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PubMed2003

Comparison affective dispositions toward critical thinking across Chinese and American baccalaureate nursing students.

The purpose of this cross-cultural study is to understand and compare affective dispositions toward critical thinking across Chinese and American cultures. Two convenience samples of 214 and 196 undergraduate nursing students were obtained in Taiwan and the USA, respectively. The California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure critical thinking dispositions. The ages of the students in these samples ranged from 19 to 28 ( M = 22, SD = 1.87) for the Chinese sample, and from 20 to 51 (M = 28, SD = 6.08) for the American. For the Chinese sample, all means of the seven subscale scores were above 40, except for truth seeking, systematicity and maturity. For the American sample, all means of the seven subscale scores were above 40, except for truth seeking. The mean item responses for each subscale were significantly different between the two samples [F (1, 408) = 54.11, p <.01] and across the subscales [F (6, 2448) = 905, p <.01]. Significant differences between the two samples were also found in truth-seeking, t(408) = 14.70 (p <.001), open- mindedness, t(408) = 6.17 (p <.001), systematicity, t(408) = 4.73 (p <.001) and maturity, t(408) = 10.46 (p <.001). The findings provide information to understand affective dispositions toward critical thinking in either Chinese or American students. The differences may contribute to the cultural differences shown in their dispositions.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Thinking ahead: complexity of expectations and the transition to parenthood.

This study examined the integrative complexity of thinking in individuals making the transition to parenthood, and the relationship between complexity and adjustment during this period. Sixty-nine couples were interviewed 3 months before their babies were born, and 6 months after the birth. The prenatal interview focussed on individuals' expectations about what it would be like being a parent; the postnatal interview focussed on individuals' actual experiences as parents. In addition, participants completed measures of depression, self-esteem, and marital satisfaction after each interview, and a measure of stress after the 6-month postnatal interview. Both men and women demonstrated a significant increase in the complexity of their thinking from the prenatal to the postnatal interview, with women demonstrating higher levels of complexity at both times. In addition, women with more complex expectations demonstrated better adjustment after their babies were born than did women with simpler expectations; these results were not obtained for men. Results are discussed with regard to the way in which thinking about the self changes as one negotiates major life transitions, and the way in which complex thinking can help counter some of the stresses that individuals may experience at these times.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Occupational stress and constructive thinking: health and job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Occupational stress is associated with specific situations, characteristics of the work environment, and individual perceptions and reactions in the context of the workplace, but many nursing studies of occupational stress have tended to analyse aspects related to the job itself. In Brazil nursing is acknowledged as a stressful occupation whose stresses are generally associated with the job itself, while the effects of personal characteristics on an individual's response to occupational stress are dismissed. AIMS: The aim of this paper is to describe: (1) occupational stress, job satisfaction and state of health in Brazilian nurses, and (2) the relationship of these variables to a constructive thinking coping style. METHODS: A correlational study was performed during 1999 with 461 nurses recruited from the public health and education system in the Federal District of Brazil. Instruments used were the Nursing Stress Inventory, Constructive Thinking Inventory, subscales of the Occupational Stress Indicator, and a researcher-designed questionnaire. RESULTS: Normal distributions were found for occupational stress, state of health (physical and psychological), and job satisfaction. Results suggest that nurses have fewer psychological health problems and similar job satisfaction compared with other Brazilian government white-collar workers. Occupational stress was directly associated with state of health, and inversely associated with global constructive thinking and job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Brazilian nurses in this study seem to have adapted satisfactorily to their profession, but the finding that constructive thinking was significantly related to psychological ill-health, occupational stress and physical ill-health highlights a need to value individual coping styles in the work environment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Using narrative pedagogy: learning and practising interpretive thinking.

AIM: This paper reports a hermeneutic study undertaken to explicate students' experiences in educational courses in which teachers enact Narrative Pedagogy. BACKGROUND: International interest in developing and implementing discipline-specific pedagogies is becoming commonplace as teachers respond to the challenges of preparing students for contemporary practice. Lifeworld Pedagogy, developed in Scandinavia, and Narrative Pedagogy, developed in the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand, are two approaches developed from nursing research for nursing education that provide teachers with research-based alternatives to conventional pedagogy. Further research is needed, however, that addresses how new pedagogies are experienced in schools of nursing. METHOD: Teachers and students from 22 schools of nursing in the United States of America were interviewed over a 4-year period between 2002 and 2005. Using interpretive phenomenology as the philosophical background and Heideggerian hermeneutics as the method, accounts from 52 participants were analysed by a research team. FINDINGS: The theme Learning and Practising Interpretive Thinking reveals how reform is occurring in schools of nursing that use Narrative Pedagogy. It documents how Narrative Pedagogy helps students challenge their assumptions and think through and interpret situations they encounter from multiple perspectives. Findings suggest that by focusing teachers' and students' attention on thinking and interpreting as communal experiences, interpretive pedagogies such as Narrative Pedagogy engage teachers and students in pooling their wisdom, challenging their preconceptions, envisioning new possibilities for providing care and engaging with others to ensure patient-centred care and safety. CONCLUSION: By documenting students' experiences in courses in which Narrative Pedagogy is used, this study provides teachers with research-based evidence to guide their pedagogical decisions. It extends international efforts to develop discipline-specific pedagogies and offers a practical, student-centred approach teachers can use to enhance students' thinking.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed2006

Relation between social functioning and neurocognitive test results using the Optional Thinking Test in schizophrenia.

The current study investigated the relationship between clinical evaluations of social functioning and neurocognitive test results, including various fluency tests for assessing divergent thinking, in patients with schizophrenia. The Optional Thinking Test (OTT) was used to measure the ability of individuals to conceive of alternatives. This test assesses alternative thinking, or the capacity to generate solutions to problems. The current study examined 36 schizophrenia patients and 25 normal subjects using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), the Letter Cancellation Test (LCT), the Letter and Category Fluency Tests, and the OTT for neurocognitive assessment, as well as the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), and the Life Assessment Scale for the Mentally Ill - Interpersonal Relations (LASMI-I) for clinical measures. The schizophrenia patients had significantly poorer performances on the MMSE, RAVLT, LCT (time), fluency tests, and OTT than the controls. In the OTT, the proportions of classified strategies were indistinguishable between the schizophrenia patients and the controls. Alternative thinking, as measured by the OTT, was correlated with verbal fluency and attention but was not correlated with the social functioning scores (GAF, SFS, LASMI-I), whereas the Means-Ends Problem-Solving was correlated with the GAF in schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia could conceive of the same categories of alternatives as healthy people, but could not conceive as many alternatives.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Testing an intervention to reduce negative thinking, depressive symptoms, and chronic stressors in low-income single mothers.

PURPOSE: To test the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral group intervention in reducing depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors in low-income, single mothers at risk for depression. DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized, controlled prevention trial was conducted with 136 low-income, single mothers with children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Each participant was screened before enrollment and was determined to be at risk for depression. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. The experimental group was invited to participate in a 4- to 6-week cognitive-behavioral group intervention. Data on depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors were collected via self-report questionnaires from control and experimental groups at baseline, 1 month, and 6 months after the intervention to assess the effects of the intervention. FINDINGS: Compared with those in the control group, women who received the intervention had a greater decrease in depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors; these beneficial effects were maintained over a 6-month period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate the effectiveness of this cognitive-behavioral group intervention and show the beneficial effects of reducing negative thinking via the use of affirmations and thought-stopping techniques.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Learning the baby: a maternal thinking and problem-solving process.

PURPOSE: To describe a maternal problem-solving process from new mothers' day-to-day experience of caring for and developing a relationship with their babies. DESIGN: Qualitative study using grounded theory approach. SETTING: Mothers' homes (n = 23) and workplaces (n = 2). PARTICIPANTS: 25 mothers of babies from 2 weeks to 7 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: "Learning the Baby" was a major thinking process that emerged. Systematic thinking dominated mothers' problem-solving. Even after the babies were comforted, mothers were not certain their efforts alleviated the babies' problems, because they usually were not certain of the problem. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers' thinking directs their caregiving actions. The findings were related to previous problem-solving and women's thinking perspectives. Nurses must use planned and unplanned encounters effectively to collaborate with and teach mothers about baby behavior and health care.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Thinking about one's gender group's privileges or disadvantages: consequences for well-being in women and men.

Thoughts about group-based privileges or disadvantages were expected to have different consequences for personal and group well-being, depending on whether the individual is a member of a high- or low-status group. To test this hypothesis, women and men were randomly assigned to consider the ways that their gender group membership has resulted in either beneficial or detrimental outcomes in their lives. For men, thinking about their gender group's privileges resulted in lower scores on the group-related well-being measures compared to women, and thinking about their group's disadvantages resulted in higher personal self-esteem scores in men compared to women. It is suggested that among high-status group members, thinking about privilege can evoke guilt and taint one's group image, whereas thinking about disadvantage can augment personal internal attributions for the positive outcomes received. Discussion focuses on the implications that the operation of two types of mechanisms--group-based emotions and the undermining or augmenting of attributions--has for the responses of high- and low-status group members when their groups are portrayed as exerting either negative or positive effects on their lives.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Blood flow velocities in three cerebral arteries in the same subjects modulate during thinking.

College students (n = 22) engaged in thinking activities while simultaneous bilateral velocity (V) measures are obtained from their middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries (MCA, ACA, and PCA). The study follows a 3 x 2 x 6 factorial design with repeated measures on artery insonated (MCA, ACA, and PCA), hemisphere (right and left), and six experimental phases, within which an initial 62-second baseline (BL) period is followed by five 31-second thinking tasks (short-term remembering, generating an image, making decisions, and solving language and math problems). VMCA is faster than BL during each thinking task (range, 4.9%-8.5%; p < 0.001), but changes in VACA, VPCA, and all hemispheric differences are not significant. A stronger degree of increase is present for VMCA than (1) both VACA and VPCA during short-duration remembering, making decisions, and working math problems, and (2) VACA, which in turn is stronger than VPCA when generating images and constructing new words. The authors' study shows that transcranial Doppler neuroimaging conveniently provides physiological indices of thinking from three cerebral arteries of the same subjects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Student critical thinking is enhanced by developing exercise prescriptions using online learning modules.

Developing the ability to think critically is an important element of undergraduate physiology education and is influenced by many factors, including the learning environment, the social context of the learning environment, and the instructor's approach to teaching. In this work, we describe online learning modules (OLM) that were designed to promote higher-order critical thinking skills in students enrolled in an upper-division Exercise Testing and Prescription course. The OLM provided students with an online learning environment in which to review clinical physiological details from authentic patient case data and develop exercise prescriptions (ExRx), by requiring students to critically analyze authentic patient case histories and collaborate on computer-based learning activities. On the basis of assessment data, we conclude that the OLM helped exercise science students develop the critical thinking skills necessary for development of effective exercise prescriptions by requiring them to think critically while concurrently reinforcing lecture-presented exercise science content.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

PubMed2001

Critical thinking in African American mothers who care for adult children with HIV: a cultural analysis.

This research study defines critical thinking in nursing and examines the thinking processes revealed by 15 African American mothers who are caregivers to adult children with HIV. The purpose of this cultural analysis was to compare the mothers' decision-making processes with their critical-thinking processes. Their culture, heritage, faith, and value of family influenced caregivers in this study. Their testimony revealed the patterns of creating a different path of care, weaving together resources, choosing among negative alternatives, and selecting stories to tell. Mothers' decisions were based on complex and holistic knowledge of their situations and culture and could be termed multilogical, a type of thinking considered necessary for managing complex situations. Health providers can benefit from an understanding of these decision-making processes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Personality traits and critical thinking skills in college students: empirical tests of a two-factor theory.

The two-factor theory defines critical thinking skills as a combined effect of cognitive abilities and personality dispositions. Although the available research supports the association between critical thinking and measures of cognitive ability, the specific traits contained in the dispositional factor have not been clearly identified through empirical research. In Study 1,101 undergraduate students completed the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA), three subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition, and the revised NEO Personality Inventory. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that Openness to Experience scores accounted for significant incremental variance in WGCTA scores beyond that accounted for by Similarities subtest scores. In Study 2, similar analyses of data from 105 students also showed significant incremental effects for Openness to Experience, even after more variance in the cognitive factor was accounted for by the Verbal Comprehension Index. Implications of these findings for the enhancement of critical thinking skills in college students are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2007

Doctors' thinking about 'the system' as a threat to patient safety.

'Systems thinking' is an important feature of the emerging 'patient safety' agenda. As a key component of a 'safety culture', it encourages clinicians to look past individual error to recognize the latent factors that threaten safety. This article investigates whether current medical thinking is commensurate with the idea of 'systems thinking' together with its implications for policy. The findings are based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with specialist physicians working within one NHS District General Hospital in the English Midlands. It is shown that, rather then favouring an individualized or 'person-centred' perspective, doctors readily identify 'the system' as a threat to patient safety. This is not necessarily a reflection of the prevailing safety discourse or knowledge of policy, but reflects a tacit understanding of how services are (dis)organized. This line of thinking serves to mitigate individual wrongdoing and protect professional credibility by encouraging doctors to accept and accommodate the shortcomings of the system, rather than participate in new forms of organizational learning.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Using Edward de Bono's six hats game to aid critical thinking and reflection in palliative care.

This article describes the use of a creative thinking game to stimulate critical thinking and reflection with qualified health professionals undertaking palliative care education. The importance of reflective practice in nursing is well documented and numerous models are available. However, the author as a nurse teacher has found that many of these models are either too simple or too complex to be valuable in practice. The six hats game, devised by Edward de Bono, is a method that stimulates a variety of types of thinking and when used as a means of reflection helps students to become more critical about their practice. Using this game with a palliative care case study the author demonstrates how thinking more creatively about the patients' perceived needs and problems can assist in developing reflective skills. The article concludes with a discussion on some of the challenges of using this method and suggestions for future practical uses.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed1999

Absolutist thinking and health.

Absolutist thinking has been identified in therapeutic studies as a style of thinking which is believed to promote emotional distress, particularly anger, when people are confronted by situations which do not conform to their demands concerning what ought to happen. It is not a discrete thought process, however, but a key aspect of a framework of beliefs and reactions which are thought to make people vulnerable to poor psychological and physical health when faced with personal, domestic or work problems. This thinking style was assessed in a study of the coping behaviour of headteachers to examine associations between absolutist thinking, coping behaviour and health. The headteachers were classified as absolutist (N = 49) or non-absolutist (N = 31) in the ways they handled two work problems, one with a 'successful' outcome, the other with an 'unsuccessful' outcome. In line with predictions, statistically significant differences were found between the two groups when using multivariate and univariate analyses. Absolutist headteachers experienced their job demands as less pleasant, and perceived themselves to be less effective at managing their emotions for both problems; they perceived themselves as producing less 'successful' outcomes for the successful problem, as handling this problem less effectively, and as having poorer psychological and physical health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

Improving flexible thinking in deaf and hard of hearing children with virtual reality technology.

The study investigated whether rotating three-dimensional (3-D) objects using virtual reality (VR) will affect flexible thinking in deaf and hard of hearing children. Deaf and hard of hearing subjects were distributed into experimental and control groups. The experimental group played virtual 3-D Tetris (a game using VR technology) individually, 15 minutes once weekly over 3 months. The control group played conventional two-dimensional (2-D) Tetris over the same period. Children with normal hearing participated as a second control group in order to establish whether deaf and hard of hearing children really are disadvantaged in flexible thinking. Before-and-after testing showed significantly improved flexible thinking in the experimental group; the deaf and hard of hearing control group showed no significant improvement. Also, before the experiment, the deaf and hard of hearing children scored lower in flexible thinking than the children with normal hearing. After the experiment, the difference between the experimental group and the control group of children with normal hearing was smaller.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Pursuing relational consciousness: thinking and antithinking in group.

Although human beings are interpersonal and innately curious, at the same time an aspect of the self defends against mental relationships with self and other, because such relationships threaten to cause psychic pain. Bion's ideas on thinking and antithinking are applied to this topic of relational consciousness: A "psychotic part of the personality"--which refers also to the "basic assumptions" level of the group-prefers antithinking: forestalling, evading, and assaulting thinking and thinkers. Clinical examples illustrate how the group therapist may address and treat the pervasive resistances to relational consciousness in the group setting. These involve understanding the dynamics and clinical manifestations of hatred of thinking, excessive projective identification, anticipatory anxiety regarding thinking, and bizarre and hallucinatory thought transformations.

Consciousness↗

PubMed1990

Influence of play on creative thinking.

The immediate influence of flexible and highly structured play on the creative thinking of 184 fourth-grade boys and girls was investigated. Following either flexible or highly structured art, drama, and playground activities, children's performances on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were evaluated. Children who participated in flexible play experiences showed significantly greater creative thinking than children participating in the highly structured play experiences. No significant differences were found between boys and girls related to effects of flexible and structured play on creative thinking. Implications for curriculum are explored.

Child↗