Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

FOLLOWING EXERCISES

The following is designed to assess a composite of attitudes, knowledge, and skills. The ability to think critically is generally regarded as a major goal of academic instruction. It is also known to play an important role in many kinds of occupations, particularly those in which careful, analytical thinking is an essential part of the job.

The following exercises help you assess your:

* ability to define a problem

* ability to select pertinent information for the solution of a problem

* ability to recognize stated and unstated assumptions

* ability to formulate and select relevant and promising hypotheses

* ability to draw valid conclusions and judge the validity of inferences.

These five ability areas are measured by five subtests of the FOLLOWING EXERCISES. They are: inference, recognition of assumptions, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments. The questions on this test include problems, statements, arguments, and interpretations of data similar to those that are encountered on a daily basis at work, in the classroom, and in newspaper and magazine articles.

The FOLLOWING EXERCISES call for responses to two different kinds of item content. Items having “neutral” content deal with the weather, scientific facts or experiments, and other subject matter about which people generally do not have strong feelings or prejudices. Items having “controversial” content, although approximately parallel in logical structure to neutral items, refer to political, economic, and social issues that frequently provoke very strong feelings. Research has shown that strong attitudes, opinions, and biases affect the ability of some people to think critically. A description of each type of problem is provided below.

Inference

An inference is a conclusion a person can draw from certain observed or supposed facts. For example, if the lights are on in a house and music can be heard coming from the house, a person might infer that someone is at home. But this inference may or may not be correct. Possibly the people in the house did not turn the lights and the radio off when they left the house.

Each exercise begins with a statement of facts that you are to regard as true. After each statement of facts you will find several possible inference - that is, conclusions that some persons might draw from the stated facts. Examine each inference separately, and make a decision as to its degree of truth or falsity.

For each inference you will find spaces labeled T, PT, ID, PF, F. For each inference make a mark under the appropriate heading as follows:

T – if you think the inference is definitely TRUE: that it properly follows beyond a reasonable doubt from the statement of facts given.

PT – if, in the light of the facts given, you think the inference is PROBABLY TRUE; that it is more likely to be true rather than false.

ID – if you decide that there are INSUFFICIENT DATA; that you cannot tell from the facts given whether the inference is likely to be true or false; if the facts provide no basis for judging one way or the other.

PF – if, in the light of the facts given, you think the inference is PROBABLY FALSE; that it is more likely to be false than true.

F – if you think the inference is definitely FALSE; that it is wrong, either because it misinterprets the facts given, or because it contradicts the facts or necessary inferences from those facts.

Sometimes, in deciding whether an inference is probably true or probably false, you will have to use certain commonly accepted knowledge or information that practically every person has. This will be illustrated in the example that follows.

Sample Inference Problems

Two hundred students in their early teens voluntarily attended a recent weekend student conference in a Midwestern city. At this conference, the topics of race relations and means of achieving lasting world peace were discussed, since these were the problems the students selected as being most vital in today's world.

1. As a group, the students who attended this conference showed a keener interest in broad social problems than do most other students in their early teens.

2. The majority of the students had not previously discussed the conference topics in their schools.

3. The students came from all sections of the country.

4. The students discussed mainly labor relations problems.

5. Some teenage students felt it worthwhile to discuss problems of race relations and ways of achieving world peace.

Recognition of Assumptions

An assumption is something presupposed or taken for granted. When you say, "I'll graduate in June," you take for granted or assume that you will be alive in June, that your school will judge you to be eligible for graduation in June, and similar things.

In the following exercise you will see a number of statements. Each statement is followed by several proposed assumptions. You are to decide for each assumption whether a person, in making the given statement, is really making that assumption-that is, taking it for granted, justifiably or not.

If you think that the given assumption is taken for granted in the statement, choose ASSUMPTION MADE as your answer. If you think the assumption is not necessarily taken for granted in the statement, choose ASSUMPTION NOT MADE as your answer.

Remember to judge each assumption independently.

Sample Recognition of Assumptions Problems

Statement: "We need to save time in getting there so we'd better go by plane."

Proposed assumptions:

6. Going by plane will take less time than going by some other means of transportation.

ASSUMPTION MADE

ASSUMPTION NOT MADE

7. There is plane service available to us for at least part of the distance to the destination.

ASSUMPTION MADE

ASSUMPTION NOT MADE

8. Travel by plane is more convenient than travel by train.

ASSUMPTION MADE

ASSUMPTION NOT MADE

Deduction

In the following, each exercise consists of several statements (premises) followed by several suggested conclusions. For our purposes, consider the statements in each exercise as true without exception. Read the first conclusion beneath the statements. If you think it necessarily follows from the statements given, choose CONCLUSION FOLLOWS as your answer. If you think it is not a necessary conclusion from the statements given, choose CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW as your answer, even though you may believe it to be true from your general knowledge.

Likewise, read and judge each of the other conclusions. Try not to let your prejudices influence your judgment-just stick to the given statement (premises) and judge each conclusion as to whether it necessarily follows from them.

The word "some" in any of these statements means an indefinite part or quantity of a class of things. "Some" means at least a portion, and perhaps all of the class. Thus, "SOME holidays are rainy" MEANS AT LEAST ONE, possibly more than one, and perhaps even all holidays are rainy.

Sample Deduction Problems

Statement: Some holidays are rainy. All rainy days are boring. Therefore-

Deductions:

9. No clear days are boring.

CONCLUSION FOLLOWS

CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW

10. Some holidays are boring.

CONCLUSION FOLLOWS

CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW

11. Some holidays are not boring.

CONCLUSION FOLLOWS

CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW

Interpretation

Each exercise consists of a short paragraph followed by several suggested conclusions.

For our purposes, assume that everything in the short paragraph is true. The problem is to judge whether or not each of the proposed conclusions logically follows beyond a reasonable doubt from the information given in the paragraph.

If you think that the proposed conclusion follows beyond a reasonable doubt (even though it may not follow absolutely and necessarily), choose CONCLUSION FOLLOWS as your answer. If you think that the conclusion does not follow beyond a reasonable doubt from the facts given, then choose CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW as your answer. Remember to judge each conclusion independently.

Sample Interpretation Problems

Statement: A study of vocabulary growth in children from eight months to six years old shows that the size of spoken vocabulary increases from zero words at age eight months to 2562 words at age six years.

Interpretations:

12. None of the children in this study had learned to talk by the age of six months.

CONCLUSION FOLLOWS

CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW

13. Vocabulary growth is slowest during the period when children are learning to walk.

CONCLUSION FOLLOWS

CONCLUSION DOES NOT FOLLOW

Evaluation of Arguments

In making decision about important questions, it is desirable to be able to distinguish between arguments that are strong and arguments that are weak, as far as the question at issue is concerned. For an argument to be strong, it must be both important and directly related to the question.

An argument is weak if it is not directly related to the question (even though it may be of great general importance), or if it is of minor importance, or if it is related only to trivial aspects of the question.

Each question is followed by several arguments. For our purposes, you are to regard each argument as true. The problem then is to decide whether it is a strong or weak argument.

Choose ARGUMENT STRONG as your answer if you think the argument is strong, or ARGUMENT WEAK if you think the argument is weak. Judge each argument separately on its own merit.

Sample Evaluation of Arguments Problems

Statement: Should all young men in the United States go to college?

Evaluation of Arguments:

14. Yes; college provides an opportunity for them to learn school songs and cheers.

ARGUMENT STRONG

ARGUMENT WEAK

15 No; a large percent of young men do not have enough ability or interest to derive any benefit from college training.

ARGUMENT STRONG

ARGUMENT WEAK

16. No: excessive studying permanently warps an individual's personality

ARGUMENT STRONG

ARGUMENT WEAK