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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Thinking about thinking about "thinking about thinking". Neurobiology as the background for brain and mind.

This paper presents details of the development of recursive thought from early infancy to early childhood. During this period the child is said to face the task of developing a "representational theory of mind." In earlier writings I have suggested eight developmental stages of modeling of mind emerging from brain development. My emphasis has been that the selectionist neural Darwinian nature of the phylogenetic background for human brains and the accompanying nurture of the prolonged infant learning period for minds have together fashioned clear-cut steps of what the mind has to learn about thinking during this period. Object relations development of increasing sophistication emerges naturally from the recursive, back and forth communications between people and internally self-reflective dialogues, which take place together. Both natural selection and social instruction based on that selection are seen as necessary aspects of this development. The contributions of Edelman, Tomasello, Barresi and Moore, and Fonagy and Target are each uniquely useful to catch these infant development concepts. My contributions of eight infant developmental stages by four-and-a-half years of age fit with the findings of these others.

Brain↗
PubMed2002

What do you think I think you think?: Strategic reasoning in matrix games.

In reasoning about strategic interpersonal situations, such as in playing games, an individual's representation of the situation often includes not only information about the goals and rules of the game, but also a mental model of other minds. Often such mental models involve a hierarchy of reflexive reasoning commonly employed in social situations ("What do you think I think you think..."), and may be related to the developmental notion of 'theory of mind'. In two experiments, the authors formally investigate such interpersonal recursive reasoning in college-age adults within the context of matrix games. Participants are asked to predict the moves of another player (experimenter's confederate) in a two-choice, sequential-move game that may terminate at various stages with different payoffs for each player. Participants are also asked to decide optimally on their own moves based on the prediction made. Errors concerning the prediction, or translation of those predictions into decisions about one's action, were recorded. Results demonstrate the existence of a "default" mental model about the other player in the game context that is dynamically modified as new evidence is accumulated. Predictions about this other player's behavior are, in general, used consistently in decision-making, though the opponent tends to be modeled, by default, to behave in a myopic fashion not anticipating the participant's own action.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thinking in nursing education. Part I. A student's experience learning to think.

Learning to think critically is a central commitment of nursing education. There is a substantial body of literature describing nursing educators' attempts to define critical thinking (1-3) to differentiate critical thinking from other kinds of thinking (1,4), and to measure students' ability (and changes in ability) to think critically (2,5-7). These efforts were facilitated when the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) identified critical thinking as an outcome criterion for the accrediation of undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. This change in accreditation led to the proliferation of framework (8,9) and strategies (10,11) for nursing educators to use in demonstrating compliance with this criterion. Describing strategies and frameworks for teaching critical thinking is helpful. However, explicating how teachers teach and students learn critical thinking in actual clinical situations illuminates the contextual aspects of practice that influence learning to think (12). Conventional strategies teachers use to assist students to learn critical thinking include individual and group activities, discussions and interactions between students and teachers, clinical simulations, and problem-solving encounters. Although such strategies are commonly thought to be effective in teaching critical thinking in classroom or laboratory situations, little research has been conducted to evaluate the relationship between specific teaching strategies and students' ability to think critically in specific situations (1). A further limitation of laboratory and classroom strategies is that they need to be supplemented with contextual experiences. Providing students with opportunities to practice critical thinking in actual clinical situations is difficult because the context of care is rapidly changing and schools of nursing continue to allocate limited resources to practice education. This two-year study, which was undertaken to reveal common contemporary approaches to teaching and learning critical thinking in clinical courses, analyzes the lived experiences of 45 students and teachers. Part I describes a typical student's experiences of learning "nurse thinking" in the context of clinical practice. Part II describes a typical teacher's experiences creating opportunities for students to learn and practice critical thinking in a community clinical course.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships among bilingualism, critical thinking ability, and critical thinking disposition.

Evidence exists supporting relationships between bilingualism and many cognitive factors. Research, however, has not been conducted to specifically examine the relationships among bilingualism, critical thinking ability, and critical thinking disposition of baccalaureate nursing students. This cross-sectional study used a pooled, within-bilingual, correlational design to examine such relationships. Specific research questions posed were: (1) is there a statistically significant curvilinear relationship between bilingualism and critical thinking ability, (2) is there a statistically significant curvilinear relationship between bilingualism and critical thinking disposition, and (3) is there a statistically significant relationship between critical thinking disposition and critical thinking ability? A convenience sample of nursing students (N = 111) was administered a French language Cloze Test (C-Test), an English language C-Test, as well as the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the existence of a relationship between either bilingualism and critical thinking ability, or between critical thinking disposition and critical thinking ability. However, there was sufficient evidence to support the existence of a curvilinear relationship between bilingualism and critical thinking disposition. Implications for nursing education are presented.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Thinking styles and modes of thinking: implications for education and research.

The author investigated the relationship of thinking styles to modes of thinking. Participants were 371 freshmen (aged 18 and 19) from the University of Hong Kong. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternnberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Style of Learning and Thinking (Youth Form; E. P. Torrance, B. McCarthy, & M. T. Kolesinski, 1988). A major finding was that creativity generating and complex thinking styles were significantly positively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking but significantly negatively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking. Thinking styles that denote the tendency to norm favoring and simplistic information processing were significantly positively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking and significantly negatively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking. In a preliminary conclusion, it appears that the thinking style construct overlaps the mode of thinking construct. Implications of this finding for teachers and researchers are delineated.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Investigation into the formation of proportions of "realistic thinking vs magical thinking" in paranoid schizophrenia].

Both magical thinking among healthy persons and magical and symbolic thinking in schizophrenia were discussed. The investigation covered 100 paranoid schizophrenics. They also underwent an examination in connection with the formation of the remaining 3 proportions. Both "realistic thinking and magical thinking" scales were used. An ability to think realistically was preserved, to a varying degree, in all patients, with 50% of those examined having shown an explicit or very explicit ability to follow realistic thinking. The above findings deviate from a simplified cognitive model within the discussed range. It was further confirmed that realistic thinking may coexist with magical thinking, and, in some cases, it concerns the same events. That type of disorders of the content of thinking are referred to as magical-realistic interpenetration. The results, and particularly high coefficient of negative correlation within the scales of the examined proportions, confirm the correctness of the assumption that the investigated modes of thinking form an antithetic bipolarity of proportions, aggregating antithetic values, therefore being also complementary.

Cognition↗
PubMed2003

The relationship of critical thinking skills and critical thinking dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Critical thinking is essential to nursing practice; therefore, knowledge and understanding of nursing students' critical thinking skills (CTS) and related dispositions are important to nurse educators. This paper presents the results of a non-experimental study conducted in spring 1998, identifies implications for nurse educators, and offers recommendations for future research. AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate the CTS and critical thinking dispositions (CTD) of students enrolled in a 4-year baccalaureate programme at a university in Western Canada. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional design. Data collection occurred during regularly scheduled classes. A volunteer sample of 228 students from all 4 years of the baccalaureate programme completed a background/demographic questionnaire, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The reliability of the test and inventory were established using the Kuder Richardson 20 and Cronbach Alpha respectively. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were carried out. FINDINGS: Critical thinking mean scores increased from years 1 to 4 with the exception of year 3. However, there was no statistically significant difference among the four student groups. Although differences in critical thinking disposition scores were not statistically significant, students' scores differed significantly on the systematicity subscale. There was a significant relationship between students' overall CTS and CTD scores. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 38% of the students in the current study had adequate levels of CTS and 85.5% of the students had adequate levels of CTD. Results indicate a need for students' continued development in these areas. Dispositions are crucial to critical thinking; without them critical thinking does not happen or may be substandard.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Critical thinking disposition as a measure of competent clinical judgment: the development of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory.

Assessing critical thinking skills and disposition is crucial in nursing education and research. The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) uses the Delphi Report's consensus definition of critical thinking as the theoretical basis to measure critical thinking disposition. Item analysis and factor analysis techniques were used to create seven disposition scales, which grouped the Delphi dispositional descriptions into larger, more unified constructs: open-mindedness, analyticity, cognitive maturity, truth-seeking, systematicity, inquisitiveness, and self-confidence. Cronbach's alpha for the overall instrument, the disposition toward critical thinking, is .92. The 75-item instrument was administered to an additional sample of college students (N = 1019). The alpha levels in the second sample remained relatively stable, ranging from .60 to .78 on the subscales and .90 overall. The instrument has subsequently been used to assess critical thinking disposition in high school through the graduate level but is targeted primarily for the college undergraduates. Administration time is 20 minutes. Correlation with its companion instrument, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, also based on the Delphi critical thinking construct, was measured at .66 and .67 in two pilot sample groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Primary process thinking, divergent thinking, and coping in children.

The relationships among primary process thinking, divergent thinking, and coping were investigated in fifth-grade children. Specifically, it was hypothesized from psychodynamic theory that access to and integration of primary process thinking would be positively related to divergent thinking and that both integration of primary process and divergent thinking would be predictive of coping ability. The Rorschach (Holt's scoring system) and Alternate Uses Test (spontaneous flexibility score) were administered to 53 fifth-grade children. Zeitlin's Coping Inventory, a teacher's rating scale, was the coping measure. Results confirmed the hypotheses for boys in that the percentage of primary process and the Adaptive Regression score on the Rorschach were significantly related to divergent thinking, r(27) = .33, p less than .05 and r(27) = .34, p less than .05, respectively. Divergent thinking was significantly related to teachers' ratings of coping ability for boys, r(27) = .58, p less than .01. There were no significant relationships among the variables for girls. These sex differences in the pattern of correlations are consistent with previous findings.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Affective expression in children's fantasy play, primary process thinking on the Rorschach, and divergent thinking.

The relationships among expression of primary process thinking on the Rorschach, affective expression in fantasy play, and divergent thinking were investigated in first and second grade children. Sixty children received the rorschach (Holt's scoring system), a play task (Affect in Play Scale), and the Alternate Uses Test. Major hypotheses were supported because the amount of primary process thinking on the Rorschach (frequency and percent) was significantly, positively related to amount of affective expression and primary process expression in play. Also, expression of affect in play (frequency, variety, integration, and comfort) was significantly, positively related to divergent thinking, independent of IQ for both boys and girls. On the Rorschach, percent of primary process was significantly related to divergent thinking for boys. The results suggest that the ability to think imaginatively in a free-association style and the ability to have access to affect-laden material are related processes.

Affect↗
PubMed2001

Validity evidence for using a general critical thinking test to measure nursing students' critical thinking.

This study examined validity evidence for using a general test of critical-thinking skills and dispositions to measure nursing students' critical-thinking abilities. Content evidence indicated strong support for the theoretical framework underlying the test but less support for the way in which the critical-thinking constructs were specifically measured. Scores related to critical-thinking skills demonstrated significant but low correlations with grade point averages, were moderately correlated with SAT scores, and were uncorrelated with scores related to critical-thinking dispositions. The evidence suggests that nursing programs may need to reconsider how critical thinking should be measured and evaluated.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thinking about thinking.

BACKGROUND: The nursing leadership at a 900-bed tertiary-care facility in the southeast believed an opportunity existed to improve the critical thinking abilities of the professional nursing staff. METHOD: A team, consisting of a diversified group of nurse educators and managers, had the opportunity to gain understanding of the critical thinking process of the nursing staff as well as to develop a plan designed to improve critical thinking skills. RESULTS: Outputs of the team included development of a critical thinking model and process as well as an action plan that specifically outlined how it would implement the model within the organization using a preceptor-based educational process. CONCLUSION: Nursing leadership within this facility believes that nurturing critical thinking in the staff will have a positive impact on care delivery outcomes. Creating shared visions through the assumptions that the staff and organization hold is important to improving care provided. Assisting staff with using a critical thinking process in order to construct, tear down, and then reconstruct clinical incidents as encouraged by this model is one key to problem-solving.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗
PubMed1990

What women think and what men think women think: perceptions of abuse and kindness in dating relationships.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how college women and their boyfriends viewed their relationships in terms of both abuse and kindness. The women filled out the Psychology Abuse-Kindness Relationship Inventory for themselves and their boyfriends responded to the questionnaire as they thought their girlfriends would. Several intriguing findings resulted: (1) Men thought their girlfriends would respond more negatively about the relationship than the women actually did. (2) Certain aspects of the relationship resulted in more discrepancies between the men's and women's perceptions. (3) Women distinguished present from past relationships by describing the former as more positive and the latter as more negative; men made no such distinction. Alternative explanations were offered to account for these results including projection, denial, projective identification, lack of psychological separation within couples, men's emotional upbringing and deeply rooted feelings towards women.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Ask the doctor. I am 68 years old and had a heart attack last year. I think I am doing fine and passed my last exercise test with flying colors. But about a month ago I had a fainting spell, which occurred when I went to the bathroom after a big meal. In addition, I frequently feel lightheaded for a few seconds when I stand up. I think that problem has been there for years. Do you think these spells are related to my heart?

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Aged↗
PubMed2000

Thinking differently about thinking positive: a discursive approach to cancer patients' talk.

There is an extensive social science and psycho-oncology literature on coping with cancer which claims that "thinking positive" is correlated with--and, by extension, causally implicated in--individuals' morbidity and mortality rates, and their overall level of mental health. Drawing on our own data, in which groups of women with breast cancer talk about "thinking positive", this paper interrogates the basis of such claims from a discursive perspective, by challenging the data analyses upon which they are based. We show that previous literature overwhelmingly relies on self-report data, which are taken as offering more or less accurate depictions of speakers' psychological states (i.e. their mental adjustment or coping style). A discursive approach, by contrast, explores talk as a form of action designed for its local interactional context, and pays detailed attention to what statements about "thinking positive" actually mean for speakers in the contexts in which they occur. We show that "thinking positive" functions not as an accurate report of a internal cognitive state, but rather as a conversational idiom, characterised by vagueness and generality, and summarising a socially normative moral requirement; we also show that even those breast cancer patients who report "thinking positive" can also actively resist its moral prescriptions. Finally, we sketch out the implications of our analysis for analyses of cancer patients' talk more generally and for future research on coping with cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2000

Why do we think? Consequences of regarding thinking as behavior.

Cognitive psychologists have made significant progress in explaining how people think. However, relatively little time and energy have been invested in understanding why we think--the factors that make us start or stop thinking, choose and change strategies and solutions. Such questions are linked to motivation and to discriminative and reinforcing stimuli. In this article, the idea that studying thinking as a form of behavior closely connected to antecedent stimuli and consequences leads to potentially important questions that are not presently being studied in the field of cognitive psychology. This is not an argument for reverting to behaviorism--rather, the argument is made that integrating a behavioral perspective on thinking would enrich cognitive psychology.

Behavior↗