, have evidence to support your claim, and position yourself as an expert in what you are saying. Here are some critical thinking questions to ask when you are in a debate or discussion.

• Is there fairness in this discussion? Is the moderator supporting one side? Do they want to make one side look stupid or wrong? 
• What is the aim of this discussion? Is there a major problem that needs to be solved? If so, how can I help solve it?
• Who are the people affected by this discussion? If they were here, what would they say?
• Do my views on this discussion matter? If I raise my point, will I be redundant?
• What am I supposed to learn from this debate, and how can I use what I have learned in my daily life?
• Does the audience seem to be biased towards one side? Are they booing one side? What can I do even if it's our opponents being booed?
• Who are the discussion panel members? What views have they held about this kind of discussion or any other related discussions in the past?
• How can I make my point without being ambiguous? Before I speak, should I take down some notes to avoid any confusion during my speech?
• Am I ready to apologize if I make a mistake during the discussion? If so, what are the limits?
• What information does my team, or I need before this discussion? 

Critical Thinking Questions About Lying

Admitting when you are wrong, choosing not to cheat, and sharing constructive feedback are all ways to show your honesty. Here are some critical thinking skills to ask regarding lying.

• Will the lie hurt those I am telling, or will it help them? What if being honest might cause my friend unnecessary pain?
• Should I be the one telling this person a lie, or I let someone else do it? 
• Will I be the one hurt if I tell this lie? Will my friend feel I am a betrayer? Will it affect our friendship?
• Do they answer my questions in detail, or are they always trying to ignore and dodge the main problem?
• What if I ask these people the same question using different terms and wording? Will they give me the same response?
• Did the tone of my friend suddenly change after I asked him/her this question? Do they sound louder, faster, or slower compared to how they usually speak?
• Does this person have something to gain by lying to me? What is their motive?
• Does this person take a sudden pause or hesitate more than usual when responding to my question?
• When I look at these people's faces, do their facial expressions match what they say?
• Should I believe this person or not? What are my intuitions? Does it look like they are telling the truth?
• Do they blink like other days when I ask them questions? Are they always trying to avoid direct eye contact?
• Why do they seem uncomfortable when it’s just a normal conversation?  

Critical Thinking Questions When Presented With a Claim

Critical thinking is much more than just evaluating whether a claim is true or not. It also means a critical thinker reflects on what follows from true claims.

• What does this claim mean, and what are its implications? What if it's a false claim?
• Which of my morals, values, or beliefs do I have to give up to accept this claim?
• Do professionals in this field agree or disagree with the claim that has been made?
• Do they have evidence to back their claim? Which is the most robust evidence to support the claim?
• What argument can I come up with to refute this claim? Or what is the best view that can support this claim?
• Who is the primary source of the claim being made? Is the basis of the claim reliable?
• Is it a claim, or it's just an opinion?
• Is the claim likely to be 100% false, true, or partially true?
• Am I allowed to refute the claim and table my evidence, or is it one-sided?

Critical Thinking Interview Questions

Critical thinking skills are valuable in any industry or field and for almost all roles. During a job interview, you will be asked questions so the potential employer can assess your skills and see how you use logic. Your critical thinking ability is just one vital part that can play into your professional development.

• Is there a time you had to convince someone to use an alternate approach to solve a problem?
• Have you ever had to make a difficult decision quickly?
• How would you handle a situation where your supervisor handled something wrong or made a mistake?
• What is one of the most difficult decisions you have ever had to make at work?
• How would you solve a disagreement between coworkers when approaching a project?
• Can you describe a time when you anticipated a problem ahead of time and took the appropriate steps to stop the problem from becoming an issue?
• If you discover a cheaper way to do something or a better solution to a problem and try to explain it to your supervisor, but they don’t understand, what do you do?

Critical Thinking Questions for Kids

We can’t leave the kids out either. Critical thinking questions for kids get them thinking and talking. It also allows a parent to get to know their child better.

• How many grains of sand do you think are on the beach?
• What would happen if it stopped raining?
• Do you think there is life on other planets?
• Should children be able to set their own bedtimes?
• How would you describe what a tree looks like without saying green or leaves?
• Can you name five different emotions?
• Can you talk for five minutes without uttering “um?”

What Are the Basic Principles of Critical Thinking?

Your critical thinking skills involve gathering complete information, understanding and defining terms, questioning the methods by which we get facts, questioning the conclusions, and looking for hidden assumptions and biases.

Additionally, we can’t expect to find all of the answers, and we need to take the time to examine the big picture of it all.

Here are the basic principles:

• Disposition: Someone with critical thinking skills is often skeptical, open-minded, and practices fair-mindedness. They can look at different viewpoints and change positions if the evidence and reason lead them to do so.
• Criteria: In order to think critically, one must also apply criteria. Certain conditions must be met before someone believes in something. The information needs to be from credible sources.
• Argument: An argument is simply a statement or proposition that is shown with supporting evidence. When you use your critical thinking skills, you identify, evaluate, and construct your argument.
• Reasoning: With critical thinking comes reasoning. You must examine logical relationships among the statements being made.
• Point of View: Critical thinkers can see things from different perspectives and different points of view.

What Are Good Analysis Questions?

Analysis is a part of critical thinking that allows you to examine something carefully. Someone with analytical skills can examine the information presented, understand what that information means, and then properly explain that information to others. Analysis in critical thinking provides more clarity on the information you process.

When analyzing, you may ask yourself, “how do I know this,” how would I solve this problem,” and “why does it matter?”

Why Is Critical Thinking an Important Skill?

Critical thinking skills allow you to express thoughts, ideas, and beliefs in a better way. It also leads to improved communication while allowing others to understand you better. Critical thinking fosters creativity and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. This is a skill that can be applied to many different areas of your life.

For example, knowing the answers to critical thinking questions for a job interview will better prepare you for the interview. Many employers, during questioning, are likely to ask you critical thinking questions to assess if you have the ability to evaluate information effectively so you can make more informed decisions.

Final Thoughts on Critical Thinking Questions

Although it's common to get torn between making two or more choices, nobody wants to make the wrong decision. The only thing you can do to avoid this is use critical thinking questions to examine your situation. The answers to these questions will help you make informed decisions and help you comprehend crucial matters in your life. 

Want to learn more about critical thinking and decision-making using a real-life example? Here is  how Jeff Bezos uses critical thinking  to make some of the most challenging life decisions.

Finally, if you want to ask better questions, then watch this short, 20-minute course to learn how to have a great conversation with virtually anyone .

41+ Critical Thinking Examples (Definition + Practices)

Critical thinking is an essential skill in our information-overloaded world, where figuring out what is fact and fiction has become increasingly challenging.

But why is critical thinking essential? Put, critical thinking empowers us to make better decisions, challenge and validate our beliefs and assumptions, and understand and interact with the world more effectively and meaningfully.

Critical thinking is like using your brain's "superpowers" to make smart choices. Whether it's picking the right insurance, deciding what to do in a job, or discussing topics in school, thinking deeply helps a lot. In the next parts, we'll share real-life examples of when this superpower comes in handy and give you some fun exercises to practice it.

Critical Thinking Process Outline

Critical thinking means thinking clearly and fairly without letting personal feelings get in the way. It's like being a detective, trying to solve a mystery by using clues and thinking hard about them.

It isn't always easy to think critically, as it can take a pretty smart person to see some of the questions that aren't being answered in a certain situation. But, we can train our brains to think more like puzzle solvers, which can help develop our critical thinking skills.

Here's what it looks like step by step:

Spotting the Problem: It's like discovering a puzzle to solve. You see that there's something you need to figure out or decide.

Collecting Clues: Now, you need to gather information. Maybe you read about it, watch a video, talk to people, or do some research. It's like getting all the pieces to solve your puzzle.

Breaking It Down: This is where you look at all your clues and try to see how they fit together. You're asking questions like: Why did this happen? What could happen next?

Checking Your Clues: You want to make sure your information is good. This means seeing if what you found out is true and if you can trust where it came from.

Making a Guess: After looking at all your clues, you think about what they mean and come up with an answer. This answer is like your best guess based on what you know.

Explaining Your Thoughts: Now, you tell others how you solved the puzzle. You explain how you thought about it and how you answered. 

Checking Your Work: This is like looking back and seeing if you missed anything. Did you make any mistakes? Did you let any personal feelings get in the way? This step helps make sure your thinking is clear and fair.

And remember, you might sometimes need to go back and redo some steps if you discover something new. If you realize you missed an important clue, you might have to go back and collect more information.

Critical Thinking Methods

Just like doing push-ups or running helps our bodies get stronger, there are special exercises that help our brains think better. These brain workouts push us to think harder, look at things closely, and ask many questions.

It's not always about finding the "right" answer. Instead, it's about the journey of thinking and asking "why" or "how." Doing these exercises often helps us become better thinkers and makes us curious to know more about the world.

Now, let's look at some brain workouts to help us think better:

1. "What If" Scenarios

Imagine crazy things happening, like, "What if there was no internet for a month? What would we do?" These games help us think of new and different ideas.

Pick a hot topic. Argue one side of it and then try arguing the opposite. This makes us see different viewpoints and think deeply about a topic.

3. Analyze Visual Data

Check out charts or pictures with lots of numbers and info but no explanations. What story are they telling? This helps us get better at understanding information just by looking at it.

4. Mind Mapping

Write an idea in the center and then draw lines to related ideas. It's like making a map of your thoughts. This helps us see how everything is connected.

There's lots of mind-mapping software , but it's also nice to do this by hand.

5. Weekly Diary

Every week, write about what happened, the choices you made, and what you learned. Writing helps us think about our actions and how we can do better.

6. Evaluating Information Sources

Collect stories or articles about one topic from newspapers or blogs. Which ones are trustworthy? Which ones might be a little biased? This teaches us to be smart about where we get our info.

There are many resources to help you determine if information sources are factual or not.

7. Socratic Questioning

This way of thinking is called the Socrates Method, named after an old-time thinker from Greece. It's about asking lots of questions to understand a topic. You can do this by yourself or chat with a friend.

Start with a Big Question:

"What does 'success' mean?"

Dive Deeper with More Questions:

"Why do you think of success that way?" "Do TV shows, friends, or family make you think that?" "Does everyone think about success the same way?"

"Can someone be a winner even if they aren't rich or famous?" "Can someone feel like they didn't succeed, even if everyone else thinks they did?"

Look for Real-life Examples:

"Who is someone you think is successful? Why?" "Was there a time you felt like a winner? What happened?"

Think About Other People's Views:

"How might a person from another country think about success?" "Does the idea of success change as we grow up or as our life changes?"

Think About What It Means:

"How does your idea of success shape what you want in life?" "Are there problems with only wanting to be rich or famous?"

Look Back and Think:

"After talking about this, did your idea of success change? How?" "Did you learn something new about what success means?"

8. Six Thinking Hats 

Edward de Bono came up with a cool way to solve problems by thinking in six different ways, like wearing different colored hats. You can do this independently, but it might be more effective in a group so everyone can have a different hat color. Each color has its way of thinking:

White Hat (Facts): Just the facts! Ask, "What do we know? What do we need to find out?"

Red Hat (Feelings): Talk about feelings. Ask, "How do I feel about this?"

Black Hat (Careful Thinking): Be cautious. Ask, "What could go wrong?"

Yellow Hat (Positive Thinking): Look on the bright side. Ask, "What's good about this?"

Green Hat (Creative Thinking): Think of new ideas. Ask, "What's another way to look at this?"

Blue Hat (Planning): Organize the talk. Ask, "What should we do next?"

When using this method with a group:

• Explain all the hats.
• Decide which hat to wear first.
• Make sure everyone switches hats at the same time.
• Finish with the Blue Hat to plan the next steps.

9. SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is like a game plan for businesses to know where they stand and where they should go. "SWOT" stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

There are a lot of SWOT templates out there for how to do this visually, but you can also think it through. It doesn't just apply to businesses but can be a good way to decide if a project you're working on is working.

Strengths: What's working well? Ask, "What are we good at?"

Weaknesses: Where can we do better? Ask, "Where can we improve?"

Opportunities: What good things might come our way? Ask, "What chances can we grab?"

Threats: What challenges might we face? Ask, "What might make things tough for us?"

Steps to do a SWOT Analysis:

• Goal: Decide what you want to find out.
• Research: Learn about your business and the world around it.
• Brainstorm: Get a group and think together. Talk about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Pick the Most Important Points: Some things might be more urgent or important than others.
• Make a Plan: Decide what to do based on your SWOT list.
• Check Again Later: Things change, so look at your SWOT again after a while to update it.

Now that you have a few tools for thinking critically, let’s get into some specific examples.

Everyday Examples

Life is a series of decisions. From the moment we wake up, we're faced with choices – some trivial, like choosing a breakfast cereal, and some more significant, like buying a home or confronting an ethical dilemma at work. While it might seem that these decisions are disparate, they all benefit from the application of critical thinking.

10. Deciding to buy something

Imagine you want a new phone. Don't just buy it because the ad looks cool. Think about what you need in a phone. Look up different phones and see what people say about them. Choose the one that's the best deal for what you want.

11. Deciding what is true

There's a lot of news everywhere. Don't believe everything right away. Think about why someone might be telling you this. Check if what you're reading or watching is true. Make up your mind after you've looked into it.

12. Deciding when you’re wrong

Sometimes, friends can have disagreements. Don't just get mad right away. Try to see where they're coming from. Talk about what's going on. Find a way to fix the problem that's fair for everyone.

13. Deciding what to eat

There's always a new diet or exercise that's popular. Don't just follow it because it's trendy. Find out if it's good for you. Ask someone who knows, like a doctor. Make choices that make you feel good and stay healthy.

14. Deciding what to do today

Everyone is busy with school, chores, and hobbies. Make a list of things you need to do. Decide which ones are most important. Plan your day so you can get things done and still have fun.

15. Making Tough Choices

Sometimes, it's hard to know what's right. Think about how each choice will affect you and others. Talk to people you trust about it. Choose what feels right in your heart and is fair to others.

16. Planning for the Future

Big decisions, like where to go to school, can be tricky. Think about what you want in the future. Look at the good and bad of each choice. Talk to people who know about it. Pick what feels best for your dreams and goals.

Job Examples

17. solving problems.

Workers brainstorm ways to fix a machine quickly without making things worse when a machine breaks at a factory.

18. Decision Making

A store manager decides which products to order more of based on what's selling best.

19. Setting Goals

A team leader helps their team decide what tasks are most important to finish this month and which can wait.

20. Evaluating Ideas

At a team meeting, everyone shares ideas for a new project. The group discusses each idea's pros and cons before picking one.

21. Handling Conflict

Two workers disagree on how to do a job. Instead of arguing, they talk calmly, listen to each other, and find a solution they both like.

22. Improving Processes

A cashier thinks of a faster way to ring up items so customers don't have to wait as long.

23. Asking Questions

Before starting a big task, an employee asks for clear instructions and checks if they have the necessary tools.

24. Checking Facts

Before presenting a report, someone double-checks all their information to make sure there are no mistakes.

25. Planning for the Future

A business owner thinks about what might happen in the next few years, like new competitors or changes in what customers want, and makes plans based on those thoughts.

26. Understanding Perspectives

A team is designing a new toy. They think about what kids and parents would both like instead of just what they think is fun.

School Examples

27. researching a topic.

For a history project, a student looks up different sources to understand an event from multiple viewpoints.

28. Debating an Issue

In a class discussion, students pick sides on a topic, like school uniforms, and share reasons to support their views.

29. Evaluating Sources

While writing an essay, a student checks if the information from a website is trustworthy or might be biased.

30. Problem Solving in Math

When stuck on a tricky math problem, a student tries different methods to find the answer instead of giving up.

31. Analyzing Literature

In English class, students discuss why a character in a book made certain choices and what those decisions reveal about them.

32. Testing a Hypothesis

For a science experiment, students guess what will happen and then conduct tests to see if they're right or wrong.

33. Giving Peer Feedback

After reading a classmate's essay, a student offers suggestions for improving it.

34. Questioning Assumptions

In a geography lesson, students consider why certain countries are called "developed" and what that label means.

35. Designing a Study

For a psychology project, students plan an experiment to understand how people's memories work and think of ways to ensure accurate results.

36. Interpreting Data

In a science class, students look at charts and graphs from a study, then discuss what the information tells them and if there are any patterns.

Critical Thinking Puzzles

Not all scenarios will have a single correct answer that can be figured out by thinking critically. Sometimes we have to think critically about ethical choices or moral behaviors. 

Here are some mind games and scenarios you can solve using critical thinking. You can see the solution(s) at the end of the post.

37. The Farmer, Fox, Chicken, and Grain Problem

A farmer is at a riverbank with a fox, a chicken, and a grain bag. He needs to get all three items across the river. However, his boat can only carry himself and one of the three items at a time. 

Here's the challenge:

• If the fox is left alone with the chicken, the fox will eat the chicken.
• If the chicken is left alone with the grain, the chicken will eat the grain.

How can the farmer get all three items across the river without any item being eaten? 

38. The Rope, Jar, and Pebbles Problem

You are in a room with two long ropes hanging from the ceiling. Each rope is just out of arm's reach from the other, so you can't hold onto one rope and reach the other simultaneously. 

Your task is to tie the two rope ends together, but you can't move the position where they hang from the ceiling.

You are given a jar full of pebbles. How do you complete the task?

39. The Two Guards Problem

Imagine there are two doors. One door leads to certain doom, and the other leads to freedom. You don't know which is which.

In front of each door stands a guard. One guard always tells the truth. The other guard always lies. You don't know which guard is which.

You can ask only one question to one of the guards. What question should you ask to find the door that leads to freedom?

40. The Hourglass Problem

You have two hourglasses. One measures 7 minutes when turned over, and the other measures 4 minutes. Using just these hourglasses, how can you time exactly 9 minutes?

41. The Lifeboat Dilemma

Imagine you're on a ship that's sinking. You get on a lifeboat, but it's already too full and might flip over. 

Nearby in the water, five people are struggling: a scientist close to finding a cure for a sickness, an old couple who've been together for a long time, a mom with three kids waiting at home, and a tired teenager who helped save others but is now in danger. 

You can only save one person without making the boat flip. Who would you choose?

42. The Tech Dilemma

You work at a tech company and help make a computer program to help small businesses. You're almost ready to share it with everyone, but you find out there might be a small chance it has a problem that could show users' private info. 

If you decide to fix it, you must wait two more months before sharing it. But your bosses want you to share it now. What would you do?

43. The History Mystery

Dr. Amelia is a history expert. She's studying where a group of people traveled long ago. She reads old letters and documents to learn about it. But she finds some letters that tell a different story than what most people believe. 

If she says this new story is true, it could change what people learn in school and what they think about history. What should she do?

The Role of Bias in Critical Thinking

Have you ever decided you don’t like someone before you even know them? Or maybe someone shared an idea with you that you immediately loved without even knowing all the details. 

This experience is called bias, which occurs when you like or dislike something or someone without a good reason or knowing why. It can also take shape in certain reactions to situations, like a habit or instinct. 

Bias comes from our own experiences, what friends or family tell us, or even things we are born believing. Sometimes, bias can help us stay safe, but other times it stops us from seeing the truth.

Not all bias is bad. Bias can be a mechanism for assessing our potential safety in a new situation. If we are biased to think that anything long, thin, and curled up is a snake, we might assume the rope is something to be afraid of before we know it is just a rope.

While bias might serve us in some situations (like jumping out of the way of an actual snake before we have time to process that we need to be jumping out of the way), it often harms our ability to think critically.

How Bias Gets in the Way of Good Thinking

Selective Perception: We only notice things that match our ideas and ignore the rest. 

It's like only picking red candies from a mixed bowl because you think they taste the best, but they taste the same as every other candy in the bowl. It could also be when we see all the signs that our partner is cheating on us but choose to ignore them because we are happy the way we are (or at least, we think we are).

Agreeing with Yourself: This is called “ confirmation bias ” when we only listen to ideas that match our own and seek, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms what we already think we know or believe. 

An example is when someone wants to know if it is safe to vaccinate their children but already believes that vaccines are not safe, so they only look for information supporting the idea that vaccines are bad.

Thinking We Know It All: Similar to confirmation bias, this is called “overconfidence bias.” Sometimes we think our ideas are the best and don't listen to others. This can stop us from learning.

Have you ever met someone who you consider a “know it”? Probably, they have a lot of overconfidence bias because while they may know many things accurately, they can’t know everything. Still, if they act like they do, they show overconfidence bias.

There's a weird kind of bias similar to this called the Dunning Kruger Effect, and that is when someone is bad at what they do, but they believe and act like they are the best .

Following the Crowd: This is formally called “groupthink”. It's hard to speak up with a different idea if everyone agrees. But this can lead to mistakes.

An example of this we’ve all likely seen is the cool clique in primary school. There is usually one person that is the head of the group, the “coolest kid in school”, and everyone listens to them and does what they want, even if they don’t think it’s a good idea.

How to Overcome Biases

Here are a few ways to learn to think better, free from our biases (or at least aware of them!).

Know Your Biases: Realize that everyone has biases. If we know about them, we can think better.

Listen to Different People: Talking to different kinds of people can give us new ideas.

Ask Why: Always ask yourself why you believe something. Is it true, or is it just a bias?

Understand Others: Try to think about how others feel. It helps you see things in new ways.

Keep Learning: Always be curious and open to new information.

In today's world, everything changes fast, and there's so much information everywhere. This makes critical thinking super important. It helps us distinguish between what's real and what's made up. It also helps us make good choices. But thinking this way can be tough sometimes because of biases. These are like sneaky thoughts that can trick us. The good news is we can learn to see them and think better.

There are cool tools and ways we've talked about, like the "Socratic Questioning" method and the "Six Thinking Hats." These tools help us get better at thinking. These thinking skills can also help us in school, work, and everyday life.

We’ve also looked at specific scenarios where critical thinking would be helpful, such as deciding what diet to follow and checking facts.

Thinking isn't just a skill—it's a special talent we improve over time. Working on it lets us see things more clearly and understand the world better. So, keep practicing and asking questions! It'll make you a smarter thinker and help you see the world differently.

Critical Thinking Puzzles (Solutions)

The farmer, fox, chicken, and grain problem.

• The farmer first takes the chicken across the river and leaves it on the other side.
• He returns to the original side and takes the fox across the river.
• After leaving the fox on the other side, he returns the chicken to the starting side.
• He leaves the chicken on the starting side and takes the grain bag across the river.
• He leaves the grain with the fox on the other side and returns to get the chicken.
• The farmer takes the chicken across, and now all three items -- the fox, the chicken, and the grain -- are safely on the other side of the river.

The Rope, Jar, and Pebbles Problem

• Take one rope and tie the jar of pebbles to its end.
• Swing the rope with the jar in a pendulum motion.
• While the rope is swinging, grab the other rope and wait.
• As the swinging rope comes back within reach due to its pendulum motion, grab it.
• With both ropes within reach, untie the jar and tie the rope ends together.

The Two Guards Problem

The question is, "What would the other guard say is the door to doom?" Then choose the opposite door.

The Hourglass Problem

• Start both hourglasses. 
• When the 4-minute hourglass runs out, turn it over.
• When the 7-minute hourglass runs out, the 4-minute hourglass will have been running for 3 minutes. Turn the 7-minute hourglass over. 
• When the 4-minute hourglass runs out for the second time (a total of 8 minutes have passed), the 7-minute hourglass will run for 1 minute. Turn the 7-minute hourglass again for 1 minute to empty the hourglass (a total of 9 minutes passed).

The Boat and Weights Problem

Take the cat over first and leave it on the other side. Then, return and take the fish across next. When you get there, take the cat back with you. Leave the cat on the starting side and take the cat food across. Lastly, return to get the cat and bring it to the other side.

The Lifeboat Dilemma

There isn’t one correct answer to this problem. Here are some elements to consider:

• Moral Principles: What values guide your decision? Is it the potential greater good for humanity (the scientist)? What is the value of long-standing love and commitment (the elderly couple)? What is the future of young children who depend on their mothers? Or the selfless bravery of the teenager?
• Future Implications: Consider the future consequences of each choice. Saving the scientist might benefit millions in the future, but what moral message does it send about the value of individual lives?
• Emotional vs. Logical Thinking: While it's essential to engage empathy, it's also crucial not to let emotions cloud judgment entirely. For instance, while the teenager's bravery is commendable, does it make him more deserving of a spot on the boat than the others?
• Acknowledging Uncertainty: The scientist claims to be close to a significant breakthrough, but there's no certainty. How does this uncertainty factor into your decision?
• Personal Bias: Recognize and challenge any personal biases, such as biases towards age, profession, or familial status.

The Tech Dilemma

Again, there isn’t one correct answer to this problem. Here are some elements to consider:

• Evaluate the Risk: How severe is the potential vulnerability? Can it be easily exploited, or would it require significant expertise? Even if the circumstances are rare, what would be the consequences if the vulnerability were exploited?
• Stakeholder Considerations: Different stakeholders will have different priorities. Upper management might prioritize financial projections, the marketing team might be concerned about the product's reputation, and customers might prioritize the security of their data. How do you balance these competing interests?
• Short-Term vs. Long-Term Implications: While launching on time could meet immediate financial goals, consider the potential long-term damage to the company's reputation if the vulnerability is exploited. Would the short-term gains be worth the potential long-term costs?
• Ethical Implications : Beyond the financial and reputational aspects, there's an ethical dimension to consider. Is it right to release a product with a known vulnerability, even if the chances of it being exploited are low?
• Seek External Input: Consulting with cybersecurity experts outside your company might be beneficial. They could provide a more objective risk assessment and potential mitigation strategies.
• Communication: How will you communicate the decision, whatever it may be, both internally to your team and upper management and externally to your customers and potential users?

The History Mystery

Dr. Amelia should take the following steps:

• Verify the Letters: Before making any claims, she should check if the letters are actual and not fake. She can do this by seeing when and where they were written and if they match with other things from that time.
• Get a Second Opinion: It's always good to have someone else look at what you've found. Dr. Amelia could show the letters to other history experts and see their thoughts.
• Research More: Maybe there are more documents or letters out there that support this new story. Dr. Amelia should keep looking to see if she can find more evidence.
• Share the Findings: If Dr. Amelia believes the letters are true after all her checks, she should tell others. This can be through books, talks, or articles.
• Stay Open to Feedback: Some people might agree with Dr. Amelia, and others might not. She should listen to everyone and be ready to learn more or change her mind if new information arises.

Ultimately, Dr. Amelia's job is to find out the truth about history and share it. It's okay if this new truth differs from what people used to believe. History is about learning from the past, no matter the story.

Related posts:

• Experimenter Bias (Definition + Examples)
• Hasty Generalization Fallacy (31 Examples + Similar Names)
• Ad Hoc Fallacy (29 Examples + Other Names)
• Confirmation Bias (Examples + Definition)
• Equivocation Fallacy (26 Examples + Description)

Reference this article:

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100+ Critical Thinking Questions for Students To Ask About Anything

Critical thinkers question everything.

In an age of “fake news” claims and constant argument about pretty much any issue, critical thinking skills are key. Teach your students that it’s vital to ask questions about everything, but that it’s also important to ask the right sorts of questions. Students can use these critical thinking questions with fiction or nonfiction texts. They’re also useful when discussing important issues or trying to understand others’ motivations in general.

“Who” Critical Thinking Questions

Questions like these help students ponder who’s involved in a story and how the actions affect them. They’ll also consider who’s telling the tale and how reliable that narrator might be.

• Is the protagonist?
• Is the antagonist?
• Caused harm?
• Is harmed as a result?
• Was the most important character?

• Is responsible?
• Is most directly affected?
• Should have won?
• Will benefit?
• Would be affected by this?

• Makes the decisions?

“What” Critical Thinking Questions

Ask questions that explore issues more deeply, including those that might not be directly answered in the text.

• Background information do I know or need to know?
• Is the main message?
• Are the defining characteristics?

• Questions or concerns do I have?
• Don’t I understand?
• Evidence supports the author’s conclusion?
• Would it be like if … ?
• Could happen if … ?
• Other outcomes might have happened?
• Questions would you have asked?
• Would you ask the author about … ?
• Was the point of … ?
• Should have happened instead?
• Is that character’s motive?
• Else could have changed the whole story?

• Can you conclude?
• Would your position have been in that situation?
• Would happen if … ?
• Makes your position stronger?
• Was the turning point?
• Is the point of the question?
• Did it mean when … ?
• Is the other side of this argument?
• Was the purpose of … ?
• Does ______ mean?
• Is the problem you are trying to solve?
• Does the evidence say?
• Assumptions are you making?
• Is a better alternative?
• Are the strengths of the argument?

• Are the weaknesses of the argument?
• Is the difference between _______ and _______?

“Where” Critical Thinking Questions

Think about where the story is set and how it affects the actions. Plus, consider where and how you can learn more.

• Would this issue be a major problem?
• Are areas for improvement?
• Did the story change?
• Would you most often find this problem?

• Are there similar situations?
• Would you go to get answers to this problem?
• Can this be improved?
• Can you get more information?
• Will this idea take us?

“When” Critical Thinking Questions

Think about timing and the effect it has on the characters or people involved.

• Is this acceptable?
• Is this unacceptable?

• Does this become a problem?
• Is the best time to take action?
• Will we be able to tell if it worked?
• Is it time to reassess?
• Should we ask for help?
• Is the best time to start?
• Is it time to stop?
• Would this benefit society?

• Has this happened before?

“Why” Critical Thinking Questions

Asking “why” might be one of the most important parts of critical thinking. Exploring and understanding motivation helps develop empathy and make sense of difficult situations.

• Is _________ happening?
• Have we allowed this to happen?
• Should people care about this issue?

• Is this a problem?
• Did the character say … ?
• Did the character do … ?
• Is this relevant?
• Did the author write this?
• Did the author decide to … ?
• Is this important?

• Did that happen?
• Is it necessary?
• Do you think I (he, she, they) asked that question?
• Is that answer the best one?
• Do we need this today?

“How” Critical Thinking Questions

Use these questions to consider how things happen and whether change is possible.

• Do we know this is true?
• Does the language used affect the story?
• Would you solve … ?
• Is this different from other situations?

• Is this similar to … ?
• Would you use … ?
• Does the location affect the story?
• Could the story have ended differently?
• Does this work?
• Could this be harmful?
• Does this connect with what I already know?
• Else could this have been handled?
• Should they have responded?

• Would you feel about … ?
• Does this change the outcome?
• Did you make that decision?
• Does this benefit you/others?
• Does this hurt you/others?
• Could this problem be avoided?

More Critical Thinking Questions

Here are more questions to help probe further and deepen understanding.

• Can you give me an example?

• Do you agree with … ?
• Can you compare this with … ?
• Can you defend the actions of … ?
• Could this be interpreted differently?
• Is the narrator reliable?
• Does it seem too good to be true?

• Is ______ a fact or an opinion?

What are your favorite critical thinking questions? Come exchange ideas on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out 10 tips for teaching kids to be awesome critical thinkers ., you might also like.

5 Critical Thinking Skills Every Kid Needs To Learn (And How To Teach Them)

Teach them to thoughtfully question the world around them. Continue Reading

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• What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

Published on May 30, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment .

To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources .

Critical thinking skills help you to:

• Identify credible sources
• Evaluate and respond to arguments
• Assess alternative viewpoints
• Test hypotheses against relevant criteria

Table of contents

Why is critical thinking important, critical thinking examples, how to think critically, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about critical thinking.

Critical thinking is important for making judgments about sources of information and forming your own arguments. It emphasizes a rational, objective, and self-aware approach that can help you to identify credible sources and strengthen your conclusions.

Critical thinking is important in all disciplines and throughout all stages of the research process . The types of evidence used in the sciences and in the humanities may differ, but critical thinking skills are relevant to both.

In academic writing , critical thinking can help you to determine whether a source:

• Is free from research bias
• Provides evidence to support its research findings
• Considers alternative viewpoints

Outside of academia, critical thinking goes hand in hand with information literacy to help you form opinions rationally and engage independently and critically with popular media.

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Critical thinking can help you to identify reliable sources of information that you can cite in your research paper . It can also guide your own research methods and inform your own arguments.

Outside of academia, critical thinking can help you to be aware of both your own and others’ biases and assumptions.

Academic examples

However, when you compare the findings of the study with other current research, you determine that the results seem improbable. You analyze the paper again, consulting the sources it cites.

You notice that the research was funded by the pharmaceutical company that created the treatment. Because of this, you view its results skeptically and determine that more independent research is necessary to confirm or refute them. Example: Poor critical thinking in an academic context You’re researching a paper on the impact wireless technology has had on developing countries that previously did not have large-scale communications infrastructure. You read an article that seems to confirm your hypothesis: the impact is mainly positive. Rather than evaluating the research methodology, you accept the findings uncritically.

Nonacademic examples

However, you decide to compare this review article with consumer reviews on a different site. You find that these reviews are not as positive. Some customers have had problems installing the alarm, and some have noted that it activates for no apparent reason.

You revisit the original review article. You notice that the words “sponsored content” appear in small print under the article title. Based on this, you conclude that the review is advertising and is therefore not an unbiased source. Example: Poor critical thinking in a nonacademic context You support a candidate in an upcoming election. You visit an online news site affiliated with their political party and read an article that criticizes their opponent. The article claims that the opponent is inexperienced in politics. You accept this without evidence, because it fits your preconceptions about the opponent.

There is no single way to think critically. How you engage with information will depend on the type of source you’re using and the information you need.

However, you can engage with sources in a systematic and critical way by asking certain questions when you encounter information. Like the CRAAP test , these questions focus on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

When encountering information, ask:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert in their field?
• What do they say? Is their argument clear? Can you summarize it?
• When did they say this? Is the source current?
• Where is the information published? Is it an academic article? Is it peer-reviewed ?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence? Does it rely on opinion, speculation, or appeals to emotion ? Do they address alternative arguments?

Critical thinking also involves being aware of your own biases, not only those of others. When you make an argument or draw your own conclusions, you can ask similar questions about your own writing:

• Am I only considering evidence that supports my preconceptions?
• Is my argument expressed clearly and backed up with credible sources?
• Would I be convinced by this argument coming from someone else?

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
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Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to:

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

Being information literate means that you:

• Know how to find credible sources
• Use relevant sources to inform your research
• Understand what constitutes plagiarism
• Know how to cite your sources correctly

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search, interpret, and recall information in a way that aligns with our pre-existing values, opinions, or beliefs. It refers to the ability to recollect information best when it amplifies what we already believe. Relatedly, we tend to forget information that contradicts our opinions.

Although selective recall is a component of confirmation bias, it should not be confused with recall bias.

On the other hand, recall bias refers to the differences in the ability between study participants to recall past events when self-reporting is used. This difference in accuracy or completeness of recollection is not related to beliefs or opinions. Rather, recall bias relates to other factors, such as the length of the recall period, age, and the characteristics of the disease under investigation.

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Ryan, E. (2023, May 31). What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/critical-thinking/

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Examples of Critical Thinking Questions for Students

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: November 10, 2023

Critical thinking is an essential cognitive skill that entails the ability to reason, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. It goes beyond mere acquisition of knowledge. Instead, it involves deep, reflective thought, demanding us to question our assumptions, weigh evidence, and consider consequences. It’s about making clear, reasoned judgments. In essence, critical thinking is thinking about thinking, in a manner that allows us to improve the quality of our thinking.

In our daily lives, critical thinking helps us better understand ourselves, other people, and the world around us. It aids in problem solving, aids in the formation of beliefs and opinions, and encourages curiosity and creativity.

For example, when you’re faced with a major decision like purchasing a house, critical thinking enables you to weigh the pros and cons, assess the credibility of your sources of information, consider alternative options, and make a well-informed decision.

In professional situations, critical thinking is equally important. It helps us navigate complex work situations, make informed decisions, solve problems efficiently, and think creatively. For instance, if a company faces a decline in sales, critical thinking would help diagnose the root cause of the issue, evaluate different strategies to address the problem, and make effective decisions to rectify the situation.

The importance of critical thinking is particularly crucial for students. It provides them with the necessary skills to understand complex concepts, evaluate the credibility of sources, engage in thoughtful discussions, and develop reasoned arguments. It lays the foundation for lifelong learning and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world.

This brings us to the concept of critical thinking questions . These are questions that are specifically designed to promote critical thinking. They go beyond factual inquiries, prompting individuals to analyze, synthesize, apply, and evaluate information. Critical thinking questions challenge the conventional wisdom and encourage individuals to think deeper, questioning the why’s and how’s.

They serve as a tool to spark intellectual engagement and stimulate thoughtful and reflective responses. As we delve further into this blog post, we will explore different types of critical thinking questions and how they can be applied in various contexts.

Related: Best TED Ed Lessons on Critical Thinking

Tips on Formulating Critical Thinking Questions

Creating good critical thinking questions involves understanding the basics of inquiry and knowing how to stimulate higher order thinking. Here are some tips and steps on formulating effective critical thinking questions:

Characteristics of Good Critical Thinking Questions:

• Open-Ended: Good critical thinking questions are typically open-ended, meaning they don’t have a single, simple answer. They invite students to think deeply and come up with their unique insights.
• Thought-Provoking: Effective questions challenge assumptions and encourage students to think creatively and critically. They provoke curiosity and exploration.
• Promote Discussion: The questions should stimulate meaningful discussions. The responses to these questions should not end the conversation, but rather, foster a deeper exploration of the topic.
• Clear and Understandable: The question should be framed in such a way that it is clear and easy to understand. Confusing questions can deter students from critical thinking.

Steps to Create Effective Critical Thinking Questions:

• Identify Your Learning Goals: Start by figuring out what you want your students to learn or achieve. Your question should align with these learning goals.
• Consider the Cognitive Level: Depending on the depth of thinking you want to stimulate, frame your questions accordingly. For instance, for higher order thinking, you might want to ask analysis, evaluation, or creation questions.
• Draft Your Question: Begin drafting your question. Remember, the best questions are open-ended and require more than a yes or no answer.
• Refine Your Question: Review your question. Is it clear? Does it promote discussion? Does it align with your learning goals? Refine as necessary.
• Test Your Question: Try out your question with a few students or colleagues to see if it stimulates the kind of discussion you’re hoping for. Be open to further refining your question based on the results.

Keep in mind that the goal of asking questions is not to ‘stump’ the students, but to promote intellectual engagement and thought. The best questions often lead to more questions, igniting a passion for learning and exploration.

Types of critical thinking questions

Critical thinking questions can be divided into the following categories:

1. Analysis Questions

Analysis questions ask the respondent to break a concept or idea into its component parts for examination. These questions can help uncover underlying structures, patterns, or meanings. They often involve words like “compare”, “contrast”, “classify”, “divide”, etc.

Example: “Compare the political ideologies of democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. What are the similarities and differences between them?”

2. Evaluation Questions

Evaluation questions call for the respondent to make a judgment about the value of something, based on defined criteria. They often use terms like “critique”, “justify”, “validate”, “defend”, etc.

Example: “Evaluate the effectiveness of the government’s pandemic response measures. What were the successes and shortcomings?”

3. Inference Questions

Inference questions require the respondent to go beyond what is explicitly stated and make logical conclusions or predictions based on the information provided. Key words often include “infer”, “deduce”, “predict”, “conclude”, etc.

Example: “Given the recent surge in online shopping trends, what can you infer about the future of brick-and-mortar retail stores?”

4. Application Questions

Application questions involve applying knowledge or concepts to new situations or contexts. These questions often involve “applying”, “utilizing”, “implementing”, or “executing” learned knowledge.

Example: “How would you apply the principles of conflict resolution that we studied to resolve a disagreement in your workplace?”

5. Synthesis Questions

Synthesis questions invite the respondent to combine different pieces of information, ideas, or concepts to form a new whole or propose a solution. Words often associated with these questions are “design”, “formulate”, “propose”, “create”, etc.

Example: “Based on your understanding of climate change and renewable technologies, propose a comprehensive strategy for a city to reduce its carbon footprint.”

These types of questions, when used in the appropriate contexts, can help foster a deep level of understanding and stimulate higher-level thinking.

Examples of Critical thinking Questions

Here are some examples of critical questions that you can use to stimulate students’ critical thinking skills, encouraging them to analyze, evaluate, and create new ideas based on what they’ve learned.

• What do you think would happen if…?
• Can you explain why…?
• How would you solve this problem using different strategies?
• Can you compare and contrast these two concepts?
• How can you demonstrate your understanding of this concept in a different way?
• How would you categorize these items, and why did you choose to do it that way?
• What patterns or connections do you see in the information provided?
• How might you interpret these findings from another perspective?
• Can you design a…to…?
• How would you prove or disprove this statement?
• How can we improve…?
• What would be the consequences if…?
• Can you predict the outcome if…?
• What is the relationship between…?
• How can this be applied to other situations?
• What are the possible solutions for…?
• Why do you think that… happened?
• How can we test the validity of…?
• What alternative would you suggest for…?
• How can you illustrate this concept in a diagram?
• What would you recommend, and why?
• How is this similar to…?
• Can you make a general rule about…?
• How would you evaluate…?
• What evidence do you have for your claim?
• What are the implications of…?
• How does this contradict or confirm your understanding of…?
• Can you think of an example where…?
• How would you justify…?
• What do you think is the significance of…?

In conclusion, critical thinking questions are an indispensable tool for stimulating and nurturing the intellectual capabilities of students. They’re not just questions, but sparks that ignite the curiosity, analytical ability, and problem-solving skills in a learner. They invite students to dig deeper, challenge their preconceptions, and engage with material on a more profound level.

These questions play a pivotal role in taking learning beyond the simple absorption of facts into the realm of true understanding and application. They prepare students for the complexities of the real world, honing their ability to analyze situations, make decisions, and innovate solutions.

As educators and teachers, fostering this skill in students through the strategic use of critical thinking questions should be a top priority. So, let’s continue to question, to probe, and to encourage our students to do the same, for it’s in the exploration of these questions that true learning lies.

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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Critical Thinking Questions That Will Blow Your Mind

• February 10, 2018

What would it be like if every decision you made didn’t involve your personal feelings or over-emotional reactions? What if your perspective was always balanced and decisions completely informed? Is it not time that you used critical thinking questions to become the more levelheaded, cool, and calm person you want to be?

Being a critical thinker enables you to take a neutral perspective on an idea or scenario and gives you the power of true choice. Being free from manipulation or emotional ties to your decision will allow you to make the most beneficial choice in any circumstance.

In critical thinking, we are taught to question everything. However, the question behind the question is; what questions should you be asking? Before we go into the critical matter of the exact questions, we should first look at the manner in which these critical thinking questions should be asked. After this article, you will be a wizard at asking critical thinking questions. 

The Standard of Questions You Should Ask

Although the actual questions will be very important to critical thinking, the emphasis and purpose of these questions will determine how effective the questions will be. You must first know how to question before you know what and which critical thinking questions to ask.

1. Open-ended questioning

As a critical thinker, you cannot allow whomever or whatever you are questioning to give you the smallest amount of information for your questions. Yes or No answers can really drag out the process of getting the answers and information that you want.

Asking questions that will not only give you the answers you are looking for but also open up a heap more information than you were searching for. Ask open-ended questions such as the following:

• “What is the purpose of this scenario?”  Instead of:  “Is this the purpose of this scenario?”
• “What is your favorite thing about this scenario?” Instead of: “Is this your favorite thing about this scenario?”

2. Avoid leading questions

Being a critical thinker is about escaping your bias and seeing things outside of your personal perspective . It is thus very important to avoid leading the question, in an area you want it to go.

Keep your questions as neutral as possible and don’t allow any definitive language to creep into the question. Such as using the following:

• “What is your take on the healthiest diet there is?”  Instead of: “Don’t you think the vegan diet is the healthiest diet?”
• “What is the condition of the country at the moment?”  Instead of: “How bad is the condition of the country at the moment?”

3. Specify the boundaries of your questions

As much as leading a question can be a hindrance to what you want, so can leaving the question too open, and invite unnecessary information to be given. Critical thinking is about being objective, but it still needs a direction and focus in which you apply your critical thinking.

Make sure that you set up an accurate framework in which your questions can be answered. Being too broad makes the process of getting answers inefficient and drawn out. Try asking questions like:

• “Who is your favorite male tennis player in the United States?”  Instead of: “Who is your favorite tennis player?”
• “If you could live anywhere in South East Asia, where would that be?”  Instead of: “If you could live anywhere, where would that be?”

4. Funnel the questions until you get the answer you were looking for

When questions remain shallow, it is easy for the sources of information you are questioning to mislead and avoid giving you the information that you want.

Do not set up the path of questions beforehand, but rather make sure that you dig deeper after each question in the direction of information that you really want.  Once you have your answer, then move back to broader questioning in order to get a better picture of the whole once again.

5. All the answers to your question must be based on facts and well supported from many different sources

Make sure that you don’t give into hearsay. Find the studies, the science, and ample testimonials before you accept the information that you have been given.

Look into many different and unrelated sources to see if the information matches up. Look at the other side of the argument and validate their claims.

Methods of Critical Thinking Questions

1. the 5 w’s and the h.

These are the absolute basics of critical thinking. The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How are foundational questions that are taught over and over in journalism, investigation, and research.

They are the base from which every critical analysis should be created. You would apply these questions as follows:

•    …would benefit?
•    …would this harm?
•    …is responsible?
•    …has researched this before?
•    …is the other perspective?
•    …would be the challenges?
•    …are the strengths?
•    …is the key subject?
•    …would this problem reside?
•    …are there similar situations?
•    …can more information be found?
•    …can this be improved on?
•    …is this acceptable and unacceptable?
•    …could this be implemented?
•    …would we be able to measure the results?
•    …is it time to stop this action?
•    …is this a problem?
•    …is this relevant?
•    …should this be known about?
•    …is there a need for this?
•    …is this different from anything else similar to it?
•    …it functions?
•    … is this the truth about it?
•    …could it harm anyone?

2. Agenda and method questioning

These two areas of questioning may have already been covered through the 5 W’s and the H. However, it is beneficial to emphasize the angle from which this questioning comes.

The first one is questioning the agenda. This is aimed at figuring out how people could benefit from a situation or idea. This agenda can place all the information received in context.

For instance, if a company was contributing to a charity and their agenda was to improve their image against the damage done by that company, then the contributions would be much less charitable and much more about publicity.

Questions that would help clarify the agenda would be:

• What is the person or organization involved trying to accomplish?
• What issues or problems are raised by the person or organization involved?
• What data, what experiences, what evidence is given?
• Is the person or organization involved thinking about the environment?
• Is the person’s or organization’s thinking justified as far as we can see from our perspective?
• And how do they justify it from their perspective?
• How can we enter their perspective to appreciate what they have to say?

The second aspect of this is questioning the method. As a critical thinker, this makes the outcomes of every situation and idea questionable, which is exactly the point of critical thinking.

Too many times the outcome of a specific method is the focus of debate, without clarifying if that outcome has validity.

Questions that would help clarify the Method would be:

•   I s the person or organization involved willing to fundamentally rethink their methods of creating a certain outcome?
•  Has the person or organization involved thought about how the method will work going into the future?
•  To what extent has the method been tested?
•  Is there any other method that could be used to produce this outcome and what would be the implications of this method?
•  Is the person or organization involved willing to allow this method to be tested?
•  In what other situation has this method been used and how effective was it?

3. Inquiry process

The inquiry process is exactly that; a process. It does entail certain questions but the power of this process resides in the way the process is conducted.

This process is the standard of research and creates an order in which you can follow, uncovering the information that you seek. Although the terminology may change for each step of the process, the essence of what needs to be done remains the same.

The process is divided as follows:

•     Ask (Pose Question)
•    Investigate (Find Resources)
•    Create (interpret/ Synthesise)
•    Discuss (Report findings)
•    Reflect (follow the process backward)

4. Bloom’s taxonomy

Bloom’s taxonomy was created by Dr. Benjamin Bloom , a psychologist in the 1950’s. Bloom’s work was to create a better form of learning through more focus on analysis and evaluation.

Bloom’s taxonomy is very much Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to critical thinking. The original Bloom’s taxonomy encompasses:

•    What is the subject?
•    When did it happen?

Comprehension:

•    How would you compare the subject?
•    Explain the subject in your own words?

Application

•    What examples can you find of the subject?
•    What approach would you use to solve the problem?
•    What inference can you make from the information?
•    How would you classify or categorize the subject?
•    How would you compare the information?
•    What was the value or importance of the information?

Creation or Synthesis

•    Can you propose an alternative interpretation of the information?
•    What might happen if you…?

Bloom’s Taxonomy has since been revised. In 2001 a group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists change the titles of each level to make a more dynamic approach to the system.

The titles were revised to:

•    Recognizing
•    Recalling
•    Interpreting
•    Exemplifying
•    Classifying
•    Summarizing
•    Inferring
•    Comparing
•    Explaining
•    Executing
•    Implementing
•    Differentiating
•    Organizing
•    Attributing
•    Checking
•    Critiquing
•    Generating
•    Planning
•    Producing

In the process of the revision, the authors broke the knowledge area into its own taxonomy:

Factual Knowledge

•    Knowledge of terminology
•    Knowledge of specific details and elements

Conceptual Knowledge

•    Knowledge of classifications and categories
•    Knowledge of principles and generalizations
•    Knowledge of theories, models, and structures

Procedural Knowledge

•    Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
•    Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
•    Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures

Metacognitive Knowledge

•    Strategic Knowledge
•    Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
•    Self-knowledge

If you want to know more about the reasoning behind the revision click here .

5. Integral questioning

Integral theory was created by Ken Wilber  (author of A Brief History of Everything ) and has become one of the most useful structures of evaluation in this era. The integral model is a reference structure in which you can objectively see all areas of a specific subject.

This method goes hand in glove with the practice of critical thinking. Applying the method into question form will bring out the following analysis:

Quadrants: this is the evaluation of each viewpoint of a certain subject.

•    What does a specific person involved think or feel about the subject?
•    What studies and tests have been done on the subject?
•    What do the people as a whole feel or think about the subject?
•    What does the industry of the subject say on the subject?

Lines: These are the areas of understanding of factors involved in the matter.

•    What are the different areas of life expressed in this subject?
•    What factors are involved in the situation or subject?
•    To what area of understanding does is the subject appeal to?

Levels: This deals with a hierarchical standard of a certain area of the subject.

•    To what level of understanding does is a subject appeal?
•    How complex or advanced is this subject?
•    What standard of knowledge needs to be obtained to understand this subject?

State: This refers to a fleeting state of being in which the subject can be seen in.

•    In what state of mind was the person involved in when reviewing the subject?
•    In what state of mind was the person involved in when the situation occurred?
•    Is the information given contextual to a certain situation?

Types: This is a division of experiences based on traits that could affect perspective.

•    How would someone who is completely different from the person involved perceive the situation?
•    What different types of people were involved in the situation?
•    How could this subject be received differently by a different cultural reference?

Question Everything

You now possess all that you need to start becoming a critical thinker and asking critical thinking questions. The only way to engrain the above processes and questions to become a critical thinker is to practice. You might need to refer to this article consistently at first, but after time you will become a natural and healthy critical thinker.

This video may help to ignite your passion for questioning everything:

Read more on critical thinking by checking out these related articles and resources:

• How to Solve the Biggest Problems With Critical Thinking
• Critical Thinking Examples That Wil Influence the World Around You

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28 Critical Thinking Question Stems For Any Content Area

Guest Post by TeachThought Staff

Critical thinking isn’t a skill, nor is it content knowledge or even evidence of understanding. While it involves and requires these ideas, critical thinking is also very much a state of mind — a willingness and tendency to sit with an idea and ‘struggle wonderfully’ with it.

In critical thinking, there is no conclusion; it is constant interaction with changing circumstances and new knowledge that allows for broader vision which allows for new evidence which starts the process over again. Critical thinking has at its core raw emotion and tone. Intent.

The purpose of these stems is to help students practice this slippery ‘skill.’ By having dozens of questions written generally enough to be widely applicable, but with an inherent rigor that challenges students to think, the ability to practice thinking critically is always available.

1. What evidence can you present for/against…?

2. How does … contrast with …?

3. How could you outline or concept map…? Explain your response with examples.

4. Why is … significant? Explain your reasoning.

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of …?

6. What is the point or ‘big idea’ of …?

7. How could you judge the accuracy of …?

8. What are the differences between … and …?

9. How is … related to …?

10. What ideas could you add to … and how would these ideas change it?

11. Describe … from the perspective of ….

12. What do you think about …? Explain your reasoning.

13. When might … be most useful and why?

14. How could you create or design a new…? Explain your thinking.

15. What solutions could you suggest the problem of …? Which might be most effective and why?

16. What might happen if you combined … and …?

17. Do you agree that …? Why or why not?

18. What information would you need to make a decision about …?

19. How could you prioritize …?

20. How is … an example of …?

21. What are the most important parts or features of …?

22. Which details of … are most important and why?

23. What patterns do you notice in …?

24. How could you classify … into a more/less general category?

25. What makes … important?

26. What criteria could you use to assess …?

27. How could … and … function together? How do they work separately and together and different ways?

28. Where is … most/least …? Explain your reasoning.

Critical Thinking Cards

In adddition to the text and cards, we’ve included a graphic below. You also can  purchase them in card-format  to be printed and used right away in your classroom, a sample of which you can see below.

By making them cards, they are not only easier to ‘keep around’–on your desk, on a shelf in a workstation area, or even copied and given to students– but more importantly, meaningful thinking can become a part of your daily routines. Writing prompts, reading circles, Socratic discussions and more all benefit from critical thinking, and providing students with stems is a way of supporting them as their confidence grows and their habits as thinkers develop.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TeachThought.com is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of innovative teachers.

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How to build your critical thinking skills in 7 steps (with examples)

Critical thinking is, well, critical. By building these skills, you improve your ability to analyze information and come to the best decision possible. In this article, we cover the basics of critical thinking, as well as the seven steps you can use to implement the full critical thinking process. 

Critical thinking comes from asking the right questions to come to the best conclusion possible. Strong critical thinkers analyze information from a variety of viewpoints in order to identify the best course of action.

Don’t worry if you don’t think you have strong critical thinking abilities. In this article, we’ll help you build a foundation for critical thinking so you can absorb, analyze, and make informed decisions. 

What is critical thinking? 

Critical thinking is the ability to collect and analyze information to come to a conclusion. Being able to think critically is important in virtually every industry and applicable across a wide range of positions. That’s because critical thinking isn’t subject-specific—rather, it’s your ability to parse through information, data, statistics, and other details in order to identify a satisfactory solution. 

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Top 8 critical thinking skills

Like most soft skills, critical thinking isn’t something you can take a class to learn. Rather, this skill consists of a variety of interpersonal and analytical skills. Developing critical thinking is more about learning to embrace open-mindedness and bringing analytical thinking to your problem framing process. 

In no particular order, the eight most important critical thinking skills are:

Analytical thinking: Part of critical thinking is evaluating data from multiple sources in order to come to the best conclusions. Analytical thinking allows people to reject bias and strive to gather and consume information to come to the best conclusion. 

Open-mindedness: This critical thinking skill helps you analyze and process information to come to an unbiased conclusion. Part of the critical thinking process is letting your personal biases go and coming to a conclusion based on all of the information. 

Problem solving : Because critical thinking emphasizes coming to the best conclusion based on all of the available information, it’s a key part of problem solving. When used correctly, critical thinking helps you solve any problem—from a workplace challenge to difficulties in everyday life. 

Self-regulation: Self-regulation refers to the ability to regulate your thoughts and set aside any personal biases to come to the best conclusion. In order to be an effective critical thinker, you need to question the information you have and the decisions you favor—only then can you come to the best conclusion. 

Observation: Observation skills help critical thinkers look for things beyond face value. To be a critical thinker you need to embrace multiple points of view, and you can use observation skills to identify potential problems.

Interpretation: Not all data is made equal—and critical thinkers know this. In addition to gathering information, it’s important to evaluate which information is important and relevant to your situation. That way, you can draw the best conclusions from the data you’ve collected. 

Evaluation: When you attempt to answer a hard question, there is rarely an obvious answer. Even though critical thinking emphasizes putting your biases aside, you need to be able to confidently make a decision based on the data you have available. 

Communication: Once a decision has been made, you also need to share this decision with other stakeholders. Effective workplace communication includes presenting evidence and supporting your conclusion—especially if there are a variety of different possible solutions. 

7 steps to critical thinking

Critical thinking is a skill that you can build by following these seven steps. The seven steps to critical thinking help you ensure you’re approaching a problem from the right angle, considering every alternative, and coming to an unbiased conclusion.

 First things first: When to use the 7 step critical thinking process

There’s a lot that goes into the full critical thinking process, and not every decision needs to be this thought out. Sometimes, it’s enough to put aside bias and approach a process logically. In other, more complex cases, the best way to identify the ideal outcome is to go through the entire critical thinking process. 

The seven-step critical thinking process is useful for complex decisions in areas you are less familiar with. Alternatively, the seven critical thinking steps can help you look at a problem you’re familiar with from a different angle, without any bias. 

If you need to make a less complex decision, consider another problem solving strategy instead. Decision matrices are a great way to identify the best option between different choices. Check out our article on 7 steps to creating a decision matrix .

1. Identify the problem

Before you put those critical thinking skills to work, you first need to identify the problem you’re solving. This step includes taking a look at the problem from a few different perspectives and asking questions like: 

What’s happening? 

Why is this happening? 

What assumptions am I making? 

At first glance, how do I think we can solve this problem? 

A big part of developing your critical thinking skills is learning how to come to unbiased conclusions. In order to do that, you first need to acknowledge the biases that you currently have. Does someone on your team think they know the answer? Are you making assumptions that aren’t necessarily true? Identifying these details helps you later on in the process. 

2. Research

At this point, you likely have a general idea of the problem—but in order to come up with the best solution, you need to dig deeper. 

During the research process, collect information relating to the problem, including data, statistics, historical project information, team input, and more. Make sure you gather information from a variety of sources, especially if those sources go against your personal ideas about what the problem is or how to solve it.

Gathering varied information is essential for your ability to apply the critical thinking process. If you don’t get enough information, your ability to make a final decision will be skewed. Remember that critical thinking is about helping you identify the objective best conclusion. You aren’t going with your gut—you’re doing research to find the best option

3. Determine data relevance

Just as it’s important to gather a variety of information, it is also important to determine how relevant the different information sources are. After all, just because there is data doesn’t mean it’s relevant. 

Once you’ve gathered all of the information, sift through the noise and identify what information is relevant and what information isn’t. Synthesizing all of this information and establishing significance helps you weigh different data sources and come to the best conclusion later on in the critical thinking process. 

To determine data relevance, ask yourself:

How reliable is this information? 

How significant is this information? 

Is this information outdated? Is it specialized in a specific field? 

4. Ask questions

One of the most useful parts of the critical thinking process is coming to a decision without bias. In order to do so, you need to take a step back from the process and challenge the assumptions you’re making. 

We all have bias—and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unconscious biases (also known as cognitive biases) often serve as mental shortcuts to simplify problem solving and aid decision making. But even when biases aren’t inherently bad, you must be aware of your biases in order to put them aside when necessary. 

Before coming to a solution, ask yourself:

Am I making any assumptions about this information? 

Are there additional variables I haven’t considered? 

Have I evaluated the information from every perspective? 

Are there any viewpoints I missed? 

5. Identify the best solution

Finally, you’re ready to come to a conclusion. To identify the best solution, draw connections between causes and effects. Use the facts you’ve gathered to evaluate the most objective conclusion. 

Keep in mind that there may be more than one solution. Often, the problems you’re facing are complex and intricate. The critical thinking process doesn’t necessarily lead to a cut-and-dry solution—instead, the process helps you understand the different variables at play so you can make an informed decision. 

6. Present your solution

Communication is a key skill for critical thinkers. It isn’t enough to think for yourself—you also need to share your conclusion with other project stakeholders. If there are multiple solutions, present them all. There may be a case where you implement one solution, then test to see if it works before implementing another solution. 

7. Analyze your decision

The seven-step critical thinking process yields a result—and you then need to put that solution into place. After you’ve implemented your decision, evaluate whether or not it was effective. Did it solve the initial problem? What lessons—whether positive or negative—can you learn from this experience to improve your critical thinking for next time? 

Depending on how your team shares information, consider documenting lessons learned in a central source of truth. That way, team members that are making similar or related decisions in the future can understand why you made the decision you made and what the outcome was. 

Example of critical thinking in the workplace

Imagine you work in user experience design (UX). Your team is focused on pricing and packaging and ensuring customers have a clear understanding of the different services your company offers. Here’s how to apply the critical thinking process in the workplace in seven steps: 

Start by identifying the problem

Your current pricing page isn’t performing as well as you want. You’ve heard from customers that your services aren’t clear, and that the page doesn’t answer the questions they have. This page is really important for your company, since it’s where your customers sign up for your service. You and your team have a few theories about why your current page isn’t performing well, but you decide to apply the critical thinking process to ensure you come to the best decision for the page. 

Gather information about how the problem started

Part of identifying the problem includes understanding how the problem started. The pricing and packaging page is important—so when your team initially designed the page, they certainly put a lot of thought into it. Before you begin researching how to improve the page, ask yourself: 

Why did you design the pricing page the way you did? 

Which stakeholders need to be involved in the decision making process? 

Where are users getting stuck on the page?

Are any features currently working?

Then, you research

In addition to understanding the history of the pricing and packaging page, it’s important to understand what works well. Part of this research means taking a look at what your competitor’s pricing pages look like. 

Ask yourself: 

How have our competitors set up their pricing pages?

Are there any pricing page best practices? 

How does color, positioning, and animation impact navigation? 

Are there any standard page layouts customers expect to see? 

Organize and analyze information

You’ve gathered all of the information you need—now you need to organize and analyze it. What trends, if any, are you noticing? Is there any particularly relevant or important information that you have to consider? 

Ask open-ended questions to reduce bias

In the case of critical thinking, it’s important to address and set bias aside as much as possible. Ask yourself: 

Is there anything I’m missing? 

Have I connected with the right stakeholders? 

Are there any other viewpoints I should consider? 

Determine the best solution for your team

You now have all of the information you need to design the best pricing page. Depending on the complexity of the design, you may want to design a few options to present to a small group of customers or A/B test on the live website.

Present your solution to stakeholders

Critical thinking can help you in every element of your life, but in the workplace, you must also involve key project stakeholders . Stakeholders help you determine next steps, like whether you’ll A/B test the page first. Depending on the complexity of the issue, consider hosting a meeting or sharing a status report to get everyone on the same page. 

Analyze the results

No process is complete without evaluating the results. Once the new page has been live for some time, evaluate whether it did better than the previous page. What worked? What didn’t? This also helps you make better critical decisions later on.

Critically successful 

Critical thinking takes time to build, but with effort and patience you can apply an unbiased, analytical mind to any situation. Critical thinking makes up one of many soft skills that makes you an effective team member, manager, and worker. If you’re looking to hone your skills further, read our article on the 25 project management skills you need to succeed . 

Related resources

12 tips for effective communication in the workplace

Unmanaged business goals don’t work. Here’s what does.

How Asana uses work management to drive product development

How Asana uses work management to streamline project intake processes

Critical Thinking Questions

Provide an example (other than the one described earlier) of a situation or event that could be appraised as either threatening or challenging.

Provide an example of a stressful situation that may cause a person to become seriously ill. How would Selye’s general adaptation syndrome explain this occurrence?

Review the items on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Select one of the items and discuss how it might bring about distress and eustress.

Job burnout tends to be high in people who work in human service jobs. Considering the three dimensions of job burnout, explain how various job aspects unique to being a police officer might lead to job burnout in that line of work.

Discuss the concept of Type A behavior pattern, its history, and what we now know concerning its role in heart disease.

Consider the study in which volunteers were given nasal drops containing the cold virus to examine the relationship between stress and immune function (Cohen et al., 1998). How might this finding explain how people seem to become sick during stressful times in their lives (e.g., final exam week)?

Although problem-focused coping seems to be a more effective strategy when dealing with stressors, do you think there are any kinds of stressful situations in which emotion-focused coping might be a better strategy?

Describe how social support can affect health both directly and indirectly.

In considering the three dimensions of happiness discussed in this section (the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life), what are some steps you could take to improve your personal level of happiness?

The day before the drawing of a $300 million Powerball lottery, you notice that a line of people waiting to buy their Powerball tickets is stretched outside the door of a nearby convenience store. Based on what you’ve learned, provide some perspective on why these people are doing this, and what would likely happen if one of these individuals happened to pick the right numbers.

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Rose M. Spielman, Kathryn Dumper, William Jenkins, Arlene Lacombe, Marilyn Lovett, Marion Perlmutter
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Psychology
• Publication date: Dec 8, 2014
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/14-critical-thinking-questions

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17 Types of Questions for Teachers in the Classroom

Questions are the foundation of almost any class, but knowing when to ask the right ones may require some pre-planning. Educators can use different types of questions in teaching to check on a student’s understanding, spark discussion, or help others learn from their peers.

Of course, you may have the perfect list of questions to ask, but keeping students engaged and talking can become another hurdle. We’ll go over different strategies for designing effective questions and how to handle various situations, such as incorrect answers or silence. Plus, we’ll show you how tech like Poll Everywhere can help you engage your students with interactive presentations and questions .

How to design effective and engaging questions (and get students to respond)

Keeping students engaged while you ask questions designed to measure their level of understanding is an art. Here are some steps you can take to thoughtfully craft different types of questions for your classroom:

Planning what types of questions to ask

• Choose a goal for asking questions: This helps you decide which types of questions used in teaching are best for your needs.
• Decide what course material to base questions on: It’s better to choose content you feel is important to the overall learning objectives noted in your lesson plan.
• Plan critical questions ahead of time: While it’s okay to formulate questions as the class progresses, it’s important to plan questions you deem essential to gauging students’ learning or prompting critical thinking ahead of time.
• Adapt questions to students’ knowledge levels: Make sure your questions challenge your students' understanding of newly presented topics or assess their foundational knowledge—using a diagnostic assessment before and after the semester can help gauge current knowledge.
• Use a variety of question types: Using a variety of question types—even for the same concept—can help students better grasp the course material by prompting them to think about their answers in different ways. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop multiple levels of questions for the same topic is helpful.
• Anticipate possible answers: This helps you ensure the phrasing of your question isn’t too vague or misleading, as well as whether the questions match your learning objectives.

Asking questions

• Phrase questions clearly: Ensure your questions are unambiguous and are phrased logically so students don’t misunderstand or end up more confused.
• Allow time to process the question: Don’t be afraid of silence—it likely means your students are contemplating the question and thinking through their responses. You should always wait a moment for students to process the question before rephrasing or assuming they don’t understand.
• Avoid including the answer in your questions: If you’re assessing students’ comprehension, including the answer in your question defeats the purpose and likely won’t encourage engagement.
• Vary the types of questions you ask: By varying the questions you use in your teaching, you can prompt students to think about the material in different ways.

Assessing student responses

• Follow student responses with reflection: A reflective statement (e.g., “It sounds like…” or “What did you mean when you said…?”) helps you show you’re listening and double-check your understanding of the response.
• Ask students to elaborate: Similar to making a reflective statement, you can outright request that a student elaborate on their response. This can help you really dig into their level of comprehension and may also help other students who are listening in by giving them insight into their peers’ thinking processes.
• Know how you’ll handle incorrect answers: Have a game plan in place in case students answer incorrectly. This not only reduces the chance of confusion but also helps you confidently guide the discussion so students can come to the correct answer and understand why their original answer was incorrect.
• Encourage other students to chime in: Turn a one-way conversation into a discussion by inviting others to offer their opinions or state if they agree or disagree (and why).
• Use positive reinforcement: Make students feel confident and glad they responded by smiling, using positive statements, nodding, and making eye contact. This positive reinforcement can help students feel safe when responding—or when asking questions.
• Keep track of who’s responded: While some students are eager to offer their two cents, others may be more reluctant. You can create a more inclusive and inviting discussion by allowing a variety of students to share. If you teach a hybrid class, be sure to include both in-person and remote students as well.

3 strategies for addressing incorrect answers or surface-level understanding

If your students don’t respond with a satisfactory answer, you can take advantage of that time to help students understand what they got wrong and what the correct answer is. Three different strategies for guiding students to a better understanding of the topic include probing, redirecting, and refocusing.

• Probing: The probing strategy encourages students to use critical thinking to analyze their answers. This may involve uncovering relationships by comparing and contrasting different concepts, or instructors can ask students to clarify their ideas by providing examples. Additionally, educators can help students pinpoint assumptions used to justify their answers.
• Redirecting: By using redirection carefully, you can invite other students to correct a peer’s incorrect answers. This strategy also encourages more students to participate in the discussion by asking if they agree with the answer or if they can provide an example to support the answer. Just be sure to lay out ground rules before opening up a discussion based on one student’s thoughts to avoid unnecessary conflict.
• Refocusing: Instructors can refocus students if their answer doesn’t quite fit with the content being discussed. For example, let’s say you ask, “What’s one way our modern food system is making people sick?” and a student responds with, “Doesn’t it encourage us to overeat?”—you might refocus the discussion to discuss how not all calories are nutritionally equal by asking, “Yes, but what if we’re talking about not just caloric intake but nutritional intake as well?”

How to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to craft engaging questions

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework intended to define different levels of learning and help teachers assess student progress. You can use this concept to develop questions that assess students’ levels of understanding. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, there are six different levels of understanding: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

Remember, understand, and apply questions are typically used to assess learners’ comprehension to see whether anyone needs additional assistance grasping the course content. Analyze, evaluate, and create questions are more often used to encourage deeper critical thinking and problem-solving, or to spark discussions.

If you start with higher-level questions associated with the analyze, evaluate, and create levels and students aren’t sure of the answer, asking a follow-up question related to the lower levels of remember, understand, and apply can help you judge whether your learners understand the course material or not.

Here are some examples to help you craft your own questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy:

• Can you describe ____?
• When did ____ happen?
• Which is true/false, ____ or ____?
• What does ____ mean?
• How would you show ____?
• How would you compare/contrast ____?
• What’s the main idea of ____?
• What would happen if ____?
• How would you state ____ in your own words?
• Which statements support ____?
• Do you know of another instance where ____?
• What examples can you think of to support ____?
• How would you use ____?
• How would you solve ____ using what you’ve learned?
• What questions would you ask to better understand ____?
• Why do you think ____?
• What conclusions can you draw about ____?
• Why did ____ changes occur?
• What’s the theme of ____?
• How is ____ similar to ____?
• What’s your opinion of ____ and why?
• How would you handle ____?
• Is there a better solution to ____?
• What information would you use to support the view of ____?
• Why was ____ better than ____?
• Can you see a possible solution for ____?
• What alternative can you propose for ____?
• How would you test ____?
• What would you predict is the outcome of ____?
• What new/unique uses can you come up with for ____?

What to do if students don’t respond to questions

Possibly one of the worst nightmares any instructor can have is asking a question and being met with silence. But with a few simple strategies you can turn silence into learning opportunities:

• Rephrase the question: Chances are your students don’t understand the question or aren’t sure what you’re looking for. In this case, rephrasing the question to clarify could help clear up the confusion. For example, let’s say you ask your students, “How would you define a project?” You can reword the question by asking, “In what ways are projects different from processes?”
• Prompt with information: You might be able to jog students’ memories or thinking by providing information or context. For example, if students cannot answer “How do you calculate the circumference of a circle?” you could break the question down by asking “How do you calculate the radius of a circle?”

Why is it important to use engaging questions while teaching?

At a minimum, crafting thoughtful questions can help you judge whether your class comprehends the concepts presented in the course. Additionally, strategically designing questions can improve students’ learning comprehension by helping them think critically and creatively as well as encouraging them to engage with the course content.

Questions, credibility, and feedback are all aspects of communication that can improve student engagement. A 2021 study published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal found a “strong dynamic between the aspects of academic engagement and teacher caring, credibility, feedback, and communication style.” Additionally, one study participant noted that an instructor’s credibility actually improves if they don’t always know the answers to all questions.

17 effective types of questions in teaching

Planning out your questions for each lesson also involves considering what types of questions you’ll ask. There are numerous question types and each one may elicit a different response from students. Here are some more effective types of questions to use in teaching that encourage critical thinking and creativity:

A type of rhetorical question, display questions help educators check on students’ ability to retrieve information.

• How much of the body’s oxygen consumption does the brain account for?
• Who wrote “The Faerie Queene?”

2. Referential

A referential question is used when the person asking the question doesn’t know the answer. These types of questions may be helpful to instructors when gathering student feedback about course materials and activities—or to create personal connections by checking in on how students are doing.

• Overall, do you feel this class was beneficial?
• How was your weekend?

Factual questions, also called explicit questions, call on students to answer using information pulled directly from reading assignments. Educators can use factual questions to understand whether students understand the concepts presented in the readings.

Factual questions are an essential starting point for students to expand on the information they’ve learned with critical thinking.

• Which art movement is Salvador Dali associated with?
• Who designed the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain?

4. Convergent

These types of questions ask students to pull together ideas and information from different sources and synthesize them to create a logical answer. Convergent questions are ideal for problem-solving activities.

• What was the common theme in last week’s reading?
• How would you describe this current event in one word?

5. Divergent

The opposite of convergent questions, divergent questions don’t have a single answer. These types of questions are best used to inspire creative responses and encourage students to consider different points of view, ideas, and scenarios.

• How do you think Edgar Allen Poe would have ended “The Tell-Tale Heart” if his main character didn’t confess?
• How do you think the US might be different if the assassination of John F. Kennedy never took place?

6. Evaluative

An evaluative question requires students to think of a response based on their opinion. These questions can prompt students to think critically about readings or discussions and draw connections to their own experiences or ideals.

• What do you think about Captain Ahab’s mission to find the white whale?
• Do you agree with what the author said in this paper about animal rights?

Open-ended questions are essential to prompt students to think critically about their answers. Open questions can’t be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No,” making them a powerful tool for inspiring discussion.

• What is the main purpose of the United Nations?
• What’s one major breakthrough we’ve had in science over the last 10 years?

Learn more: Marquise McGraw, Ph.D., a professional lecturer at American University, gets students involved in discussions using Poll Everywhere. Find out his personal strategies for engaging everyone —even students who are normally too shy to share—in classroom discussions.

If instructors are trying to get a student to provide more information about their answer, they can use probing questions to prompt students to clarify, justify, or elaborate on their thoughts.

• What information helped you come to that conclusion?
• Who might disagree with your answer?

9. Multiple choice

One of the most common types of questions, multiple-choice questions provide options for students to choose from when answering. Usually, multiple-choice questions have one correct answer, but alternatives include prompting students to choose the option that’s wrong out of a list of correct options or offering an “All of the above” option.

Multiple-choice questions can improve student participation by making it easier for them to respond. Tech like Poll Everywhere further enhances this accessibility by allowing students to answer using their cell phones—or answer anonymously if the instructor chooses to set up the question that way.

• Which project document includes the description, owner, source, priority, and status of product requirements? a) The project charter b) The requirements traceability matrix c) The scope management plan d) The work breakdown structure
• How are tertiary colors created? a) Mixing equal amounts of two secondary colors b) Mixing unequal amounts of two primary colors c) Mixing three primary colors d) All of the above

Focal questions encourage students to pick a side and support their position with logical reasoning. These can be helpful in inspiring students to consider alternative points of view or schools of thought.

• Do you think all US citizens should have to sign up for the draft? Why or why not?
• Do you believe it was within the right of the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade? Why or why not?

Physicist Enrico Fermi is the namesake of the Fermi question, which requires students to estimate an answer based on limited information. You may recognize this type of question from articles covering Google’s unconventional approach to interviewing potential new employees, as Fermi questions require creative thinking and the ability to work through a problem.

• Why are manhole covers round?
• How would you explain how the internet works to a seven-year-old?

Thunk questions are intended to encourage students to pause and look at what might normally be a common, benign concept in a different light. (Fun fact: The term “thunk” is based on the irregular form of the verb “think.”)

• If your pet could talk, what would it say about you?
• What’s the difference between knowing and believing?

13. Hypothetical

Hypothetical questions use the good old “What if…” structure to prompt students to consider a scenario and how they would react or feel. Hypothetical questions inspire creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

• What if Europeans never reached North or South America, how would the world be different?
• What do you think life would be like if dinosaurs never went extinct?

14. Ethical

Educators can present students with moral dilemmas using ethical questions. These types of questions don’t have a right or wrong answer but do require students to think critically about why they believe their answer is correct. Ethical questions are excellent discussion starters.

• Do you think countries should be able to claim other planets as their own?
• Should we take care of workers whose jobs are replaced by AI?

15. Application

Instructors can use application questions to encourage students to apply newly gained knowledge related to the course. By using information they’ve learned in class and applying it to real-world situations, students can achieve a higher level of comprehension.

• What are some examples of media bias you’ve seen recently?
• How would you demonstrate Newton’s first law using objects on your desk or in the classroom?
• Using what you know about cognitive bias, how would you design a website landing page that converts leads?

16. Affective

You can encourage students to engage with course content on a more personal level by using affective questions. These types of questions ask students about their feelings toward a topic and how it relates to their values.

Poll Everywhere’s numeric rating scale allows educators to present affective questions in a friendly way. Ask students to rate how they feel about an issue using a scale from one to five, then ask if anyone wants to chime in with the reasoning behind their rating to kick the discussion off.

• How do you feel about the author’s portrayal of Lenny?
• Is the use of imagination in art important to you?

These types of questions are used to gauge your students’ understanding of a topic all at the same time. By using hinge questions, you can decide whether the day’s class should continue going over the topic or if you can move on to the next lesson.

• Which of the following examples represents an allegory?
• Which of the following is an example of soft news?

3 types of ineffective questions to avoid (or use carefully)

Along with the 17 types of effective questions above, there are three more types of questions that can become problematic if not used carefully.

• Binary: Also called a closed question, a binary question is usually answered with “Yes” or No” or variations thereof. These questions typically force students to choose a side and are more effective if there’s no right or wrong answer or if you probe for additional information.
• Leading: Leading questions are problematic because they suggest the correct or desired answer. An example of a leading question is, “How satisfied were you with the class?”
• Loaded: These types of questions include an implicit assumption about the respondent. An example of a loaded question is, “How many times did you cheat on your exams during the semester?”

Poll Everywhere makes gauging student understanding effective and engaging

Getting students to participate in discussions or even ask their own questions is challenging. Designing effective questions based on your desired outcomes or learning objectives keeps you one step ahead of in-class conversations. However, you should also be ready to guide discussions back on topic if students take off on tangents or a respectful debate becomes a heated argument.

Tech like Poll Everywhere can help you present your questions in an engaging format that invites all students to participate. With the ability to ask and share any type of question using Poll Everywhere, including multiple-choice, you can quickly and easily inspire and guide discussions that all students are excited to participate in.

Related articles

Top 20 Critical Thinking Interview Questions & Answers

Master your responses to Critical Thinking related interview questions with our example questions and answers. Boost your chances of landing the job by learning how to effectively communicate your Critical Thinking capabilities.

Critical thinking is a skill highly sought after in today’s complex and fast-paced world. It’s not merely about thinking clearly or rationally; it’s about analyzing and evaluating information to guide action, making it pivotal across all professions and industries. Whether you are applying for a role that explicitly lists critical thinking as a job requirement or you’re looking to enhance your problem-solving prowess in your current position, demonstrating strong critical thinking skills can set you apart from the competition.

This article aims to illuminate the significance of critical thinking in the professional realm by delving into interview questions designed to test this indispensable skill. We’ll provide insights into what employers are looking for when they assess critical thinking abilities and offer strategies for crafting responses that showcase your analytical acumen.

Common Critical Thinking Interview Questions

1. how would you differentiate between a problem that requires critical thinking and one that does not.

Navigating ambiguous situations and analyzing information objectively are key components of effective critical thinking. This skill is crucial for solving complex problems where standard protocols may not apply, and outcomes are unpredictable. Conversely, routine problems often have established methods and clear-cut solutions that don’t demand extensive analysis or creative thought. The question aims to assess a candidate’s ability to recognize when a nuanced approach is necessary versus when efficiency can be prioritized by following standard procedures. It also evaluates a candidate’s judgment in identifying the scale and impact of a problem, which is crucial for resource management and prioritization within a role.

When responding, a candidate should outline their thought process for assessing problems, highlighting their ability to identify key factors such as the complexity of the issue, potential risks, and the level of uncertainty involved. An effective response would include examples demonstrating how they have distinguished between routine and complex problems in past experiences, along with the strategies they employed to address each effectively. This showcases their problem-solving abilities and their understanding of when to leverage critical thinking skills.

Example: “ Differentiating between a problem that requires critical thinking and one that does not hinges on the analysis of several dimensions of the problem at hand. For instance, a problem that is routine, well-defined, and has a clear set of procedures or historical precedents for its resolution typically may not necessitate critical thinking. In contrast, a problem that is complex, ambiguous, involves multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests, or has significant consequences depending on the outcome, demands a critical thinking approach.

In practice, I assess the need for critical thinking by evaluating the problem’s novelty, the scope of impact, the level of uncertainty, and the interdependencies among variables. For example, when faced with a new market trend that could potentially disrupt our business model, I recognized this as a critical thinking scenario due to its complexity and high stakes. I systematically gathered and analyzed data, questioned assumptions, and explored alternative solutions. This involved not just an analytical breakdown of the problem but also creative synthesis to develop innovative strategies, demonstrating the application of critical thinking to navigate through the intricacies of the issue effectively.”

2. Describe an instance when your initial hypothesis about a complex issue was incorrect.

When it comes to critical thinking, the ability to form hypotheses and adjust them when presented with new information or evidence is fundamental. This question delves into a candidate’s flexibility of thought, their willingness to admit and learn from mistakes, and their capacity to approach problems from multiple angles. A well-rounded candidate will not only recognize when they are wrong but will also see it as an opportunity for growth rather than a setback. It’s a test of humility and intellectual integrity, key traits for roles demanding analytical prowess and decision-making.

In your response, recount a specific situation where you had to pivot from your original assumption. Briefly outline the context and the stakes involved. Then, focus on the process you underwent to re-evaluate the situation: the additional information you considered, the way you integrated new data, and how you ultimately arrived at a different conclusion. Emphasize your thought process and the lessons learned, ensuring you highlight your adaptability and continuous improvement mindset.

Example: “ In analyzing a complex issue within a project, my initial hypothesis was that the bottleneck was caused by an inefficiency in the operational workflow. Upon deeper analysis, however, I discovered that the issue was not the workflow itself but rather a mismatch in team skill sets and resource allocation. By incorporating data analytics and soliciting cross-departmental feedback, I realized that the workflow was designed optimally but was being executed by team members who were not best suited for their roles.

To address this, I facilitated a realignment of tasks to match individual strengths and brought in additional training for areas where the team was lacking expertise. This pivot not only resolved the bottleneck but also improved overall team performance and morale. The experience underscored the importance of a data-driven approach and the value of looking beyond surface-level symptoms to underlying causes. It also reinforced the necessity of maintaining a flexible mindset and being willing to challenge my own assumptions in the face of new evidence.”

3. What strategies do you employ to identify biases in your decision-making process?

Awareness of personal biases is a critical component of effective critical thinking. Recognizing and mitigating these biases ensures that decisions are based on objective analysis rather than subjective preference. This question aims to assess whether a candidate is self-aware and actively engaged in personal development, as well as their ability to maintain objectivity in professional scenarios. It also speaks to a candidate’s commitment to fairness and their potential for leadership, where unbiased decision-making is essential for team cohesion and trust.

When responding, candidates should articulate the specific techniques they use to keep their biases in check. This might include seeking diverse perspectives, consulting with colleagues, relying on data and evidence, or engaging in reflective practices such as journaling or meditation. Candidates should provide concrete examples of when they’ve identified a bias in their thinking and how they adjusted their approach to ensure a more balanced outcome. Demonstrating a proactive approach to personal growth and a dedication to fair decision-making will signal to interviewers a candidate’s suitability for roles requiring sound judgment.

Example: “ To identify biases in my decision-making process, I employ a combination of reflective practices and evidence-based evaluation. I actively engage in self-reflection to question my initial assumptions and consider the origins of my perspectives. This often involves journaling, which helps to externalize and critically assess my thought patterns. Additionally, I prioritize the collection and analysis of data to inform my decisions, ensuring that they are rooted in objective evidence rather than subjective intuition.

When I detect a potential bias, I seek out diverse viewpoints to challenge my preconceptions. This involves consulting with colleagues who may have different experiences or expertise, which provides a broader perspective and mitigates the risk of echo chambers. In a recent project, I recognized a confirmation bias in my analysis, where I was favoring information that supported my initial hypothesis. By acknowledging this, I revisited the data and actively searched for disconfirming evidence, which led to a more nuanced understanding and ultimately a more robust decision-making process. This approach not only enhances the quality of my decisions but also fosters a culture of critical thinking and continuous improvement.”

4. In what ways have you used critical thinking to improve a process at your previous job?

Dissecting a process, analyzing its components with a sharp eye, and envisioning a more efficient or effective method are all aspects of critical thinking that drive process improvement and innovation. This ability to objectively evaluate and enhance systems is not just about fixing what’s broken, but also about preempting potential issues and maximizing productivity. By asking this question, interviewers are looking for evidence of a candidate’s analytical skills and their initiative to bring about positive change within an organization.

When responding to this question, provide a concrete example of a time you identified a problem or area for improvement. Break down the steps you took to analyze the situation, emphasizing how you gathered data, considered various solutions, and weighed the pros and cons. Then, explain the action you took, the implementation of the new process, and most importantly, the outcome. Illustrate how your critical thinking led to tangible benefits for the company, such as time savings, cost reductions, increased revenue, or improved employee satisfaction.

Example: “ In a previous role, I identified a bottleneck in our project reporting process, which was causing delays in decision-making. I initiated a thorough analysis of the existing workflow and discovered that the report consolidation was the primary issue, as it relied on manual data entry from multiple departments. To tackle this, I conducted a root cause analysis to understand the underlying issues and engaged with stakeholders to gather insights and validate findings.

Armed with this information, I proposed and implemented an automated data aggregation tool that interfaced with our existing systems. This solution not only streamlined the data collection process but also reduced the potential for human error. By critically evaluating the process and considering the technological resources available, I was able to re-engineer the workflow, resulting in a 30% reduction in the time taken to generate reports. This improvement led to faster strategic decisions and a significant increase in overall team productivity.”

5. Can you provide an example of how you’ve dissected a multifaceted argument to assess its validity?

Breaking down complex issues into their component parts to understand the underlying logic and reasoning is a hallmark of effective critical thinking. This skill is particularly valuable as it allows for a nuanced approach to problem-solving, where the thinker can identify biases, logical fallacies, and the strength of the evidence presented. Employers seek individuals who can navigate through layers of information, differentiate between correlation and causation, and make informed decisions based on a sound analysis of available data. This question aims to reveal whether the candidate has a systematic approach to addressing intricate arguments and can remain objective while evaluating differing viewpoints.

When responding to this question, begin by outlining a specific scenario where you were faced with a challenging argument or problem. Walk the interviewer through your process step-by-step, explaining how you identified key issues, researched relevant information, and applied logical reasoning to each part. Highlight how you remained impartial, even if the argument related to a topic you felt strongly about, and conclude by sharing the outcome of your analysis. This approach not only demonstrates your critical thinking abilities but also shows that you can communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively.

Example: “ In one instance, I was presented with an argument that a particular business strategy would significantly increase market share. The argument was supported by a variety of data points and expert opinions. To assess its validity, I first deconstructed the argument into its core components: the underlying assumptions, the evidence provided, and the logical connections between the two.

I then conducted an independent evaluation of the evidence, scrutinizing the methodology behind the data collection and the credibility of the sources. Simultaneously, I challenged the assumptions by considering alternative scenarios and seeking out information that could either confirm or refute them. Throughout this process, I maintained an objective stance, ensuring that my personal biases did not color the analysis.

The outcome of this rigorous examination was a nuanced understanding of the strategy’s potential. I concluded that while the strategy had merit, it also carried risks that were not initially apparent. This comprehensive analysis allowed for a more informed decision-making process that considered both the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed strategy.”

6. Outline the steps you take when confronted with conflicting data points.

When presented with conflicting data, the ability to discern, analyze, and integrate information is paramount. This question not only assesses a candidate’s analytical skills but also evaluates their approach to uncertainty and complexity. It inspects the candidate’s methodology for handling information that doesn’t readily align, testing their intellectual rigor and commitment to evidence-based decision-making.

To respond, outline a systematic approach: begin by verifying the sources of the data for credibility. Next, cross-examine the information for errors or biases. If the data remains conflicting, consider alternative perspectives or additional research to provide context. Explain how you would weigh the evidence, perhaps employing specific analytical tools or consulting with knowledgeable colleagues. Conclude by describing how you would form a reasoned conclusion or make a recommendation, emphasizing your flexibility and openness to changing your stance as new information arises.

Example: “ When confronted with conflicting data points, my initial step is to authenticate the sources, ensuring their reliability and validity. I scrutinize the methodologies used to gather the data, looking for potential errors or methodological inconsistencies that could explain the discrepancies. If the sources and methods are sound, I proceed to examine the data for any inherent biases or contextual factors that might influence the results.

Following this critical evaluation, I explore additional research or data that could provide further insight, often utilizing statistical analysis or predictive modeling to discern patterns or anomalies. This process may also involve seeking expertise from colleagues who can offer alternative perspectives or specialized knowledge. Throughout this investigative phase, I maintain a balanced approach, considering all evidence on its merit.

Ultimately, I synthesize the findings, weighing the evidence carefully. My recommendation or conclusion is based on the most comprehensive and robust understanding of the data, with an acknowledgment of any remaining uncertainties. I remain adaptable, ready to adjust my position in light of new evidence or insights that may emerge.”

7. When evaluating evidence, how do you determine its relevance and reliability?

Analyzing information and making informed decisions hinge on determining the relevance and reliability of evidence. The question delves into the candidate’s thought process and methodology for discerning the quality and applicability of information. It also reveals their capacity for skepticism and due diligence, as well as their understanding of the sources and contexts that may affect the integrity of evidence. Employers ask this to ensure the potential employee can effectively sift through data, recognize biases, and draw conclusions that are not only logical but also empirically sound.

When responding to this question, a candidate should outline a systematic approach, starting with the assessment of the source’s credibility, including its origin, authorship, and purpose. They should then discuss the process of cross-referencing the information with other reliable sources and the importance of considering the context in which the evidence was produced. Demonstrating an awareness of one’s own cognitive biases and the potential for these to influence decision-making is also valuable. Lastly, articulating a clear, practical example of how they have applied these principles in a previous situation can help to solidify their response.

Example: “ In evaluating evidence, the first step is to scrutinize the source’s credibility. This includes examining the author’s qualifications, the publication’s reputation, and the methodology used to gather the information. I then assess the purpose of the evidence, looking for any signs of bias or intent to persuade rather than inform. To establish reliability, I cross-reference the evidence with other sources, ensuring they are independent and authoritative. This triangulation helps to confirm the consistency and validity of the information.

Context is paramount; understanding the circumstances under which the evidence was produced allows for a more nuanced interpretation. For instance, in a previous situation where I had to evaluate data from a study, I considered the sample size, the controls in place, and the study’s funding sources. Moreover, I remain vigilant about my cognitive biases, actively seeking disconfirming evidence to challenge my initial conclusions. This disciplined approach ensures that my decisions are based on robust and objective assessments of the evidence at hand.”

8. Share an experience where you had to make a decision without all the desired information.

Acting with confidence even when not all the facts are present is a common requirement in fast-paced environments where waiting for perfect information could lead to missed opportunities or compounded issues. The question aims to assess a candidate’s risk assessment capabilities, their comfort with ambiguity, and their problem-solving skills. It evaluates whether the candidate can pull from their knowledge, past experiences, and available resources to make an informed decision that could potentially affect the outcome of a project or the direction of a company.

When responding to this question, candidates should focus on a specific example that showcases their thought process during an uncertain situation. They should detail the steps they took to gather as much information as possible, weigh the potential risks and benefits, consider the impact of their decision, and explain how they arrived at their conclusion. It’s also beneficial to reflect on the outcome of the decision and what they learned from the experience, demonstrating an ability to learn and adapt from less-than-ideal situations.

Example: “ In a project where time-sensitive decisions were crucial, I encountered a situation where critical data was incomplete due to unforeseen circumstances. Understanding the urgency, I initiated a rapid but thorough risk assessment to evaluate potential impacts of various decision scenarios. I leveraged historical data, parallel case studies, and consulted with subject matter experts to fill in informational gaps to the greatest extent possible.

After synthesizing this information, I employed a decision matrix to prioritize options based on the project’s strategic objectives and stakeholder interests. I chose a course of action that balanced risk with potential reward, ensuring that the most critical project deliverables remained on track. The decision was successful, resulting in minimal disruption to the project timeline and budget. This experience reinforced the importance of a structured approach to decision-making under uncertainty and the value of drawing on diverse information sources to inform such decisions.”

9. Detail a situation in which your critical analysis led to a significant change in strategy or direction.

Strategic planning and problem-solving are areas where critical thinking is indispensable. When interviewers pose this question, they’re looking for evidence of your ability to dissect complex issues, consider diverse perspectives, and foresee potential outcomes. The ability to pivot and adapt strategies based on new information reflects an agile mindset, which is highly valued in dynamic business environments. It reveals your capacity to influence meaningful change and demonstrates foresight, adaptability, and the courage to challenge the status quo when necessary.

When responding, outline a specific scenario succinctly, emphasizing the complexity of the situation and the critical thinking processes you employed. Discuss the rationale behind your analysis, the different options you considered, and why you advocated for a particular change in strategy or direction. Highlight the impact of your decision—how it benefited the organization, improved efficiency, increased revenue, or mitigated risks. Your response should convey confidence in your judgment, an analytical approach to problem-solving, and a proactive stance in driving innovation or improvement.

Example: “ In a project where the initial strategy was to expand market share through aggressive pricing, I conducted a critical analysis of market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive responses. My analysis revealed that such a pricing strategy would trigger a price war with competitors that our company was not financially positioned to sustain. Instead, I proposed a value-added approach, focusing on differentiating our products through enhanced features and customer service rather than competing solely on price.

I presented a comprehensive business case to the leadership team, outlining the potential long-term consequences of the original strategy, including market erosion and reduced profitability. I contrasted this with the projected outcomes of the value-added strategy, which included increased customer loyalty, brand strength, and sustainable profit margins. The leadership adopted my recommendation, leading to a 15% increase in customer retention and a 10% rise in profit margins within the following fiscal year, validating the shift in strategy and demonstrating the importance of thorough critical analysis in strategic decision-making.”

10. How do you handle situations where team members resist your critical evaluations?

Providing feedback that may not be readily accepted, especially when it challenges established ideas or practices within a team, involves effective critical thinking. The ability to navigate resistance is a testament to one’s diplomatic skills and emotional intelligence. It reflects an understanding that critique is not a personal attack but a necessary part of growth and innovation. Employers value candidates who can diplomatically deliver critical evaluations and facilitate a constructive dialogue that leads to improved performance and collaboration, rather than discord and division.

When responding to this question, it’s important to emphasize your approach to communication and conflict resolution. Detail specific strategies you employ to ensure that your evaluations are objective, evidence-based, and presented in a way that underscores their intention to improve the team’s output. Highlight your ability to listen to and address concerns, foster an open environment for discussion, and ultimately guide the team towards a consensus or compromise that upholds the project’s best interests.

Example: “ In situations where team members resist critical evaluations, my approach is to first ensure that the feedback is grounded in objective data and aligns with predefined goals or standards. I present my evaluations with clarity, focusing on the issue at hand rather than personal attributes, to minimize defensiveness. When resistance occurs, I actively listen to the team members’ perspectives, acknowledging their viewpoints and concerns. This demonstrates respect for their expertise and fosters an environment of mutual trust.

I then facilitate a constructive dialogue, guiding the team towards understanding the evaluation’s rationale and the potential benefits of addressing the identified issues. By encouraging an open exchange of ideas, I often find that resistance gives way to collaborative problem-solving. If a consensus is not immediately reached, I propose incremental steps to test the recommended changes, allowing the team to see empirical results. This method not only validates the evaluation’s findings but also empowers the team to be part of the solution, ensuring that the critical evaluation serves as a catalyst for positive change rather than a point of contention.”

11. What is your approach to prioritizing issues requiring immediate critical thought over routine tasks?

Distinguishing between tasks that need immediate attention and those that follow a routine is often a critical component of professional critical thinking. Employers are looking for candidates who can swiftly analyze situations, recognize the urgency and potential impact of each task, and act accordingly to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. The ability to prioritize reflects a person’s judgment, time management skills, and ultimately their capability to contribute to the organization’s success without becoming overwhelmed or sacrificing quality.

When responding to this question, you should demonstrate your decision-making process by providing a clear and structured approach. Outline how you assess the importance of tasks, perhaps by considering factors such as deadlines, potential outcomes, and resources required. You could also mention any tools or techniques you use to stay organized, such as to-do lists or project management software. Giving concrete examples from past experiences where you successfully prioritized critical issues will illustrate your methodology in action and reassure the interviewer of your proficiency in this area.

Example: “ When faced with multiple tasks, my approach to prioritization begins with a swift evaluation of each issue’s potential impact and urgency. I consider the consequences of delayed action, weighing the risks against the benefits of immediate attention. Critical issues that could escalate into larger problems or have a significant negative impact on the project or organization take precedence. For instance, if a critical issue has the potential to disrupt service delivery or cause financial loss, it becomes the top priority.

I utilize a combination of Eisenhower’s Matrix for categorizing tasks by urgency and importance, and project management tools for tracking progress and deadlines. This method allows me to maintain a clear overview of the landscape of responsibilities and make informed decisions quickly. In practice, this approach has enabled me to effectively intervene in situations that required immediate critical thought, such as resolving a bottleneck in a project that threatened to derail the timeline, while ensuring that routine tasks are rescheduled appropriately and do not fall by the wayside.”

12. Could you give an example of a time when you had to challenge conventional wisdom using critical thinking?

The ability to step outside the norm, question the status quo, and innovate is a key aspect of critical thinking. This question aims to unearth a candidate’s ability to recognize when a widely accepted approach is flawed or inadequate and their courage and skill in devising and implementing a more effective alternative. It reveals their capability to not only recognize when a widely accepted approach is flawed or inadequate but also their courage and skill in devising and implementing a more effective alternative.

To respond effectively, choose a specific instance where you identified a problem that others had accepted as unsolvable or ignored due to traditional thinking. Explain your thought process in evaluating the situation, how you identified a novel approach, and the steps you took to challenge the prevailing wisdom. Highlight the outcome, what you learned, and how it demonstrates your critical thinking prowess. Be sure to convey confidence in your decision-making process while also acknowledging the risk and resistance that often accompanies going against the grain.

Example: “ In a project where the prevailing approach was to incrementally improve an existing product, I noticed that our incremental changes were no longer yielding significant benefits to the customer. Conventional wisdom suggested we continue with minor improvements, but my analysis of customer feedback and market trends indicated a plateau in satisfaction and a shift in consumer needs.

Using critical thinking, I dissected the core functions of our product, reevaluated our assumptions, and proposed a radical redesign that aligned more closely with emerging user preferences. I presented a data-driven case to stakeholders, illustrating the long-term benefits and potential market capture that a bold move could offer. Despite initial resistance, the evidence was compelling, and we pivoted to the new strategy.

The redesigned product not only reinvigorated the brand but also captured a new customer segment, leading to a substantial increase in market share. This experience underscored the importance of questioning the status quo and reinforced my belief in the power of critical thinking to drive innovation and strategic redirection.”

13. How do you maintain objectivity when critically assessing emotionally charged issues?

Detaching oneself from personal biases and emotional influences to arrive at logical, fair conclusions is a demand of critical thinking, especially in emotionally charged situations. Employers ask this question to discern whether a candidate possesses the self-awareness and strategies necessary to navigate emotionally-laden terrain without compromising their decision-making process. It’s a subtle test of a candidate’s professionalism and their capacity to handle workplace conflicts or sensitive projects with a level head.

When responding, illustrate with examples where you’ve successfully maintained impartiality during heated discussions or decisions. Emphasize techniques you use, such as stepping back to analyze the facts, seeking diverse perspectives, or employing established frameworks to guide your thought process. Your answer should reassure the interviewer that you can uphold the integrity of your role, even when emotions run high.

Example: “ Maintaining objectivity in emotionally charged situations hinges on a disciplined adherence to evidence and a structured analytical framework. For instance, during a contentious project debate, I anchor my assessment in data-driven criteria, ensuring that decisions are rooted in quantifiable metrics rather than subjective sentiments. This approach not only clarifies the decision-making process but also provides a common language for all stakeholders, facilitating a more rational discourse.

Additionally, I actively seek out diverse perspectives to challenge my own biases and broaden my understanding of the issue at hand. By engaging with viewpoints that differ from my own, I can construct a more comprehensive analysis that transcends personal emotions. This method was particularly effective when navigating a high-stakes negotiation, where synthesizing the various interests led to a consensus that balanced emotional concerns with strategic objectives. Employing these techniques consistently has proven to be instrumental in upholding impartiality and ensuring that critical thinking prevails in emotionally intense scenarios.”

14. What techniques do you use to foster critical thinking skills within a team environment?

Cultivating an environment where team members are encouraged to think deeply and challenge assumptions is a reflection of critical thinking in a team setting. When interviewers pose this question, they are looking for insight into how you foster intellectual growth and collaborative problem-solving. It reveals your leadership style and your ability to facilitate intellectual growth and collaborative problem-solving. The question also serves to understand if you can balance the need for diverse perspectives while steering the team towards cohesive, well-reasoned outcomes.

When responding, you should outline specific strategies you’ve employed to encourage critical thinking. This could include fostering open discussions, posing challenging problems for the team to solve, encouraging team members to question the status quo, and facilitating debates. Highlight examples from your experience where these techniques have led to innovative solutions or improved decision-making. Mention how you ensure all voices are heard and how you guide discussions to remain constructive and focused on the end goal.

Example: “ To cultivate critical thinking within a team, I implement a structured approach to problem-solving that encourages divergent thinking followed by convergent analysis. Initially, I facilitate brainstorming sessions that promote the free flow of ideas without immediate judgment, allowing team members to explore various perspectives and challenge preconceived notions. This openness fosters an environment where creativity is valued, and unconventional ideas can surface.

Once a broad range of ideas is on the table, I guide the team through a critical evaluation process. This involves systematically assessing the feasibility, potential impact, and risks associated with each idea. I encourage team members to ask probing questions and consider the implications of each approach. By employing techniques such as the Six Thinking Hats or SWOT analysis, I ensure that the team examines issues from multiple angles, leading to more robust and well-rounded solutions. Moreover, I make a conscious effort to create an inclusive atmosphere where every member feels empowered to contribute, ensuring a diversity of thought and preventing groupthink. Through these methods, we’ve consistently achieved innovative outcomes and enhanced our collective decision-making capabilities.”

15. Illustrate how you balance quick decision-making with thorough critical analysis under pressure.

Thinking on one’s feet while ensuring that decisions are well-considered and not rash is a crucial aspect of critical thinking, especially in roles where the stakes are high and the cost of a mistake is significant. Employers ask this question to assess a candidate’s ability to think on their feet while also ensuring that their decisions are well-considered and not rash. It’s crucial in roles where the stakes are high and the cost of a mistake is significant. The interviewer is looking for a glimpse into your decision-making process, particularly how you weigh the urgency of a situation against the need for comprehensive analysis.

To respond, describe a scenario where you were faced with a time-sensitive decision. Walk through your thought process, highlighting how you identified the key issues, evaluated the information at hand, and prioritized actions while maintaining a commitment to making a sound, well-reasoned choice. Focus on demonstrating your ability to discern which decisions require immediate action and which can benefit from more extensive analysis. It’s important to convey that you can strike a balance between speed and precision, leveraging your critical thinking skills to deliver optimal outcomes efficiently.

Example: “ In a situation where rapid decision-making was crucial, I employed a tiered approach to critical analysis. Initially, I identified the core issue that demanded immediate attention, separating it from less urgent factors. I then quickly gathered the most relevant data, applying heuristic techniques to assess the situation’s urgency and potential impact. This allowed me to prioritize actions that would mitigate immediate risks or capitalize on fleeting opportunities.

Simultaneously, I maintained an awareness of the broader context, ensuring that my swift decisions aligned with long-term objectives and values. By leveraging a combination of deductive reasoning to address the immediate issue and inductive reasoning to consider the potential implications, I was able to make a well-reasoned decision that was both timely and thoughtful. This method has consistently proven effective in balancing the need for expediency with the commitment to thorough analysis, ensuring that the decisions I make under pressure are both strategic and sound.”

16. Have you ever encountered a groupthink scenario and how did you apply critical thinking to address it?

Recognizing the signs of groupthink—such as a homogenization of ideas, pressure to conform, and an illusion of unanimity—and challenging the status quo to ensure diverse perspectives are considered is important for preventing suboptimal outcomes. Employers value candidates who can maintain objectivity, apply analytical skills to evaluate different opinions, and foster a culture of open dialogue, even when it’s uncomfortable or goes against the grain. This question assesses a candidate’s ability to maintain objectivity, apply analytical skills to evaluate different opinions, and foster a culture of open dialogue, even when it’s uncomfortable or goes against the grain.

When responding, it’s important to provide a specific example that illustrates your awareness of a groupthink situation. Detail how you identified the issue, the steps you took to encourage alternative viewpoints, and the outcome of your intervention. Emphasize your communication skills, your respect for diverse opinions, and your commitment to making decisions based on evidence and sound reasoning. It’s also beneficial to reflect on what you learned from the experience and how it has influenced your approach to teamwork and problem-solving in subsequent situations.

Example: “ Yes, I encountered a groupthink scenario during a project where the team was prematurely converging on a solution without thoroughly vetting alternatives. Recognizing the signs of groupthink, such as the lack of debate and the quick dismissal of outside opinions, I intervened by orchestrating a structured brainstorming session. I introduced a “devil’s advocate” approach, assigning team members to purposely challenge the prevailing assumptions and propose contrarian viewpoints.

This strategy fostered a more open dialogue and encouraged critical evaluation of the proposed solution. By systematically dissecting each argument and examining the evidence, the team was able to identify potential flaws and biases in our initial approach. The outcome was a more robust and innovative solution that had the benefit of diverse perspectives. The experience reinforced the importance of vigilance against groupthink and has since shaped my commitment to fostering an environment where critical thinking and dissenting opinions are valued in the decision-making process.”

17. Describe a complex project where your critical thinking uncovered an overlooked solution.

Evaluating sources, such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings, is part of the critical thinking process. In the context of a job interview, this question serves to evaluate not only a candidate’s problem-solving capabilities but also their initiative and innovation. It reveals how a candidate approaches a problem, breaks it down into components, and systematically tackles it. It’s about assessing the candidate’s ability to not just think, but to think outside the box and recognize patterns that are not immediately obvious, which can lead to innovative solutions that others might miss.

When responding to this question, you should outline the context of the project briefly, highlighting its complexity. Proceed to explain the thought process you employed, detailing how you identified the problem, the various solutions you considered, and why they were dismissed or pursued. Emphasize the critical thinking techniques you used, such as questioning assumptions, analyzing potential outcomes, and synthesizing information from various sources. Conclude with the impact of your solution, such as cost savings, time efficiency, or improved outcomes. Demonstrating a structured approach to problem-solving will show employers that you possess the analytical skills necessary to tackle complex projects effectively.

Example: “ In a recent complex project, the primary challenge was optimizing the resource allocation process to reduce waste and increase efficiency. The existing system was sophisticated but had a persistent issue with over-provisioning, leading to significant financial drain. Upon a deep dive into the data and processes, I employed root cause analysis and discovered that the algorithm driving the allocation was based on outdated assumptions about usage patterns.

By questioning these assumptions and conducting a series of predictive analyses, I proposed a dynamic allocation model that adjusted resources in real-time based on current demand rather than historical trends. I also integrated a feedback loop that allowed the system to learn and adapt over time. This solution required a nuanced understanding of both the technical aspects and the behavioral patterns of system users. The implementation of this model led to a 20% reduction in resource waste within the first quarter, validating the effectiveness of the critical thinking process in uncovering this overlooked solution.”

18. What methods do you utilize to ensure your conclusions are sound when dealing with abstract concepts?

Dissecting and navigating theoretical or complex ideas ensures that a candidate’s thought process is logical, thorough, and evidence-based. The question seeks to explore a candidate’s ability to handle abstract concepts that are not easily quantifiable or observable. It is a test of not just intelligence but of a systematic and disciplined approach to problem-solving that can greatly affect the outcomes of projects and tasks. The interviewer is looking for a glimpse into the candidate’s intellectual rigor and how they handle ambiguity and uncertainty.

When responding, it is vital to discuss a structured approach to critical thinking. One could highlight the importance of questioning assumptions, seeking out a variety of sources for information, and applying logical reasoning. Emphasize the use of specific strategies such as breaking down complex problems into smaller, more manageable parts, employing analogies to better understand unfamiliar concepts, or using decision-making frameworks like the Cynefin framework to categorize problems and respond appropriately. Sharing examples from past experiences where these methods were applied to reach a well-reasoned conclusion can illustrate your proficiency in critical thinking.

Example: “ To ensure my conclusions are sound when dealing with abstract concepts, I systematically employ a combination of deductive and inductive reasoning, while rigorously questioning underlying assumptions. I begin by dissecting the abstract concept into its fundamental elements, which allows me to analyze the problem more effectively. This process of decomposition helps to identify any logical inconsistencies and to understand the relationships between the various components of the concept.

I also draw upon diverse informational sources to inform my understanding, ensuring that my perspective is not limited by a single viewpoint. By integrating these perspectives, I can construct a more comprehensive understanding of the abstract concept. Additionally, I use analogies to create parallels with more familiar concepts, which aids in grasping the essence of the abstract idea and in communicating my reasoning to others. When synthesizing my conclusion, I apply decision-making frameworks like the Cynefin framework, which assists in categorizing the problem and determining the most suitable approach for resolution. This structured methodology ensures that my conclusions are not only logical but also pragmatic, taking into account the complexity and context of the situation at hand.”

19. How do you integrate critical thinking into your everyday work routines?

Anticipating challenges and mitigating them before they impact the workflow is a key aspect of critical thinking. Employers want to know that a candidate can not only solve problems when they arise but also anticipate challenges and mitigate them before they impact the workflow. They are looking for evidence of a proactive mindset that employs logic, creativity, and strategic planning as part of the daily work routine rather than reactive thinking that only addresses issues as they come up.

When responding, candidates should describe specific strategies they use to apply critical thinking in their work. This might involve breaking down complex projects into manageable parts, asking probing questions to fully understand a situation, employing data-driven decision-making, or conducting regular reviews of processes to identify potential improvements. Sharing concrete examples of past situations where critical thinking led to successful outcomes can also demonstrate the candidate’s ability to effectively integrate this skill into their work habits.

Example: “ In my daily work, I routinely employ a methodical approach to problem-solving that hinges on breaking down complex issues into their fundamental components. This dissection allows for a clearer understanding of the underlying factors and variables at play. By doing so, I can systematically evaluate each element, considering both short-term and long-term implications, which is critical for informed decision-making.

I also maintain a disciplined practice of asking probing questions, not only to clarify the specifics of a challenge but also to uncover any hidden assumptions or biases that might skew my analysis. This practice is complemented by a commitment to data-driven decisions, ensuring that my conclusions are grounded in empirical evidence rather than conjecture. To ensure continuous improvement, I conduct regular process reviews, identifying areas for refinement or innovation, thereby fostering a dynamic and responsive work environment that leverages critical thinking to overcome obstacles and enhance productivity.”

20. Reflect on a time when your critical thinking abilities significantly impacted the outcome of a project.

Determining if a candidate can discern complex situations and act in a manner that leads to effective and innovative solutions is a crucial part of the interview process. Employers ask this question to determine if a candidate can not only discern complex situations but also act in a manner that leads to effective and innovative solutions. They are looking for evidence of a methodical approach to tackling challenges and the ability to anticipate potential pitfalls. This question also serves to highlight the candidate’s capacity for reflection and learning from past experiences, which is essential for continuous improvement and adaptability in a dynamic work environment.

When responding to this question, it’s crucial to outline a specific situation that showcases your critical thinking process. Begin by setting the scene and describing the challenge or project at hand. Then, explain the steps you took to analyze the situation, including any data gathering, research, or consultation with experts. Highlight how you weighed different options, considered the consequences, and came to a reasoned decision. Conclude with the outcome, focusing on the positive impact of your critical thinking skills on the project’s success, and if applicable, what you learned from the experience that has influenced your approach to future challenges.

Example: “ In a recent project, we faced a critical decision point when unexpected data discrepancies threatened to derail our progress. The initial analysis suggested a significant flaw in our methodology, which could have led to a complete overhaul of the project. Instead of hastily jumping to conclusions, I initiated a systematic review of our data collection and analysis processes. By breaking down each step, I identified a subtle but consistent error in the way certain data points were being recorded, which skewed our results.

After pinpointing the issue, I proposed a recalibration of our data input protocols and a reanalysis of our dataset. This approach required additional time and resources, but it was a more measured response than starting from scratch. The recalibration not only corrected the discrepancies but also improved the overall robustness of our data. As a result, we not only met our project milestones but also enhanced the credibility of our findings. This experience reinforced the value of methodical problem-solving and has honed my ability to navigate complex challenges by focusing on evidence and systematic evaluation.”

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Critical Thinking Worksheets

Unlock the power of critical thinking with our expertly crafted Critical Thinking Worksheets, designed to foster analytical skills and logical reasoning in students.

By Nate Lacson on Apr 01, 2024.

Fact Checked by .

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is an essential skill that involves the ability to think clearly and rationally, understand logical connections between ideas, and assess arguments and evidence. It's the process of actively analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication. Critical thinking enables individuals to make reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought-out, rather than based on emotion or personal bias.

In today's world, where misinformation and fake news are rampant, critical thinking has become more important than ever. It equips individuals with the tools to navigate the vast amounts of information available, discern what is relevant and accurate, and make informed decisions. Critical thinking skills enable individuals to evaluate sources, question underlying assumptions, and separate fact from opinion, which is crucial in combating the spread of false information.

The importance of critical thinking extends to teaching children and honing their skills from a young age, as early as first grade. By fostering critical thinking in children, we prepare them for a future where they can approach challenges with an open mind, consider multiple perspectives, and solve problems effectively. It helps them develop the ability to analyze texts, interpret data, and construct well-reasoned arguments, which are vital skills for academic success and lifelong learning.

In the workplace, critical thinking is highly valued as it contributes to effective leadership, strategic planning, and the ability to tackle complex problems. Furthermore, in everyday life, critical thinking aids in making sound judgments, understanding the consequences of actions, and developing a deeper comprehension of social and personal issues.

Critical thinking involves several key components:

• Observation : Paying attention to the world around you, noticing details, and gathering information.
• Analysis : Breaking down complex information into simpler parts to understand it better.
• Evaluation : Assessing the credibility and relevance of information, arguments, and ideas.
• Inference : Drawing logical conclusions based on the analysis and evaluation of information.
• Explanation : Communicating your reasoning clearly and effectively.
• Self-regulation : Reflecting on your own thinking process and being aware of your biases and assumptions.

In today's fast-paced and information-rich environment, critical thinking is essential for navigating the vast array of information and making sound decisions. It's a skill that transcends academic disciplines and is valuable in every aspect of life.

Printable Critical Thinking Worksheets

Download this Critical Thinking Worksheets for educational or therapeutic toolkits that can unlock a world of advantages for students and clients alike.

How to hone critical thinking skills?

To hone critical thinking skills, both adults and children can engage in various activities and practices that promote analytical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Here are some strategies to develop and sharpen these skills:

• Ask questions: Encourage curiosity by asking open-ended questions that stimulate deeper thinking. For children, this could be as simple as asking "Why do you think that happened?" or "What other solutions could we consider?"
• Analyze arguments: Practice evaluating the strength of arguments by identifying the premises and conclusions. Look for logical fallacies and assess whether the evidence supports the claims.
• Engage in problem-solving activities: Participate in fun activities and brain teasers that require critical thinking, such as puzzles, logic games, and brainstorming sessions. For children, this could include age-appropriate riddles, brainteasers, or strategy-based games.
• Reflect on decisions: After making a decision, take time to reflect on the thought process that led to it. Consider what assumptions were made and whether they were justified.
• Read and discuss: Encourage reading diverse materials and discussing the content. Ask questions about the author's perspective, the arguments presented, and any potential biases.
• Practice mindfulness: Being present and mindful can help clear the mind of distractions, allowing for better focus and clarity in thinking.
• Seek feedback: Engage in discussions with others and be open to feedback on your reasoning and thought processes.
• Learn from mistakes: Use mistakes as opportunities to reflect on decision-making processes and identify areas for improvement.

By incorporating these strategies into daily routines, both adults and children can progressively enhance their critical thinking skills, leading to more informed decisions and a better understanding of the world around them.

What is in a Critical Thinking Worksheet?

A Critical Thinking Worksheet is a valuable tool designed to help students develop and improve their analytical and reasoning skills. It typically contains various exercises and activities that challenge students to think deeply, evaluate information, and make logical conclusions.

Critical Thinking Worksheets are often used by teachers in the classroom to foster a culture of critical thinking and to prepare students for real-world problem-solving. Our take on it includes sections such as:

• Glossary of logical fallacies: This section provides a brief overview of common logical fallacies, which are errors in reasoning that can weaken arguments. Understanding these fallacies helps students recognize flawed logic in arguments they encounter.
• Logical fallacies quiz: A series of statements are presented for students to identify whether they contain a logical fallacy and, if so, to name the type of fallacy. This exercise helps students apply their knowledge of logical fallacies in practical scenarios.
• Fact vs. opinion quiz: In this section, students determine whether statements are either fact or opinion . This section encourages students to distinguish between objective truths and subjective viewpoints.
• Rebus puzzles: These visual logic puzzles involve words and symbols, challenging students to decode phrases or idioms. These promote lateral thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Dissect an advertisement: Students analyze a sample advertisement to identify the message, the messenger's motives, and the evidence supporting the message. This activity helps students critically evaluate persuasive techniques and the credibility of sources.
• Answer keys: This section will help teachers evaluate students' answers faster.

The worksheet is designed to be engaging and interactive, allowing students to participate in their learning process actively. Teachers can use this template to create customized worksheets that cater to their students' specific needs and skill levels, making it an effective tool for enhancing critical thinking in the classroom.

How does our Critical Thinking Worksheet template work?

Our Critical Thinking Worksheet template is designed to be a user-friendly tool for teachers and students to enhance critical thinking skills in the classroom. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Access the template

Download the latest version of the Critical Thinking Worksheet template from the Carepatron website. The template is customizable, allowing mental health professionals, life coaches, and teachers to tailor it to their specific lesson plans and student needs.

Step 2: Explain the form

Before handing out the worksheet to students, teachers should explain its purpose and how it can help them develop critical thinking skills. This includes discussing the importance of identifying logical fallacies, distinguishing between facts and opinions, and analyzing advertisements critically.

Step 3: Complete the worksheet

Students should work through each section of the worksheet, using their critical thinking skills to answer questions, solve puzzles, and analyze information. Teachers can encourage students to use resources like the internet or books to research and support their answers.

Step 4: Review and discuss

After completing the worksheet, teachers can review the answers with the class, discussing any interesting findings or challenging questions. This is an opportunity to further develop students' critical thinking skills through group discussion and debate.

Step 5: Reflect and apply

Finally, teachers can encourage students to reflect on what they've learned from the worksheet and how they can apply these critical thinking skills in their daily lives, both inside and outside the classroom.

Critical Thinking Worksheets example (sample)

To give you a glimpse into the practical use of Critical Thinking Worksheets, Carepatron has crafted a sample template filled with fictional information. This example guides educators, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in fostering critical thinking skills.

Check out our sample for a preview of the engaging exercises and thought-provoking challenges awaiting your students or clients.

Download this free Critical Thinking Worksheets example here.

Examples of critical thinking exercises

To enhance critical thinking skills, educators and therapists can employ a variety of exercises that challenge students to analyze, evaluate, and create. Here are some examples:

Evaluate arguments

Encourage students to assess the validity of different arguments. Present them with statements containing common logical fallacies, such as ad hominem or slippery slope, and ask them to identify the fallacy and explain why it's flawed. This exercise helps students recognize faulty reasoning and strengthens their analytical skills.

Distinguish fact from opinion

Teach students to differentiate between objective facts and subjective opinions. Provide a list of statements and have them categorize each as a fact or an opinion. This exercise is crucial in developing their ability to evaluate the reliability of information, a skill particularly important in the age of misinformation and fake news.

Analyze cause and effect

Present scenarios and ask students to identify the cause and its effects. Encourage them to think about how different actions lead to various outcomes, fostering their ability to think critically about the consequences of events and decisions.

Reverse questioning

Challenge students' creativity by giving them an answer and asking them to come up with a question that could lead to that answer. This exercise reverses the usual process of questioning and answering, promoting creative and critical thinking.

Assessing arguments

Provide students with an argument and have them evaluate its strength, looking for any logical fallacies or weaknesses. They can also suggest ways to strengthen the argument, further developing their critical thinking skills.

Incorporating these exercises into classroom or therapy sessions can provide students with diverse opportunities to practice and enhance their critical thinking skills, preparing them for more informed decision-making and problem-solving in their daily lives.

Why use Carepatron as your therapy software?

Carepatron is an exceptional therapy practice management software due to its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface. Here's why therapists and mental health professionals should consider using Carepatron:

• Streamlined client management: Carepatron allows therapists to efficiently manage client information, including contact details, therapy notes, and treatment plans. The platform's organized system ensures that all essential data is easily accessible, enhancing the quality of care provided.
• Convenient scheduling and communication: The software simplifies appointment scheduling with online booking, automated reminders, and calendar synchronization. Secure messaging and telehealth capabilities enable seamless communication between therapists and clients, ensuring that care is always within reach.
• Simplified billing and payments: Carepatron streamlines the billing process with integrated billing features like auto-generated invoices, integrated payment processing, and customizable billing options. This allows therapists to manage their finances more effectively, reducing administrative burden.
• Customizable templates: The platform offers various templates for therapy notes and forms, allowing therapists to tailor documentation to their specific needs. This ensures accurate and efficient record-keeping, supporting effective treatment planning.
• Enhanced data security: With Carepatron, therapists can be confident that their client data is securely stored and protected, in compliance with healthcare regulations. The platform's commitment to data security ensures that sensitive information is safeguarded.

By choosing Carepatron as your therapy software, you'll enjoy a more organized, efficient, and secure practice, enabling you to focus on what truly matters – providing excellent care to your clients.

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Commonly asked questions

Critical thinking is crucial as it enables individuals to analyze information objectively, make reasoned judgments, and solve problems effectively, which is vital in navigating the complexities of the modern world.

In the classroom, critical thinking is used daily to encourage students to question assumptions, evaluate arguments, and develop well-supported opinions, fostering a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Asking questions is a fundamental aspect of critical thinking as it prompts individuals to seek clarity, challenge existing ideas, and explore different perspectives, leading to more informed and reasoned conclusions.

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Critical Thinking, Intelligence, and Unsubstantiated Beliefs: An Integrative Review

Associated data.

This research did not involve collection of original data, and hence there are no new data to make available.

A review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. For instance, critical thinking can more completely account for many everyday outcomes, such as how thinkers reject false conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, psychological misconceptions, and other unsubstantiated claims. Deficiencies in the components of critical thinking (in specific reasoning skills, dispositions, and relevant knowledge) contribute to unsubstantiated belief endorsement in ways that go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. Specifically, people who endorse unsubstantiated claims less tend to show better critical thinking skills, possess more relevant knowledge, and are more disposed to think critically. They tend to be more scientifically skeptical and possess a more rational–analytic cognitive style, while those who accept unsubstantiated claims more tend to be more cynical and adopt a more intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These findings suggest that for a fuller understanding of unsubstantiated beliefs, researchers and instructors should also assess specific reasoning skills, relevant knowledge, and dispositions which go beyond what intelligence tests test.

1. Introduction

Why do some people believe implausible claims, such as the QAnon conspiracy theory, that a cabal of liberals is kidnapping and trafficking many thousands of children each year, despite the lack of any credible supporting evidence? Are believers less intelligent than non-believers? Do they lack knowledge of such matters? Are they more gullible or less skeptical than non-believers? Or, more generally, are they failing to think critically?

Understanding the factors contributing to acceptance of unsubstantiated claims is important, not only to the development of theories of intelligence and critical thinking but also because many unsubstantiated beliefs are false, and some are even dangerous. Endorsing them can have a negative impact on an individual and society at large. For example, false beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic, such as believing that 5G cell towers induced the spread of the COVID-19 virus, led some British citizens to set fire to 5G towers ( Jolley and Paterson 2020 ). Other believers in COVID-19 conspiracy theories endangered their own and their children’s lives when they refused to socially distance and be vaccinated with highly effective vaccines, despite the admonitions of scientific experts ( Bierwiaczonek et al. 2020 ). Further endangering the population at large, those who believe the false conspiracy theory that human-caused global warming is a hoax likely fail to respond adaptively to this serious global threat ( van der Linden 2015 ). Parents, who uncritically accept pseudoscientific claims, such as the false belief that facilitated communication is an effective treatment for childhood autism, may forego more effective treatments ( Lilienfeld 2007 ). Moreover, people in various parts of the world still persecute other people whom they believe are witches possessing supernatural powers. Likewise, many people still believe in demonic possession, which has been associated with mental disorders ( Nie and Olson 2016 ). Compounding the problems created by these various unsubstantiated beliefs, numerous studies now show that when someone accepts one of these types of unfounded claims, they tend to accept others as well; see Bensley et al. ( 2022 ) for a review.

Studying the factors that contribute to unfounded beliefs is important not only because of their real-world consequences but also because this can facilitate a better understanding of unfounded beliefs and how they are related to critical thinking and intelligence. This article focuses on important ways in which critical thinking and intelligence differ, especially in terms of how a comprehensive model of CT differs from the view of intelligence as general cognitive ability. I argue that this model of CT more fully accounts for how people can accurately decide if a claim is unsubstantiated than can views of intelligence, emphasizing general cognitive ability. In addition to general cognitive ability, thinking critically about unsubstantiated claims involves deployment of specific reasoning skills, dispositions related to CT, and specific knowledge, which go beyond the contribution of general cognitive ability.

Accordingly, this article begins with an examination of the constructs of critical thinking and intelligence. Then, it discusses theories proposing that to understand thinking in the real world requires going beyond general cognitive ability. Specifically, the focus is on factors related to critical thinking, such as specific reasoning skills, dispositions, metacognition, and relevant knowledge. I review research showing that that this alternative multidimensional view of CT can better account for individual differences in the tendency to endorse multiple types of unsubstantiated claims than can general cognitive ability alone.

2. Defining Critical Thinking and Intelligence

Critical thinking is an almost universally valued educational objective in the US and in many other countries which seek to improve it. In contrast, intelligence, although much valued, has often been viewed as a more stable characteristic and less amenable to improvement through specific short-term interventions, such as traditional instruction or more recently through practice on computer-implemented training programs. According to Wechsler’s influential definition, intelligence is a person’s “aggregate or global capacity to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment” ( Wechsler 1944, p. 3 ).

Consistent with this definition, intelligence has long been associated with general cognitive or intellectual ability and the potential to learn and reason well. Intelligence (IQ) tests measure general cognitive abilities, such as knowledge of words, memory skills, analogical reasoning, speed of processing, and the ability to solve verbal and spatial problems. General intelligence or “g” is a composite of these abilities statistically derived from various cognitive subtests on IQ tests which are positively intercorrelated. There is considerable overlap between g and the concept of fluid intelligence (Gf) in the prominent Cattell–Horn–Carroll model ( McGrew 2009 ), which refers to “the ability to solve novel problems, the solution of which does not depend on previously acquired skills and knowledge,” and crystalized intelligence (Gc), which refers to experience, existing skills, and general knowledge ( Conway and Kovacs 2018, pp. 50–51 ). Although g or general intelligence is based on a higher order factor, inclusive of fluid and crystallized intelligence, it is technically not the same as general cognitive ability, a commonly used, related term. However, in this article, I use “general cognitive ability” and “cognitive ability” because they are the imprecise terms frequently used in the research reviewed.

Although IQ scores have been found to predict performance in basic real-world domains, such as academic performance and job success ( Gottfredson 2004 ), an enduring question for intelligence researchers has been whether g and intelligence tests predict the ability to adapt well in other real-world situations, which concerns the second part of Wechsler’s definition. So, in addition to the search for the underlying structure of intelligence, researchers have been perennially concerned with how general abilities associated with intelligence can be applied to help a person adapt to real-world situations. The issue is largely a question of how cognitive ability and intelligence can help people solve real-world problems and cope adaptively and succeed in dealing with various environmental demands ( Sternberg 2019 ).

Based on broad conceptual definitions of intelligence and critical thinking, both intelligence and CT should aid adaptive functioning in the real world, presumably because they both involve rational approaches. Their common association with rationality gives each term a positive connotation. However, complicating the definition of each of these is the fact that rationality also continues to have a variety of meanings. In this article, in agreement with Stanovich et al. ( 2018 ), rationality is defined in the normative sense, used in cognitive science, as the distance between a person’s response and some normative standard of optimal behavior. As such, degree of rationality falls on a continuous scale, not a categorical one.

Despite disagreements surrounding the conceptual definitions of intelligence, critical thinking, and rationality, a commonality in these terms is they are value-laden and normative. In the case of intelligence, people are judged based on norms from standardized intelligence tests, especially in academic settings. Although scores on CT tests seldom are, nor could be, used to judge individuals in this way, the normative and value-laden basis of CT is apparent in people’s informal judgements. They often judge others who have made poor decisions to be irrational or to have failed to think critically.

This value-laden aspect of CT is also apparent in formal definitions of CT. Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) defined critical thinking as “the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed.” The positive conception of CT as helping a person adapt well to one’s environment is clearly implied in “desirable outcome”.

Robert Ennis ( 1987 ) has offered a simpler, yet useful definition of critical thinking that also has normative implications. According to Ennis, “critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” ( Ennis 1987, p. 102 ). This definition implies that CT helps people know what to believe (a goal of epistemic rationality) and how to act (a goal of instrumental rationality). This is conveyed by associating “critical thinking” with the positive terms, “reasonable” and “reflective”. Dictionaries commonly define “reasonable” as “rational”, “logical”, “intelligent”, and “good”, all terms with positive connotations.

For critical thinkers, being reasonable involves using logical rules, standards of evidence, and other criteria that must be met for a product of thinking to be considered good. Critical thinkers use these to evaluate how strongly reasons or evidence supports one claim versus another, drawing conclusions which are supported by the highest quality evidence ( Bensley 2018 ). If no high-quality evidence is available for consideration, it would be unreasonable to draw a strong conclusion. Unfortunately, people’s beliefs are too often based on acceptance of unsubstantiated claims. This is a failure of CT, but is it also a failure of intelligence?

3. Does Critical Thinking “Go Beyond” What Is Meant by Intelligence?

Despite the conceptual overlap in intelligence and CT at a general level, one way that CT can be distinguished from the common view of intelligence as general cognitive ability is in terms of what each can account for. Although intelligence tests, especially measures of general cognitive ability, have reliably predicted academic and job performance, they may not be sufficient to predict other everyday outcomes for which CT measures have made successful predictions and have added to the variance accounted for in performance. For instance, replicating a study by Butler ( 2012 ), Butler et al. ( 2017 ) obtained a negative correlation ( r = −0.33) between scores on the Halpern Critical Thinking Appraisal (HCTA) and a measure of 134 negative, real-world outcomes, not expected to befall critical thinkers, such as engaging in unprotected sex or posting a message on social media which the person regretted. They found that higher HCTA scores not only predicted better life decisions, but also predicted better performance beyond a measure of general cognitive ability. These results suggest that CT can account for real-world outcomes and goes beyond general cognitive ability to account for additional variance.

Some theorists maintain that standardized intelligence tests do not capture the variety of abilities that people need to adapt well in the real world. For example, Gardner ( 1999 ), has proposed that additional forms of intelligence are needed, such as spatial, musical, and interpersonal intelligences in addition to linguistic and logical–mathematical intelligences, more typically associated with general cognitive ability and academic success. In other theorizing, Sternberg ( 1988 ) has proposed three additional types of intelligence: analytical, practical, and creative intelligence, to more fully capture the variety of intelligent abilities on which people differ. Critical thinking is considered part of analytical skills which involve evaluating the quality and applicability of ideas, products, and options ( Sternberg 2022 ). Regarding adaptive intelligence, Sternberg ( 2019 ) has emphasized how adaptive aspects of intelligence are needed to solve real-world problems both at the individual and species levels. According to Sternberg, core components of intelligence have evolved in humans, but intelligence takes different forms in different cultures, with each culture valuing its own skills for adaptation. Thus, the construct of intelligence must go beyond core cognitive ability to encompass the specific abilities needed for adaptive behavior in specific cultures and settings.

Two other theories propose that other components be added to intelligent and rational thinking. Ackerman ( 2022 ) has emphasized the importance of acquiring domain-specific knowledge for engaging in intelligent functioning in the wide variety of tasks found in everyday life. Ackerman has argued that declarative, procedural, and tacit knowledge, as well as non-ability variables, are needed to better predict job performance and performance of other everyday activities. Taking another approach, Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) have proposed that critical thinking is essentially the adaptive application of intelligence for solving real-world problems. Elsewhere, Butler and Halpern ( 2019 ) have argued that dispositions such as open-mindedness are another aspect of CT and that domain-specific knowledge and specific CT skills are needed to solve real-world problems.

Examples are readily available for how CT goes beyond what IQ tests test to include specific rules for reasoning and relevant knowledge needed to execute real-world tasks. Take the example of scientific reasoning, which can be viewed as a specialized form of CT. Drawing a well-reasoned inductive conclusion about a theory or analyzing the quality of a research study both require that a thinker possess relevant specialized knowledge related to the question and specific reasoning skills for reasoning about scientific methodology. In contrast, IQ tests are deliberately designed to be nonspecialized in assessing Gc, broadly sampling vocabulary and general knowledge in order to be fair and unbiased ( Stanovich 2009 ). Specialized knowledge and reasoning skills are also needed in non-academic domains. Jurors must possess specialized knowledge to understand expert, forensic testimony and specific reasoning skills to interpret the law and make well-reasoned judgments about a defendant’s guilt or innocence.

Besides lacking specific reasoning skills and domain-relevant knowledge, people may fail to think critically because they are not disposed to use their reasoning skills to examine such claims and want to preserve their favored beliefs. Critical thinking dispositions are attitudes or traits that make it more likely that a person will think critically. Theorists have proposed numerous CT dispositions (e.g., Bensley 2018 ; Butler and Halpern 2019 ; Dwyer 2017 ; Ennis 1987 ). Some commonly identified CT dispositions especially relevant to this discussion are open-mindedness, skepticism, intellectual engagement, and the tendency to take a reflective, rational–analytic approach. Critical thinking dispositions are clearly value-laden and prescriptive. A good thinker should be open-minded, skeptical, reflective, intellectually engaged, and value a rational–analytic approach to inquiry. Conversely, corresponding negative dispositions, such as “close-mindedness” and “gullibility”, could obstruct CT.

Without the appropriate disposition, individuals will not use their reasoning skills to think critically about questions. For example, the brilliant mystery writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was trained as a physician and created the hyper-reasonable detective Sherlock Holmes, was not disposed to think critically about some unsubstantiated claims. Conan Doyle was no doubt highly intelligent in cognitive ability terms, but he was not sufficiently skeptical (disposed to think critically) about spiritualism. He believed that he was talking to his dearly departed son though a medium, despite the warnings of his magician friend, Harry Houdini, who told him that mediums used trickery in their seances. Perhaps influenced by his Irish father’s belief in the “wee folk”, Conan Doyle also believed that fairies inhabited the English countryside, based on children’s photos, despite the advice of experts who said the photos could be faked. Nevertheless, he was skeptical of a new theory of tuberculosis proposed by Koch when he reported on it, despite his wife suffering from the disease. So, in professional capacities, Conan Doyle used his CT skills, but in certain other domains for which he was motivated to accept unsubstantiated claims, he failed to think critically, insufficiently disposed to skeptically challenge certain implausible claims.

This example makes two important points. Conan Doyle’s superior intelligence was not enough for him to reject implausible claims about the world. In general, motivated reasoning can lead people, even those considered highly intelligent, to accept claims with no good evidentiary support. The second important point is that we would not be able to adequately explain cases like this one, considering only the person’s intelligence or even their reasoning skills, without also considering the person’s disposition. General cognitive ability alone is not sufficient, and CT dispositions should also be considered.

Supporting this conclusion, Stanovich and West ( 1997 ) examined the influence of dispositions beyond the contribution of cognitive ability on a CT task. They gave college students an argument evaluation test in which participants first rated their agreement with several claims about real social and political issues made by a fictitious person. Then, they gave them evidence against each claim and finally asked them to rate the quality of a counterargument made by the same fictitious person. Participants’ ratings of the counterarguments were compared to the median ratings of expert judges on the quality of the rebuttals. Stanovich and West also administered a new measure of rational disposition called the Actively Open-minded Thinking (AOT) scale and the SAT as a proxy for cognitive ability. The AOT was a composite of items from several other scales that would be expected to measure CT disposition. They found that both SAT and AOT scores were significant predictors of higher argument analysis scores. Even after partialing out cognitive ability, actively open-minded thinking was significant. These results suggest that general cognitive ability alone was not sufficient to account for thinking critically about real-world issues and that CT disposition was needed to go beyond it.

Further examining the roles of CT dispositions and cognitive ability on reasoning, Stanovich and West ( 2008 ) studied myside bias, a bias in reasoning closely related to one-sided thinking and confirmation bias. A critical thinker would be expected to not show myside bias and instead fairly evaluate evidence on all sides of a question. Stanovich and West ( 2007 ) found that college students often showed myside bias when asked their opinions about real-world policy issues, such as those concerning the health risks of smoking and drinking alcohol. For example, compared to non-smokers, smokers judged the health risks of smoking to be lower. When they divided participants into higher versus lower cognitive ability groups based on SAT scores, the two groups showed little difference on myside bias. Moreover, on the hazards of drinking issue, participants who drank less had higher scores on the CT disposition measure.

Other research supports the need for both reasoning ability and CT disposition in predicting outcomes in the real world. Ren et al. ( 2020 ) found that CT disposition, as measured by a Chinese critical thinking disposition inventory, and a CT skill measure together contributed a significant amount of the variance in predicting academic performance beyond the contribution of cognitive ability alone, as measured by a test of fluid intelligence. Further supporting the claim that CT requires both cognitive ability and CT disposition, Ku and Ho ( 2010 ) found that a CT disposition measure significantly predicted scores on a CT test beyond the significant contribution of verbal intelligence in high school and college students from Hong Kong.

The contribution of dispositions to thinking is related to another way that CT goes beyond the application of general cognitive ability, i.e., by way of the motivation for reasoning. Assuming that all reasoning is motivated ( Kunda 1990 ), then CT is motivated, too, which is implicit within the Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) and Ennis ( 1987 ) definitions. Critical thinking is motivated in the sense of being purposeful and directed towards the goal of arriving at an accurate conclusion. For instance, corresponding to pursuit of the goal of accurate reasoning, the CT disposition of “truth-seeking” guides a person towards reaching the CT goal of arriving at an accurate conclusion.

Also, according to Kunda ( 1990 ), a second type of motivated reasoning can lead to faulty conclusions, often by directing a person towards the goal of maintaining favored beliefs and preconceptions, as in illusory correlation, belief perseverance, and confirmation bias. Corresponding to this second type, negative dispositions, such as close-mindedness and self-serving motives, can incline thinkers towards faulty conclusions. This is especially relevant in the present discussion because poorer reasoning, thinking errors, and the inappropriate use of heuristics are related to the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, all of which are CT failures. The term “thinking errors” is a generic term referring to logical fallacies, informal reasoning fallacies, argumentation errors, and inappropriate uses of cognitive heuristics ( Bensley 2018 ). Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts, commonly used to simplify judgment tasks and reduce mental effort. Yet, when used inappropriately, heuristics often result in biased judgments.

Stanovich ( 2009 ) has argued that IQ tests do not test people’s use of heuristics, but heuristics have been found to be negatively correlated with CT performance ( West et al. 2008 ). In this same study, they found that college students’ cognitive ability, as measured by performance on the SAT, was not correlated with thinking biases associated with use of heuristics. Although Stanovich and West ( 2008 ) found that susceptibility to biases, such as the conjunction fallacy, framing effect, base-rate neglect, affect bias, and myside bias were all uncorrelated with cognitive ability (using SAT as a proxy), other types of thinking errors were correlated with SAT.

Likewise, two types of knowledge are related to the two forms of motivated reasoning. For instance, inaccurate knowledge, such as misconceptions, can derail reasoning from moving towards a correct conclusion, as in when a person reasons from false premises. In contrast, reasoning from accurate knowledge is more likely to produce an accurate conclusion. Taking into account inaccurate knowledge and thinking errors is important to understanding the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims because these are also related to negative dispositions, such as close-mindedness and cynicism, none of which are measured by intelligence tests.

Critical thinking questions are often situated in real-world examples or in simulations of them which are designed to detect thinking errors and bias. As described in Halpern and Butler ( 2018 ), an item like one on the “Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment” (HCTA) provides respondents with a mock newspaper story about research showing that first-graders who attended preschool were better able to learn how to read. Then the question asks if preschool should be made mandatory. A correct response to this item requires recognizing that correlation does not imply causation, that is, avoiding a common reasoning error people make in thinking about research implications in everyday life. Another CT skills test, “Analyzing Psychological Statements” (APS) assesses the ability to recognize thinking errors and apply argumentation skills and psychology to evaluate psychology-related examples and simulations of real-life situations ( Bensley 2021 ). For instance, besides identifying thinking errors in brief samples of thinking, questions ask respondents to distinguish arguments from non-arguments, find assumptions in arguments, evaluate kinds of evidence, and draw a conclusion from a brief psychological argument. An important implication of the studies just reviewed is that efforts to understand CT can be further informed by assessing thinking errors and biases, which, as the next discussion shows, are related to individual differences in thinking dispositions and cognitive style.

4. Dual-Process Theory Measures and Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Dual-process theory (DPT) and measures associated with it have been widely used in the study of the endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs, especially as they relate to cognitive style. According to a cognitive style version of DPT, people have two modes of processing, a fast intuitive–experiential (I-E) style of processing and a slower, reflective, rational–analytic (R-A) style of processing. The intuitive cognitive style is associated with reliance on hunches, feelings, personal experience, and cognitive heuristics which simplify processing, while the R-A cognitive style is a reflective, rational–analytic style associated with more elaborate and effortful processing ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Epstein 2008 ). As such, the rational–analytic cognitive style is consistent with CT dispositions, such as those promoting the effortful analysis of evidence, objective truth, and logical consistency. In fact, CT is sometimes referred to as “critical-analytic” thinking ( Byrnes and Dunbar 2014 ) and has been associated with analytical intelligence Sternberg ( 1988 ) and with rational thinking, as discussed before.

People use both modes of processing, but they show individual differences in which mode they tend to rely upon, although the intuitive–experiential mode is the default ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Morgan 2016 ; Pacini and Epstein 1999 ), and they accept unsubstantiated claims differentially based on their predominate cognitive style ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Epstein 2008 ). Specifically, individuals who rely more on an I-E cognitive style tend to endorse unsubstantiated claims more strongly, while individuals who rely more on a R-A cognitive style tend to endorse those claims less. Note, however, that other theorists view the two processes and cognitive styles somewhat differently, (e.g., Kahneman 2011 ; Stanovich et al. 2018 ).

Researchers have often assessed the contribution of these two cognitive styles to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, using variants of three measures: the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) of Frederick ( 2005 ), the Rational–Experiential Inventory of Epstein and his colleagues ( Pacini and Epstein 1999 ), and the related Need for Cognition scale of Cacioppo and Petty ( 1982 ). The CRT is a performance-based test which asks participants to solve problems that appear to require simple mathematical calculations, but which actually require more reflection. People typically do poorly on the CRT, which is thought to indicate reliance on an intuitive cognitive style, while better performance is thought to indicate reliance on the slower, more deliberate, and reflective cognitive style. The positive correlation of the CRT with numeracy scores suggests it also has a cognitive skill component ( Patel et al. 2019 ). The Rational–Experiential Inventory (REI) of Pacini and Epstein ( 1999 ) contains one scale designed to measure an intuitive–experiential cognitive style and a second scale intended to measure a rational–analytic (R-A) style. The R-A scale was adapted from the Need for Cognition (NFC) scale of Cacioppo and Petty ( 1982 ), another scale associated with rational–analytic thinking and expected to be negatively correlated with unsubstantiated beliefs. The NFC was found to be related to open-mindedness and intellectual engagement, two CT dispositions ( Cacioppo et al. 1996 ).

The cognitive styles associated with DPT also relate to CT dispositions. Thinking critically requires that individuals be disposed to use their reasoning skills to reject unsubstantiated claims ( Bensley 2018 ) and that they be inclined to take a rational–analytic approach rather than relying on their intuitions and feelings. For instance, Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) found that students who endorsed more psychological misconceptions adopted a more intuitive cognitive style, were less disposed to take a rational–scientific approach to psychology, and scored lower on a psychological critical thinking skills test. Further supporting this connection, West et al. ( 2008 ) found that participants who tended to use cognitive heuristics more, thought to be related to intuitive processing and bias, scored lower on a critical thinking measure. As the Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) results suggest, in addition to assessing reasoning skills and dispositions, comprehensive CT assessment research should assess knowledge and unsubstantiated beliefs because these are related to failures of critical thinking.

5. Assessing Critical Thinking and Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Assessing endorsement of unsubstantiated claims provides another way to assess CT outcomes related to everyday thinking, which goes beyond what intelligence tests test ( Bensley and Lilienfeld 2020 ). From the perspective of the multi-dimensional model of CT, endorsement of unsubstantiated claims could result from deficiencies in a person’s CT reasoning skills, a lack of relevant knowledge, and in the engagement of inappropriate dispositions. Suppose an individual endorses an unsubstantiated claim, such as believing the conspiracy theory that human-caused global warming is a hoax. The person may lack the specific reasoning skills needed to critically evaluate the conspiracy. Lantian et al. ( 2020 ) found that scores on a CT skills test were negatively correlated with conspiracy theory beliefs. The person also must possess relevant scientific knowledge, such as knowing the facts that each year humans pump about 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which traps heat in the atmosphere. Or, the person may not be scientifically skeptical or too cynical or mistrustful of scientists or governmental officials.

Although endorsing unsubstantiated beliefs is clearly a failure of CT, problems arise in deciding which ones are unsubstantiated, especially when considering conspiracy theories. Typically, the claims which critical thinkers should reject as unsubstantiated are those which are not supported by objective evidence. But of the many conspiracies proposed, few are vigorously examined. Moreover, some conspiracy theories which authorities might initially deny turn out to be real, such as the MK-Ultra theory that the CIA was secretly conducting mind-control research on American citizens.

A way out of this quagmire is to define unsubstantiated beliefs on a continuum which depends on the quality of evidence. This has led to the definition of unsubstantiated claims as assertions which have not been supported by high-quality evidence ( Bensley 2023 ). Those which are supported have the kind of evidentiary support that critical thinkers are expected to value in drawing reasonable conclusions. Instead of insisting that a claim must be demonstrably false to be rejected, we adopt a more tentative acceptance or rejection of claims, based on how much good evidence supports them. Many claims are unsubstantiated because they have not yet been carefully examined and so totally lack support or they may be supported only by low quality evidence such as personal experience, anecdotes, or non-scientific authority. Other claims are more clearly unsubstantiated because they contradict the findings of high-quality research. A critical thinker should be highly skeptical of these.

Psychological misconceptions are one type of claim that can be more clearly unsubstantiated. Psychological misconceptions are commonsense psychological claims (folk theories) about the mind, brain, and behavior that are contradicted by the bulk of high-quality scientific research. Author developed the Test of Psychological Knowledge and Misconceptions (TOPKAM), a 40-item, forced-choice measure with each item posing a statement of a psychological misconception and the other response option stating the evidence-based alternative ( Bensley et al. 2014 ). They found that higher scores on the APS, the argument analysis test applying psychological concepts to analyze real-world examples, were associated with more correct answers on the TOPKAM. Other studies have found positive correlations between CT skills tests and other measures of psychological misconceptions ( McCutcheon et al. 1992 ; Kowalski and Taylor 2004 ). Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) also found that higher correct TOPKAM scores were positively correlated with scores on the Inventory of Thinking Dispositions in Psychology (ITDP) of Bensley ( 2021 ), a measure of the disposition to take a rational and scientific approach to psychology but were negatively correlated with an intuitive cognitive style.

Bensley et al. ( 2021 ) conducted a multidimensional study, assessing beginner psychology students starting a CT course on their endorsement of psychological misconceptions, recognition of thinking errors, CT dispositions, and metacognition, before and after CT instruction. Two classes received explicit instruction involving considerable practice in argument analysis and scientific reasoning skills, with one class receiving CT instruction focused more on recognizing psychological misconceptions and a second class focused more on recognizing various thinking errors. Bensley et al. assessed both classes before and after instruction on the TOPKAM and on the Test of Thinking Errors, a test of the ability to recognize in real-world examples 17 different types of thinking errors, such as confirmation bias, inappropriate use of the availability and representativeness heuristics, reasoning from ignorance/possibility, gambler’s fallacy, and hasty generalization ( Bensley et al. 2021 ). Correct TOPKAM and TOTE scores were positively correlated, and after CT instruction both were positively correlated with the APS, the CT test of argument analysis skills.

Bensley et al. found that after explicit instruction of CT skills, students improved significantly on both the TOPKAM and TOTE, but those focusing on recognizing misconceptions improved the most. Also, those students who improved the most on the TOTE scored higher on the REI rational–analytic scale and on the ITDP, while those improving the most on the TOTE scored higher on the ITDP. The students receiving explicit CT skill instruction in recognizing misconceptions also significantly improved the accuracy of their metacognitive monitoring in estimating their TOPKAM scores after instruction.

Given that before instruction neither class differed in GPA nor on the SAT, a proxy for general cognitive ability, CT instruction provided a good accounting for the improvement in recognition of thinking errors and misconceptions without recourse to intelligence. However, SAT scores were positively correlated with both TOTE scores and APS scores, suggesting that cognitive ability contributed to CT skill performance. These results replicated the earlier findings of Bensley and Spero ( 2014 ) showing that explicit CT instruction improved performance on both CT skills tests and metacognitive monitoring accuracy while controlling for SAT, which was positively correlated with the CT skills test performance.

Taken together, these findings suggest that cognitive ability contributes to performance on CT tasks but that CT instruction goes beyond it to further improve performance. As the results of Bensley et al. ( 2021 ) show, and as discussed next, thinking errors and bias from heuristics are CT failures that should also be assessed because they are related to endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs and cognitive style.

6. Dual-Processing Theory and Research on Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Consistent with DPT, numerous other studies have obtained significant positive correlations between intuitive cognitive style and paranormal belief, often using the REI intuitive–experiential scale and the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) of Tobacyk ( 2004 ) (e.g., Genovese 2005 ; Irwin and Young 2002 ; Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Pennycook et al. 2015 ; Rogers et al. 2018 ; Saher and Lindeman 2005 ). Studies have also found positive correlations between superstitious belief and intuitive cognitive style (e.g., Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Maqsood et al. 2018 ). REI intuitive–experiential thinking style was also positively correlated with belief in complementary and alternative medicine ( Lindeman 2011 ), conspiracy theory belief ( Alper et al. 2020 ), and with endorsement of psychological misconceptions ( Bensley et al. 2014 ; Bensley et al. 2022 ).

Additional evidence for DPT has been found when REI R-A and NFC scores were negatively correlated with scores on measures of unsubstantiated beliefs, but studies correlating them with measures of paranormal belief and conspiracy theory belief have shown mixed results. Supporting a relationship, REI rational–analytic and NFC scores significantly and negatively predicted paranormal belief ( Lobato et al. 2014 ; Pennycook et al. 2012 ). Other studies have also obtained a negative correlation between NFC and paranormal belief ( Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Rogers et al. 2018 ; Stahl and van Prooijen 2018 ), but both Genovese ( 2005 ) and Pennycook et al. ( 2015 ) found that NFC was not significantly correlated with paranormal belief. Swami et al. ( 2014 ) found that although REI R-A scores were negatively correlated with conspiracy theory belief, NFC scores were not.

Researchers often refer to people who are doubtful of paranormal and other unfounded claims as “skeptics” and so have tested whether measures related to skepticism are associated with less endorsement of unsubstantiated claims. They typically view skepticism as a stance towards unsubstantiated claims taken by rational people who reject them, (e.g., Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Stahl and van Prooijen 2018 ), rather than as a disposition inclining a person to think critically about unsubstantiated beliefs ( Bensley 2018 ).

Fasce and Pico ( 2019 ) conducted one of the few studies using a measure related to skeptical disposition, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS) of Sosu ( 2013 ), in relation to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims. They found that scores on the CTDS were negatively correlated with scores on the RPBS but not significantly correlated with either a measure of pseudoscience or of conspiracy theory belief. However, the CRT was negatively correlated with both RPBS and the pseudoscience measure. Because Fasce and Pico ( 2019 ) did not examine correlations with the Reflective Skepticism subscale of the CTDS, its contribution apart from full-scale CTDS was not found.

To more directly test skepticism as a disposition, we recently assessed college students on how well three new measures predicted endorsement of psychological misconceptions, paranormal claims, and conspiracy theories ( Bensley et al. 2022 ). The dispositional measures included a measure of general skeptical attitude; a second measure, the Scientific Skepticism Scale (SSS), which focused more on waiting to accept claims until high-quality scientific evidence supported them; and a third measure, the Cynicism Scale (CS), which focused on doubting the sincerity of the motives of scientists and people in general. We found that although the general skepticism scale did not predict any of the unsubstantiated belief measures, SSS scores were a significant negative predictor of both paranormal belief and conspiracy theory belief. REI R-A scores were a less consistent negative predictor, while REI I-E scores were more consistent positive predictors, and surprisingly CS scores were the most consistent positive predictors of the unsubstantiated beliefs.

Researchers commonly assume that people who accept implausible, unsubstantiated claims are gullible or not sufficiently skeptical. For instance, van Prooijen ( 2019 ) has argued that conspiracy theory believers are more gullible (less skeptical) than non-believers and tend to accept unsubstantiated claims more than less gullible people. van Prooijen ( 2019 ) reviewed several studies supporting the claim that people who are more gullible tend to endorse conspiracy theories more. However, he did not report any studies in which a gullible disposition was directly measured.

Recently, we directly tested the gullibility hypothesis in relation to scientific skepticism ( Bensley et al. 2023 ) using the Gullibility Scale of Teunisse et al. ( 2019 ) on which people skeptical of the paranormal had been shown to have lower scores. We found that Gullibility Scale and the Cynicism Scale scores were positively correlated, and both were significant positive predictors of unsubstantiated beliefs, in general, consistent with an intuitive–experiential cognitive style. In contrast, we found that scores on the Cognitive Reflection Test, the Scientific Skepticism Scale, and the REI rational–analytic scale were all positively intercorrelated and significant negative predictors of unsubstantiated beliefs, in general, consistent with a rational–analytic/reflective cognitive style. Scientific skepticism scores negatively predicted general endorsement of unsubstantiated claims beyond the REI R-A scale, but neither the CTDS nor the CTDS Reflective Skepticism subscale were significant. These results replicated findings from the Bensley et al. ( 2023 ) study and supported an elaborated dual-process model of unsubstantiated belief. The SSS was not only a substantial negative predictor, it was also negatively correlated with the Gullibility Scale, as expected.

These results suggest that both CT-related dispositions and CT skills are related to endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs. However, a measure of general cognitive ability or intelligence must be examined along with measures of CT and unsubstantiated beliefs to determine if CT goes beyond intelligence to predict unsubstantiated beliefs. In one of the few studies that also included a measure of cognitive ability, Stahl and van Prooijen ( 2018 ) found that dispositional characteristics helped account for acceptance of conspiracies and paranormal belief beyond cognitive ability. Using the Importance of Rationality Scale (IRS), a rational–analytic scale designed to measure skepticism towards unsubstantiated beliefs, Stahl and van Prooijen ( 2018 ) found that the IRS was negatively correlated with paranormal belief and belief in conspiracy theories. In separate hierarchical regressions, cognitive ability was the strongest negative predictor of both paranormal belief and of conspiracy belief, but IRS scores in combination with cognitive ability negatively predicted endorsement of paranormal belief but did not significantly predict conspiracy theory belief. These results provided partial support that that a measure of rational–analytic cognitive style related to skeptical disposition added to the variance accounted for beyond cognitive ability in negatively predicting unsubstantiated belief.

In another study that included a measure of cognitive ability, Cavojova et al. ( 2019 ) examined how CT-related dispositions and the Scientific Reasoning Scale (SRS) were related to a measure of paranormal, pseudoscientific, and conspiracy theory beliefs. The SRS of Drummond and Fischhoff ( 2017 ) likely measures CT skill in that it measures the ability to evaluate scientific research and evidence. As expected, the unsubstantiated belief measure was negatively correlated with the SRS and a cognitive ability measure, similar to Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Unsubstantiated beliefs were positively correlated with dogmatism (the opposite of open-mindedness) but not with REI rational–analytic cognitive style. The SRS was a significant negative predictor of both unsubstantiated belief and susceptibility to bias beyond the contribution of cognitive ability, but neither dogmatism nor analytic thinking were significant predictors. Nevertheless, this study provides some support that a measure related to CT reasoning skill accounts for variance in unsubstantiated belief beyond cognitive ability.

The failure of this study to show a correlation between rational–analytic cognitive style and unsubstantiated beliefs, when some other studies have found significant correlations with it and related measures, has implications for the multidimensional assessment of unsubstantiated beliefs. One implication is that the REI rational–analytic scale may not be a strong predictor of unsubstantiated beliefs. In fact, we have recently found that the Scientific Skepticism Scale was a stronger negative predictor ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Bensley et al. 2023 ), which also suggests that other measures related to rational–analytic thinking styles should be examined. This could help triangulate the contribution of self-report cognitive style measures to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, recognizing that the use of self-report measures has a checkered history in psychological research. A second implication is that once again, measures of critical thinking skill and cognitive ability were negative predictors of unsubstantiated belief and so they, too, should be included in future assessments of unsubstantiated beliefs.

7. Discussion

This review provided different lines of evidence supporting the claim that CT goes beyond cognitive ability in accounting for certain real-world outcomes. Participants who think critically reported fewer problems in everyday functioning, not expected to befall critical thinkers. People who endorsed unsubstantiated claims less showed better CT skills, more accurate domain-specific knowledge, less susceptibility to thinking errors and bias, and were more disposed to think critically. More specifically, they tended to be more scientifically skeptical and adopt a more rational–analytic cognitive style. In contrast, those who endorsed them more tended to be more cynical and adopt an intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These characteristics go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. In some studies, the CT measures accounted for additional variance beyond the variance contributed by general cognitive ability.

That is not to say that measures of general cognitive ability are not useful. As noted by Gottfredson ( 2004 ), “g” is a highly successful predictor of academic and job performance. More is known about g and Gf than about many other psychological constructs. On average, g is closely related to Gf, which is highly correlated with working memory ( r = 0.70) and can be as high as r = 0.77 ( r 2 = 0.60) based on a correlated two-factor model ( Gignac 2014 ). Because modern working memory theory is, itself, a powerful theory ( Chai et al. 2018 ), this lends construct validity to the fluid intelligence construct. Although cognitive scientists have clearly made progress in understanding the executive processes underlying intelligence, they have not yet identified the specific cognitive components of intelligence ( Sternberg 2022 ). Moreover, theorists have acknowledged that intelligence must also include components beyond g, including domain-specific knowledge ( Ackerman 2022 ; Conway and Kovacs 2018 ) which are not yet clearly understood,

This review also pointed to limitations in the research that should be addressed. So far, not only have few studies of unsubstantiated beliefs included measures of intelligence, but they have also often used proxies for intelligence test scores, such as SAT scores. Future studies, besides using more and better measures of intelligence, could benefit from inclusion of more specifically focused measures, such as measures of Gf and Gc. Also, more research should be carried out to develop additional high-quality measures of CT, including ones that assess specific reasoning skills and knowledge relevant to thinking about a subject, which could help resolve perennial questions about the domain-general versus domain-specific nature of intelligence and CT. Overall, the results of this review encourage taking a multidimensional approach to investigating the complex constructs of intelligence, CT, and unsubstantiated belief. Supporting these recommendations were results of studies in which the improvement accrued from explicit CT skill instruction could be more fully understood when CT skills, relevant knowledge, CT dispositions, metacognitive monitoring accuracy, and a proxy for intelligence were used.

8. Conclusions

Critical thinking, broadly conceived, offers ways to understand real-world outcomes of thinking beyond what general cognitive ability can provide and intelligence tests test. A multi-dimensional view of CT which includes specific reasoning and metacognitive skills, CT dispositions, and relevant knowledge can add to our understanding of why some people endorse unsubstantiated claims more than others do, going beyond what intelligence tests test. Although general cognitive ability and domain-general knowledge often contribute to performance on CT tasks, thinking critically about real-world questions also involves applying rules, criteria, and knowledge which are specific to the question under consideration, as well as the appropriate dispositions and cognitive styles for deploying these.

Despite the advantages of taking this multidimensional approach to CT in helping us to more fully understand everyday thinking and irrationality, it presents challenges for researchers and instructors. It implies the need to assess and instruct multidimensionally, including not only measures of reasoning skills but also addressing thinking errors and biases, dispositions, the knowledge relevant to a task, and the accuracy of metacognitive judgments. As noted by Dwyer ( 2023 ), adopting a more complex conceptualization of CT beyond just skills is needed, but it presents challenges for those seeking to improve students’ CT. Nevertheless, the research reviewed suggests that taking this multidimensional approach to CT can enhance our understanding of the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims beyond what standardized intelligence tests contribute. More research is needed to resolve remaining controversies and to develop evidence-based applications of the findings.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This research involved no new testing of participants and hence did not require Institutional Review Board approval.

Informed Consent Statement

This research involved no new testing of participants and hence did not require an Informed Consent Statement.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Why should you ask creative interview questions?

Tips for asking creative interview questions

Creative interview question examples

10 unique interview questions and example answers.

When you only ask candidates common interview questions like, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” you’ll often receive answers that feel scripted and inauthentic. To help you determine if a candidate is right for the role, it’s time for you to refresh your repertoire and add some creative and unique interview questions to the mix. 

To help you determine if a candidate is right for the role, it’s time for you to refresh your repertoire and add some creative interview questions to the mix. 

Asking better questions also helps you stand out as a potential employer. In a tight labor market when in-demand talent is ... in-demand, the questions you ask tell the candidate a lot about what type of company, or hiring manager, you are. They are a powerful signal of what is important and valued and how you work.

A unique interview question like, “What was your best day at work this year?” helps you determine a candidate’s values and accomplishments. At the same time, it prompts them to think on their feet instead of reciting an answer that feels rehearsed. 

Good creative interview questions help hiring managers to find out who a candidate really is, so they can make the best hiring decisions. Of, course, it's even more important when using creative questions to ask the same questions of all of your candidates. 

Let’s explore some examples of creative interview questions and why it’s important to ask them.

Why should you ask creative interview questions? 

To determine whether a job candidate is a good fit for the role and can be additive to the company culture , employers need to ask the right questions . 

Standard interview questions like “ What are your career aspirations? ” or “ Why did you leave your previous job ?” are still an essential part of the interview process. They reveal important information, like whether someone left their employer on good terms. 

Although these questions are valuable, chances are, candidates have answered them more times than they care to admit. As a result, they’ll likely recite a response that they’ve already rehearsed. 

To dig beneath the surface and find out a candidate’s potential, you need to also ask engaging and creative interview questions. These types of questions reveal an individual’s unique personality, thought process, and ability to think on their feet. 

For example, asking an interviewee, “ How do you like to relax after a stressful day? ” reveals how they cope with daily stressors and look after their physical and mental well-being . This information can help you determine whether they’d be a good cultural fit for your organization. 

Creative brain teaser questions reveal a person’s problem-solving skills and ability to articulate solutions under pressure. 

Other creative questions help employees relax so that they can perform better during the interview. A recent survey found that 93% of interviewees have experienced job interview-related anxiety . 

Asking ice breaker questions like, “What was the most fun thing you’ve done this year?” can help relieve anxiety and get candidates to open up more. 

Creative questions are a great way to get honest answers so you can make a better hiring decision. 

Tips for asking creative interview questions 

Before you prepare your own set of creative interview questions, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Avoid asking the wrong questions 

Every person should feel welcome and included in your organization . 

That’s why you should never ask questions that are offensive or discriminatory or make someone feel uncomfortable. These types of questions are usually related to race, sexuality, or politics. You also want to make sure you're asking culture add interview questions — not culture fit questions . 

Tailor them to the job candidate 

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), preparing in advance helps interviewers make sure employment interviews are effective and valid . 

Do some preliminary research on your job candidate, and study their resume before drafting your creative questions. Try to tailor some of them to your candidate’s background and work experience. 

This way, you can strategically use creative questions to learn additional information about particular areas of your employee’s background. 

Have a specific purpose in mind 

Although creative questions can be fun, you shouldn’t use them for your own entertainment. You aren't trying to prove how funny or novel your company is — that will tend to backfire.

Just like other interview questions, they need to have a purpose. 

Whether they reveal a candidate’s integrity or how well they work with other team members , these unique questions should help you make an informed hiring decision. 

So try to avoid questions like “What shows do you watch?” The answer may be interesting to you, but they’re likely not relevant in a job interview. 

There are many different types of creative questions you can ask during a job interview. Let’s take a look at some of these types and when they should be used. 

Icebreaker questions

Warm-up questions are typically asked at the beginning of an interview to ease a candidate’s nerves and help them feel comfortable. This is also a chance for the employer to bond over a shared interest or experience and make a good first impression . 

For example, asking “Where is the next place you’d like to visit and why?” reveals a candidate’s fun side. If that’s somewhere you’ve also been, it’s a good opportunity to find common ground and relate to them on a personal level. 

Other examples of creative icebreaker questions include: 

• What’s the best book you’ve read , and why? 
• What’s the most interesting thing about you that’s not on this resume? 

Company culture questions 

These questions can help you determine if a candidate is a good fit for your company’s culture . 

For example, if you have a very team-oriented culture, you’ll want to ask a unique question that will reveal if your candidate values teamwork . 

Asking an unexpected question like, “What would be your strategy for surviving a zombie apocalypse” can reveal if they prefer to work alone or as part of a team. Their answer also provides insight into their strategic thinking and personal logic. 

A few other examples of company culture questions are: 

• How do you prefer your success to be recognized at work ? 
• What excites you most about coming to work? 
• If you became the CEO of this company overnight, what’s the first change you’d make? 

Creative thinking questions 

Creativity is one of the most sought-after transferable skills . Creative thinking questions evaluate a candidate’s ability to: 

• Come up with innovative solutions 
• Gain new insights
• Think outside the box 

For instance, companies like Yahoo use the question “What three objects would you bring with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?” to test candidates' creative thinking skills . This question also reveals what a person prioritizes most.

Other questions that reveal a person’s creativity are: 

• If you were an animal, which animal would you be and why?
• If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Creative interview questions engage job candidates and catch them off guard. Some questions reveal their personality, while others test their logic and reasoning skills. 

Here are some unique interview questions and what the candidate’s answers to these questions can reveal. 

1. What’s the best gift you gave someone? 

This icebreaker question reveals your candidate’s personal character and the kind of relationships they have with the people in their lives. 

For example, if they open up and speak fondly about a meaningful gift they gave a loved one, it shows they value interpersonal relationships . 

2. Is it better to submit a project that’s perfect and late, or one that’s good and on time? 

This unconventional question is one that the VP of HR at IMB, Obed Louissaint, liked to ask during interviews. 

Choosing to answer “good and on time” can reveal that a candidate understands the importance of time management and meeting deadlines. At the same time, it shows that they’re confident in their work and don’t spend time worrying if it’s good enough or “perfect.” 

3. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? 

This interview question seems unusual at first, but the answer can reveal a lot about a person.

There’s no right answer. Regardless of the superpower chosen, it’s the candidate’s ability to articulate why they chose it that matters most. It reveals their critical thinking skills . 

4. If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

The answer to this question can indicate what qualities and skills your candidate admires in others and tries to emulate. 

Their answers can also reveal a person's core values and what kind of people they like to surround themselves with. If their values align with those of your company’s, the candidate may be a good cultural fit. 

5. How lucky are you, and why? 

Airbnb uses this interview question to determine if a candidate is a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person. 

If a person says they feel lucky and expresses gratitude for the things in their life , they most likely have a positive mental attitude . 

6. Can you explain one concept you know really well to me in under 3 minutes?

If you’re interviewing for a sales role , asking this question is a creative way to test your interviewee’s communication skills .

Their ability to explain in a concise and engaging way is a good indicator of their sales skills and potential. 

7. What fictional character do you identify with the most, and why? 

Asking this question can reveal how a person views themselves and how self-aware they are . 

Someone with a high degree of self-awareness understands their strengths as well as their weaknesses. 

8. What websites do you visit most often and why? 

A person’s favorite websites are a window into who the job candidate is outside the workplace and how they will fit within your company culture. 

How do they choose to spend their downtime? Keeping up with world news or industry trends? Learning a new language? Working on a side hustle?

Depending on their answer, you can follow the question up by asking, “What’s an interesting thing you’ve read or learned there lately?” This ensures their answer is honest. 

9. If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why? 

A candidate’s answer to this question reveals their personality traits and creative thinking skills . 

So if you’re looking for someone who is innovative, you’ll be looking for unconventional, outside-the-box types of answers. 

10 . Tell me about a time you had fun at work. What did it look like? 

If your organization values workplace humor , fun , and social connections , you’ll want to hire someone who fits into that culture. 

If your candidate opens up and has fun with this question, it’s a good indicator they will fit in. That’s as long as their answer is appropriate, of course. 

Use creative interview questions to find the right candidate 

Job candidates have heard the same list of generic questions time and time again. 

Creative interview questions are a breath of fresh air to them and a differentiator for you. 

Asking common questions during the interview is still an essential part of the hiring process. But a few curveball questions help you dig deeper beneath the surface. 

By asking the right creative questions, you can get to know your candidate and their true potential, so you can make a better hiring decision. If you need to evaluate the candidate in action, consider a working interview . 

If you need help asking the right questions and building a thriving workforce, BetterUp can help. Reach out for a custom demo today .

Maggie Wooll, MBA

Maggie Wooll is a researcher, author, and speaker focused on the evolving future of work. Formerly the lead researcher at the Deloitte Center for the Edge, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Maggie is passionate about creating better work and greater opportunities for all.

110 unique interview questions to ask employers and stand out

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