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5.3: Using Critical Thinking Skills- Decision Making and Problem Solving

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Introduction

In previous lessons, you learned about characteristics of critical thinkers and information literacy. In this module, you will learn how to put those skills into action through the important processes of decision making and problem solving.

As with the process of developing information literacy, asking questions is an important part of decision making and problem solving. Thinking is born of questions. Questions wake us up. Questions alert us to hidden assumptions. Questions promote curiosity and create new distinctions. Questions open up options that otherwise go unexplored. Besides, teachers love questions.

We make decisions all the time, whether we realize it or not. Even avoiding decisions is a form of decision making. The student who puts off studying for a test until the last minute, for example, might really be saying, “I’ve decided this course is not important” or “I’ve decided not to give this course much time.”

Decisions are specific and lead to focused action. When we decide, we narrow down. We give up actions that are inconsistent with our decision.

In addition to decision making, critical thinking skills are important to solving problems. We encounter problems every single day, and having a solid process in place is important to solving them.

At the end of the lesson, you will learn how to put your critical thinking skills to use by reviewing an example of how critical thinking skills can help with making those everyday decisions.

Using Critical Thinking Skills: Asking Questions

Questions have practical power. Asking for directions can shave hours off a trip. Asking a librarian for help can save hours of research time. Asking how to address an instructor—by first name or formal title—can change your relationship with that person. Asking your academic advisor a question can alter your entire education. Asking people about their career plans can alter your career plans.

You can use the following strategies to develop questions for problem solving and decision making:

Ask questions that create possibilities. At any moment, you can ask a question that opens up a new possibility for someone.

  • Suppose a friend walks up to you and says, “People just never listen to me.” You listen carefully. Then you say, “Let me make sure I understand. Who, specifically, doesn’t listen to you? And how do you know they’re not listening?”
  • Another friend tells you, “I just lost my job to someone who has less experience. That should never happen.” You respond, “Wow, that’s hard. I’m sorry you lost your job. Who can help you find another job?”
  • A relative seeks your advice. “My mother-in-law makes me mad,” she says. “You’re having a hard time with this person,” you say. “What does she say and do when you feel mad at her? And are there times when you don’t get mad at her?”

These kinds of questions—asked with compassion and a sense of timing—can help people move from complaining about problems to solving them.

Discover new questions. Students sometimes say, “I don’t know what questions to ask.” Consider the following ways to create questions about any subject you want to study or about any

area of your life that you want to change:

  • Let your pen start moving. Sometimes you can access a deeper level of knowledge by taking out your pen, putting it on a piece of paper, and writing down questions—even before you know what to write. Don’t think. Just watch the pen move across the paper. Notice what appears. The results might be surprising.
  • Ask about what’s missing . Another way to invent useful questions is to notice what’s missing from your life and then ask how to supply it. For example, if you want to take better notes, you can write, “What’s missing is skill in note taking. How can I gain more skill in taking notes?” If you always feel rushed, you can write, “What’s missing is time. How do I create enough time in my day to actually do the things that I say I want to do?”
  • Pretend to be someone else. Another way to invent questions is first to think of someone you greatly respect. Then pretend you’re that person. Ask the questions you think she would ask.
  • What can I do when ... an instructor calls on me in class and I have no idea what to say? When a teacher doesn’t show up for class on time? When I feel overwhelmed with assignments?
  • How can I ... take the kind of courses that I want? Expand my career options? Become much more effective as a student, starting today?
  • When do I ... decide on a major? Transfer to another school? Meet with an instructor to discuss an upcoming term paper?
  • What else do I want to know about ... my academic plan? My career plan? My options for job hunting? My friends? My relatives? My spouse?
  • Who can I ask about ... my career options? My major? My love life? My values and purpose in life?

Many times you can quickly generate questions by simply asking yourself, “What else do I want to know?” Ask this question immediately after you read a paragraph in a book or listen to someone speak.

Start from the assumption that you are brilliant. Then ask questions to unlock your brilliance.

Using Critical Thinking Skills in Decision Making

As you develop your critical thinking skills, you can apply them as you make decisions. The following suggestions can help in your decision-making process:

Recognize decisions. Decisions are more than wishes or desires. There’s a world of difference between “I wish I could be a better student” and “I will take more powerful notes, read with greater retention, and review my class notes daily.” Deciding to eat fruit for dessert instead of ice cream rules out the next trip to the ice cream store.

Establish priorities. Some decisions are trivial. No matter what the outcome, your life is not affected much. Other decisions can shape your circumstances for years. Devote more time and energy to the decisions with big outcomes.

Base decisions on a life plan. The benefit of having long-term goals for our lives is that they provide a basis for many of our daily decisions. Being certain about what we want to accomplish this year and this month makes today’s choices more clear.

Balance learning styles in decision making. To make decisions more effectively, use all four modes of learning explained in a previous lesson. The key is to balance reflection with action, and thinking with experience. First, take the time to think creatively, and generate many options. Then think critically about the possible consequences of each option before choosing one. Remember, however, that thinking is no substitute for experience. Act on your chosen option, and notice what happens. If you’re not getting the results you want, then quickly return to creative thinking to invent new options.

Choose an overall strategy. Every time you make a decision, you choose a strategy—even when you’re not aware of it. Effective decision makers can articulate and choose from among several strategies. For example:

  • Find all of the available options, and choose one deliberately. Save this strategy for times when you have a relatively small number of options, each of which leads to noticeably different results.
  • Find all of the available options, and choose one randomly. This strategy can be risky. Save it for times when your options are basically similar and fairness is the main issue.
  • Limit the options, and then choose. When deciding which search engine to use, visit many search sites and then narrow the list down to two or three from which to choose.

Use time as an ally. Sometimes we face dilemmas—situations in which any course of action leads to undesirable consequences. In such cases, consider putting a decision on hold. Wait it out. Do nothing until the circumstances change, making one alternative clearly preferable to another.

Use intuition. Some decisions seem to make themselves. A solution pops into your mind, and you gain newfound clarity. Using intuition is not the same as forgetting about the decision or refusing to make it. Intuitive decisions usually arrive after we’ve gathered the relevant facts and faced a problem for some time.

Evaluate your decision. Hindsight is a source of insight. After you act on a decision, observe the consequences over time. Reflect on how well your decision worked and what you might have done differently.

Think of choices. This final suggestion involves some creative thinking. Consider that the word decide derives from the same roots as suicide and homicide . In the spirit of those words, a decision forever “kills” all other options. That’s kind of heavy. Instead, use the word choice , and see whether it frees up your thinking. When you choose , you express a preference for one option over others. However, those options remain live possibilities for the future. Choose for today, knowing that as you gain more wisdom and experience, you can choose again.

Using Critical Thinking Skills in Problem Solving

Think of problem solving as a process with four Ps : Define the problem , generate possibilities ,

create a plan , and perform your plan.

Step 1: Define the problem. To define a problem effectively, understand what a problem is—a mismatch between what you want and what you have. Problem solving is all about reducing the gap between these two factors.

Tell the truth about what’s present in your life right now, without shame or blame. For example: “I often get sleepy while reading my physics assignments, and after closing the book I cannot remember what I just read.”

Next, describe in detail what you want. Go for specifics: “I want to remain alert as I read about physics. I also want to accurately summarize each chapter I read.”

Remember that when we define a problem in limiting ways, our solutions merely generate new problems. As Albert Einstein said, “The world we have made is a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far. We cannot solve problems at the same level at which we created them” (Calaprice 2000).

This idea has many applications for success in school. An example is the student who struggles with note taking. The problem, she thinks, is that her notes are too sketchy. The logical solution, she decides, is to take more notes; her new goal is to write down almost everything her instructors say. No matter how fast and furiously she writes, she cannot capture all of the instructors’ comments.

Consider what happens when this student defines the problem in a new way. After more thought, she decides that her dilemma is not the quantity of her notes but their quality . She adopts a new format for taking notes, dividing her notepaper into two columns. In the right-hand column, she writes down only the main points of each lecture. In the left-hand column, she notes two or three supporting details for each point.

Over time, this student makes the joyous discovery that there are usually just three or four core ideas to remember from each lecture. She originally thought the solution was to take more notes. What really worked was taking notes in a new way.

Step 2: Generate possibilities. Now put on your creative thinking hat. Open up. Brainstorm as many possible solutions to the problem as you can. At this stage, quantity counts. As you generate possibilities, gather relevant facts. For example, when you’re faced with a dilemma about what courses to take next semester, get information on class times, locations, and instructors. If you haven’t decided which summer job offer to accept, gather information on salary, benefits, and working conditions.

Step 3: Create a plan. After rereading your problem definition and list of possible solutions, choose the solution that seems most workable. Think about specific actions that will reduce the gap between what you have and what you want. Visualize the steps you will take to make this solution a reality, and arrange them in chronological order. To make your plan even more powerful, put it in writing.

Step 4: Perform your plan. This step gets you off your chair and out into the world. Now you actually do what you have planned.

Ultimately, your skill in solving problems lies in how well you perform your plan. Through the quality of your actions, you become the architect of your own success.

When facing problems, experiment with these four Ps, and remember that the order of steps is not absolute. Also remember that any solution has the potential to create new problems. If that happens, cycle through the four Ps of problem solving again.

Critical Thinking Skills in Action: Thinking About Your Major, Part 1

One decision that troubles many students in higher education is the choice of a major. Weighing the benefits, costs, and outcomes of a possible major is an intellectual challenge. This choice is an opportunity to apply your critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. The following suggestions will guide you through this seemingly overwhelming process.

The first step is to discover options. You can use the following suggestions to discover options for choosing your major:

Follow the fun. Perhaps you look forward to attending one of your classes and even like completing the assignments. This is a clue to your choice of major.

See whether you can find lasting patterns in the subjects and extracurricular activities that you’ve enjoyed over the years. Look for a major that allows you to continue and expand on these experiences.

Also, sit down with a stack of 3 × 5 cards and brainstorm answers to the following questions:

  • What do you enjoy doing most with your unscheduled time?
  • Imagine that you’re at a party and having a fascinating conversation. What is this conversation about?
  • What kind of problems do you enjoy solving—those that involve people? Products? Ideas?
  • What interests are revealed by your choices of reading material, television shows, and other entertainment?
  • What would an ideal day look like for you? Describe where you would live, who would be with you, and what you would do throughout the day. Do any of these visions suggest a possible major?

Questions like these can uncover a “fun factor” that energizes you to finish the work of completing a major.

Consider your abilities. In choosing a major, ability counts as much as interest. In addition to considering what you enjoy, think about times and places when you excelled. List the courses that you aced, the work assignments that you mastered, and the hobbies that led to rewards or recognition. Let your choice of a major reflect a discovery of your passions and potentials.

Use formal techniques for self-discovery. Explore questionnaires and inventories that are designed to correlate your interests with specific majors. Examples include the Strong Interest Inventory and the Self-Directed Search. Your academic advisor or someone in your school’s career planning office can give you more details about these and related assessments. For some fun, take several of them and meet with an advisor to interpret the results. Remember inventories can help you gain self-knowledge, and other people can offer valuable perspectives. However, what you do with all this input is entirely up to you.

Critical Thinking Skills in Action: Thinking About Your Major, Part 2

As you review the following additional suggestions of discovering options, think about what strategies you already use in your own decision-making process. Also think about what new strategies you might try in the future.

Link to long-term goals. Your choice of a major can fall into place once you determine what you want in life. Before you choose a major, back up to a bigger picture. List your core values, such as contributing to society, achieving financial security and professional recognition, enjoying good health, or making time for fun. Also write down specific goals that you want to accomplish 5 years, 10 years, or even 50 years from today.

Many students find that the prospect of getting what they want in life justifies all of the time, money, and day-to-day effort invested in going to school. Having a major gives you a powerful incentive for attending classes, taking part in discussions, reading textbooks, writing papers, and completing other assignments. When you see a clear connection between finishing school and creating the life of your dreams, the daily tasks of higher education become charged with meaning.

Ask other people. Key people in your life might have valuable suggestions about your choice of major. Ask for their ideas, and listen with an open mind. At the same time, distance yourself from any pressure to choose a major or career that fails to interest you. If you make a choice solely on the basis of the expectations of other people, you could end up with a major or even a career you don’t enjoy.

Gather information. Check your school’s catalog or website for a list of available majors. Here is a gold mine of information. Take a quick glance, and highlight all the majors that interest you. Then talk to students who have declared these majors. Also read the descriptions of courses required for these majors. Do you get excited about the chance to enroll in them? Pay attention to your gut feelings.

Also chat with instructors who teach courses in a specific major. Ask for copies of their class syllabi. Go to the bookstore and browse the required texts. Based on all of this information, write a list of prospective majors. Discuss them with an academic advisor and someone at your school’s career-planning center.

Invent a major. When choosing a major, you might not need to limit yourself to those listed in your school catalog. Many schools now have flexible programs that allow for independent study. Through such programs, you might be able to combine two existing majors or invent an entirely new one of your own.

Consider a complementary minor. You can add flexibility to your academic program by choosing a minor to complement or contrast with your major. The student who wants to be a minister could opt for a minor in English; all of those courses in composition can help in writing sermons. Or the student with a major in psychology might choose a minor in business administration, with the idea of managing a counseling service some day. An effective choice of a minor can expand your skills and career options.

Think critically about the link between your major and your career. Your career goals might have a significant impact on your choice of major.

You could pursue a rewarding career by choosing among several different majors. Even students planning to apply for law school or medical school have flexibility in their choice of majors. In addition, after graduation, many people tend to be employed in jobs that have little relationship to their major. And you might choose a career in the future that is unrelated to any currently available major.

Critical Thinking Skills in Action: Thinking About Your Major, Part 3

Once you have discovered all of your options, you can move on to the next step in the process— making a trial choice.

Make a Trial Choice

Pretend that you have to choose a major today. Based on the options for a major that you’ve already discovered, write down the first three ideas that come to mind. Review the list for a few minutes, and then choose one.

Evaluate Your Trial Choice

When you’ve made a trial choice of major, take on the role of a scientist. Treat your choice as a hypothesis, and then design a series of experiments to evaluate and test it. For example:

  • Schedule office meetings with instructors who teach courses in the major. Ask about required course work and career options in the field.
  • Discuss your trial choice with an academic advisor or career counselor.
  • Enroll in a course related to your possible major. Remember that introductory courses might not give you a realistic picture of the workload involved in advanced courses. Also, you might not be able to register for certain courses until you’ve actually declared a related major.
  • Find a volunteer experience, internship, part-time job, or service-learning experience related to the major.
  • Interview students who have declared the same major. Ask them in detail about their experiences and suggestions for success.
  • Interview people who work in a field related to the major and “shadow” them—that is, spend time with those people during their workday.
  • Think about whether you can complete your major given the amount of time and money that you plan to invest in higher education.
  • Consider whether declaring this major would require a transfer to another program or even another school.

If your “experiments” confirm your choice of major, celebrate that fact. If they result in choosing a new major, celebrate that outcome as well.

Also remember that higher education represents a safe place to test your choice of major—and to change your mind. As you sort through your options, help is always available from administrators, instructors, advisors, and peers.

Choose Again

Keep your choice of a major in perspective. There is probably no single “correct” choice. Your unique collection of skills is likely to provide the basis for majoring in several fields.

Odds are that you’ll change your major at least once—and that you’ll change careers several times during your life. One benefit of higher education is mobility. You gain the general skills and knowledge that can help you move into a new major or career field at any time.

Viewing a major as a one-time choice that determines your entire future can raise your stress levels. Instead, look at choosing a major as the start of a continuing path that involves discovery, choice, and passionate action.

As you review this example of how you can use critical thinking to make a decision about choosing your major, think about how you will use your critical thinking to make decisions and solve problems in the future.

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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.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

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
  • Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

  • Types of plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Avoiding plagiarism
  • Academic integrity
  • Consequences of plagiarism
  • Common knowledge

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how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

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 March 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/critical-thinking/

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Global Cognition

Critical thinking in decision making.

by Winston Sieck updated September 12, 2021

think ahead sign symbolizing critical thinking in decision making

Critical thinking is often talked about as a stand-alone activity. Like some other individual activities, thinking critically may just feel good. Yet, critical thinking seems most useful when it aids other cognitive processes, such as applying critical thinking in decision making.

Anne Helsdingen from the Open University of the Netherlands and her colleagues studied an interesting issue about critical thinking in decision making. They wanted to know whether teaching critical thinking skills can improve judgment and decision making in general.

Helsdingen and her team define critical thinking as reasoned thinking with a purpose. They also describe some core critical thinking skills and abilities, such as being able to:

  • Appreciate that your own opinions may be wrong
  • Accept statements as true even when they conflict with your own views
  • Temporarily adopt an initial position with which you disagree, and then reason from that starting point

A challenge, according to these researchers, is how to teach skills for critical thinking in decision making so that they transfer to new decision making problems. Transfer means being able to apply what you have learned to new tasks or new situations.

To tackle this problem, they start with a useful cognitive model of how decisions are made . Numerous researchers have worked with similar versions of the model of the years. One version is called “explanation-based decision making,” or the “story model.”

The idea is that people encounter situations. When they do, they recognize important parts of the situation from past experience. They then create a story (or explanation) about what’s going on and what will happen. They make decisions based on their story, and how things have turned out in similar stories past.

A problem with making decisions this way is that our stories tend to be less complete than we think – a failure of metacognition. We also overlook inconsistent details because we’re sucked in by the good story. According to Helsdingen, we might improve our intuitive approach by bringing critical thinking in the decision making process.

The researchers tested a method for including critical thinking in decision making. First, they explained the story model of decision making. Then, they prompted the learners to reflect on their story and thinking critically about it. Some of the questions they included to prompt critical thinking were:

  • Do you have all the necessary information?
  • Is there any conflict in the evidence?
  • The devil’s advocate tells you that your story is wrong. Make up an alternative story. Is it more plausible than the original?

The students in the study read through cases about crimes that had been committed. Their job was to decide on the priority of each case for the police. They got feedback, so they could learn what makes cases more important in police work.

Some of the students received the critical thinking skills training while making these decisions. Others did not.

How well they made these crime decisions was not the most important thing, though. The main thing was how well they would do in a different situation after learning about critical thinking in decision making. That is, would their new skills transfer?

The researchers tested for transfer by having the students make different decisions about traffic offenses. The overall results suggested that the training on how to include critical thinking in decision making was effective. The benefits did transfer to the new decision making task.

As you come across decisions that you need to make, pay some attention to the stories you are telling yourself in the process. Use some of the ideas above and other critical thinking skills to improve your story and decision. Writing is also an excellent strategy for making good decisions . It may seem like a bit of extra work at first, but with practice will become more natural for your future decisions.

Image Credit:  Critical thinking asylum

Helsdingen, A., van Gog, T., & van Merriënboer, J. (2011). The effects of practice schedule and critical thinking prompts on learning and transfer of a complex judgment task. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103 (2), 383-398 DOI: 10.1037/a0022370

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About Winston Sieck

Dr. Winston Sieck is a cognitive psychologist working to advance the development of thinking skills. He is founder and president of Global Cognition, and director of Thinker Academy .

Reader Interactions

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January 13, 2013 at 6:36 pm

Thanks for sharing this research and the ‘story’. We are often asked whether you can learn to be a better critical thinker – I wouldn’t be teaching it if I didn’t believe it to be the case! But it helps to have research to support this belief.

Our work is focused on critical thinking in organizational, workplace settings with all sorts of employees, including managers and executives. My experience is pretty similar to that you gave in the case; in the moment, on a particular case, the ‘decision’ may not be improved.

As the researchers and you point out, the proof is in the pudding. Can people learn and apply simple critical thinking techniques, consistently and effectively, and, does this lead to better outcomes?

We find that it can be overwhelming to try to teach too much at a clip. We boil it down to simple questions, job aids, and worksheets that can help people – especially people working on teams – to establish a common vocabulary, and create an environment that reinforces critical thinking rather than viewing it as generating conflict and controversy.

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February 21, 2014 at 4:02 am

I am interested in teaching critical thinking skills to Law Enforcement, specifically to a group of people age 14 to 18 who are interested in pursuing a Law Enforcement Career (The Police Explorer Program) but then later to already established officers.

A law enforcement officer (LEO) is called upon to make decisions and wield power which effect others lives, and they are often required to do this on the spot, with a limited amount of time and information available. They make these decisions every day and I am looking for ways to sharpen their skills and help them make the best decisions possible with the information they have on hand.

I couldn’t help but notice that this study happened to be centered on LEO scenarios. I was wondering if I could adapt this study to a class for young people. Any thoughts?

Also, how could I get the specifics of this study, to include the specific scenarios used?

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February 21, 2014 at 9:34 am

That sounds really interesting, Eric. I contacted Anne Helsdingen on your behalf, and shared your contact information with her.

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February 28, 2016 at 11:40 pm

For the last five years I have taught CT to serving LEOs, although only slowly at first; it is a sharp departure from traditional police training. While new theories come out on how to fix a profession currently under enormous pressure, many of them have been around for 10 or 20 years whereas CT has been developed over at least 25 centuries. I would be happy to share my work and experiences to to hear of others’ work too.

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Article • 4 min read

Critical Decision-Making Techniques

An overview of some decision making tools.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Critical thinking is the mental process that individuals go through to reach an answer or a conclusion. The critical thinking process can be a valuable tool in problem-solving and decision-making. Here we look at some of the techniques involved.

how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

Critical thinking is essentially the process of taking information gathered through day-to-day activities such as observation, reflection and reasoning, and, using personal experience and beliefs, analyzing and applying that information to a given situation. Critical thinking tends to be used in conjunction with creative thinking, where the ideas and processes themselves are generated. Critical thinking can then be used to interpret, assess and evaluate these ideas and processes.

Critical Decision-Making Characteristics

When faced with a difficult or complicated decision, there are a number of characteristics found in those who approach the process critically.

  • Truth seeking. The process of critical decision-making requires a desire for the best possible knowledge or outcome, even if, as a result, personal preconceptions, beliefs or self-interests are undermined.
  • Open-minded. Successful critical decision-makers are tolerant to divergent views, and are aware of possible bias in their thought process.
  • Analytical. The decision-making process is necessarily analytical. The application of reason and evidence, remaining alert to problematic situations and being able to anticipate potential consequences are all important.
  • Systematic. Organization, focus and diligence when approaching decisions of all levels of complexity are beneficial to the critical decision-maker.
  • Self-Confidence. When using critical thinking as a decision-making tool, the user must have a high level of trust in their personal reasoning.
  • Inquisitive. A natural curiosity and eagerness to acquire knowledge and seek explanations will help to ensure the decision is made using as much relevant information as can be found.

In addition to these characteristics, critical decision-making requires a certain level of cognitive maturity. The user will be aware of the importance of prudence in making, suspending, or revising their original judgment, and will have an awareness that multiple solutions can be acceptable.

As well as developing the characteristics above, there are a number of techniques which will aid in critical decision-making.

Argument Mapping

Argument mapping is, roughly, making a picture of reasoning. Typically, argument maps are box and arrow diagrams, a bit like flowcharts. Belonging to the same family as mind mapping, argument mapping focuses specifically on the structure of a reason or argument, Argument mapping helps the user to come to a decision by weighing up the evidence for and against specifics, as well as providing a visual picture of where an argument or decision may fail due to an assumption being made.

Positive and negative arguments for potential alternative decisions can then be identified.

A simple decision-making example might look like this.

Should we build more roads in order to reduce traffic congestion in the city?

how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

More information on the uses of argument maps and how to create them can be found using these links.

http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/arg/complex.php https://www.rationaleonline.com/docs/en/tutorials#tvy5fw

Critical Decision-Making Model

The critical decision-making model is a quick and easy tool that can be used by anyone who needs to make a decision. First briefly state the problem or decision to be made. Then identify at least three possible options or courses of action. As a simple example: Decision to be made: Should we employ more staff to answer the phones? Possible courses of action/options:

  • Employ more staff.
  • Install an automated system.
  • Accept that some people may have to be kept on hold until the existing staff can answer the phone.
  • Add a frequently asked questions section to the website to reduce the volume of similar calls.

Each course or action/option can then be evaluated to determine the best possible outcome. An argument map or a simple pros and cons list will help here.

Fact or Fiction

Simply write down a list of reasons supporting each possible option for the decision that needs to be made. Then write beside each one whether it is fact or fiction. Only determine something to be fact if the information can be backed up by accepted evidence such as statistics or case studies. For example:

The available options and the accompanying reasons might include:

Build more roads

  • more roads will reduce the amount of congestions
  • more roads will keep traffic moving faster
  • road users are less stressed when more roads are built

Develop public transport instead

  • improved public transport will reduce congestion
  • improved public transport is better for the environment
  • more people will use public transport if the service is more frequent

Some or all of these options may well be fact, however it should be checked that there is available evidence before stating this categorically. The purpose of this exercise is to show where assumptions have been made which may result in making the wrong decision.

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Critical Thinking and Decision-Making  - Decision-Making Strategies

Critical thinking and decision-making  -, decision-making strategies, critical thinking and decision-making decision-making strategies.

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Critical Thinking and Decision-Making: Decision-Making Strategies

Lesson 3: decision-making strategies.

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How do you usually make decisions?

There are lots of ways to make a decision . For example, you could flip a coin. You could trust your gut and do what you think is right. Or you could avoid thinking about it at all, and just make a choice at random—for better or for worse.

door 1 and door 2

That's probably OK for small decisions, but what about more important ones? It's better to think carefully about your options and consider the many paths you could take.

woman looking at many paths

With the right tools, you can learn to do this objectively , so you can make decisions you feel good about. We're going to cover several strategies that can help.

Watch the video below to learn more about decision-making strategies.

Making decisions objectively

The first step to making any decision is simple: Identify the problem . As an example, say you're trying to choose between two apartments. One is cheaper but farther away from work. The other is closer—and nicer!—but much more expensive.

dingy apartment vs. modern apartment

Which one would you choose? Depending on what you value, you probably have some idea. This initial response, the one tied to your instincts and emotions , is perfectly valid; however, you should also try to look at your options rationally .

man weighing value vs. location

Comparing your options

Start by comparing them. There are several ways to do this. For example, you could list all the factors that you're considering—things like price, location, and other amenities—then choose the one thing that's most important to you. With that in mind, which option comes out on top?

list with "price" circled

Creating a points system

You could go one step further and create a points system . Take that same list and turn it into a scorecard for each option.

In this example, it means the first apartment would score high on affordable rent (let's say a 10), but much lower on location . The other apartment would score about the opposite in the same categories.

list of scores for various amenities

Keep going down the list until you've scored every item, being as objective as you can. Then add up the totals, and see if you have a winner.

Identifying pros and cons

Looking at it another way, you could evaluate one option at a time using a list of pros and cons. It sounds simple, but sometimes it helps to write these things down.

apartment 1 - pro: cheap / con: 2-hour commute

This time, it's OK to be subjective —certain factors can and should carry more weight than others. It's how you feel about them that counts, so be honest about what these things mean to you.

Thinking about the consequences

Imagining possible outcomes might give you some perspective on the decision. Say you're thinking about adopting a dog. What do you think the consequences might be in a month? In a year? How about several years from now?

tired man with dog surrounded by tennis balls

Making decisions can be a roller coaster ride, especially when there are long-term consequences to think about. We can't see into the future, but we can try to be prepared.

Other mental tricks

At this point, it's normal to feel overwhelmed, even stuck. With so much to consider, how do you know you're making the right choice? There are a couple more techniques that can help you fire up your brain and trick it into thinking differently . Try these the next time you need a mental reset.

brain

The two-minute diversion

Distract yourself with a two-minute activity that you find moderately difficult . Maybe you like playing mobile games, or solving math problems for fun—whatever works for you (we won't judge).

mobile game

Believe it or not, you'll continue to process the decision unconsciously , according to brain imaging research by Carnegie Mellon University. This brief window of time helps you internalize important details, so you can make better, more insightful decisions.

information flowing through brain

Thinking in third person

Sometimes it helps to step outside yourself and pretend you're helping someone else . Studies show we're able to think more objectively in third person —that's why it's easier to give advice than it is to receive it.

man looks at 3D cut-out of himself

If a friend or family member were struggling with the same decision, what questions would you ask them? What compromises would you suggest?

chat conversation - friend: "what if i bought this lol" / you: "do you know how to play? maybe wait until it's on sale"

Really think about it. Adopting a different point of view might help you see the situation in an entirely new way.

man looking skeptically at guitar

Making decisions with confidence

Making decisions isn't like taking a test. There are no right or wrong answers, per se—it just depends on the situation.

final exam booklet

Focus on taking the time to think about your options and what you hope to achieve so you can feel confident about the choices you make. It's not as easy as flipping a coin, but it's worth the extra effort.

smiling sunshine and clouds

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

Julia Martins contributor headshot

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. 

Decision-making tools for agile businesses

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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 . 

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Critical Thinking Models: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Decision Making

Critical Thinking Models

Critical thinking models are valuable frameworks that help individuals develop and enhance their critical thinking skills . These models provide a structured approach to problem-solving and decision-making by encouraging the evaluation of information and arguments in a logical, systematic manner. By understanding and applying these models, one can learn to make well-reasoned judgments and decisions.

how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

Various critical thinking models exist, each catering to different contexts and scenarios. These models offer a step-by-step method to analyze situations, scrutinize assumptions and biases, and consider alternative perspectives. Ultimately, the goal of critical thinking models is to enhance an individual’s ability to think critically, ultimately improving their reasoning and decision-making skills in both personal and professional settings.

Key Takeaways

  • Critical thinking models provide structured approaches for enhancing decision-making abilities
  • These models help individuals analyze situations, scrutinize assumptions, and consider alternative perspectives
  • The application of critical thinking models can significantly improve one’s reasoning and judgment skills.

Fundamentals of Critical Thinking

how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

Definition and Importance

Critical thinking is the intellectual process of logically, objectively, and systematically evaluating information to form reasoned judgments, utilizing reasoning , logic , and evidence . It involves:

  • Identifying and questioning assumptions,
  • Applying consistent principles and criteria,
  • Analyzing and synthesizing information,
  • Drawing conclusions based on evidence.

The importance of critical thinking lies in its ability to help individuals make informed decisions, solve complex problems, and differentiate between true and false beliefs .

Core Cognitive Skills

Several core cognitive skills underpin critical thinking:

  • Analysis : Breaking down complex information into smaller components to identify patterns or inconsistencies.
  • Evaluation : Assessing the credibility and relevance of sources, arguments, and evidence.
  • Inference : Drawing conclusions by connecting the dots between analyzed information.
  • Synthesis : Incorporating analyzed information into a broader understanding and constructing one’s argument.
  • Logic and reasoning : Applying principles of logic to determine the validity of arguments and weigh evidence.

These skills enable individuals to consistently apply intellectual standards in their thought process, which ultimately results in sound judgments and informed decisions.

Influence of Cognitive Biases

A key aspect of critical thinking is recognizing and mitigating the impact of cognitive biases on our thought processes. Cognitive biases are cognitive shortcuts or heuristics that can lead to flawed reasoning and distort our understanding of a situation. Examples of cognitive biases include confirmation bias, anchoring bias, and availability heuristic.

To counter the influence of cognitive biases, critical thinkers must be aware of their own assumptions and strive to apply consistent and objective evaluation criteria in their thinking process. The practice of actively recognizing and addressing cognitive biases promotes an unbiased and rational approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

The Critical Thinking Process

how are critical thinking decision making and planning related

Stages of Critical Thinking

The critical thinking process starts with gathering and evaluating data . This stage involves identifying relevant information and ensuring it is credible and reliable. Next, an individual engages in analysis by examining the data closely to understand its context and interpret its meaning. This step can involve breaking down complex ideas into simpler components for better understanding.

The next stage focuses on determining the quality of the arguments, concepts, and theories present in the analyzed data. Critical thinkers question the credibility and logic behind the information while also considering their own biases and assumptions. They apply consistent standards when evaluating sources, which helps them identify any weaknesses in the arguments.

Values play a significant role in the critical thinking process. Critical thinkers assess the significance of moral, ethical, or cultural values shaping the issue, argument, or decision at hand. They determine whether these values align with the evidence and logic they have analyzed.

After thorough analysis and evaluation, critical thinkers draw conclusions based on the evidence and reasoning gathered. This step includes synthesizing the information and presenting a clear, concise argument or decision. It also involves explaining the reasoning behind the conclusion to ensure it is well-founded.

Application in Decision Making

In decision making, critical thinking is a vital skill that allows individuals to make informed choices. It enables them to:

  • Analyze options and their potential consequences
  • Evaluate the credibility of sources and the quality of information
  • Identify biases, assumptions, and values that may influence the decision
  • Construct a reasoned, well-justified conclusion

By using critical thinking in decision making, individuals can make more sound, objective choices. The process helps them to avoid pitfalls like jumping to conclusions, being influenced by biases, or basing decisions on unreliable data. The result is more thoughtful, carefully-considered decisions leading to higher quality outcomes.

Critical Thinking Models

Critical thinking models are frameworks that help individuals develop better problem-solving and decision-making abilities. They provide strategies for analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to reach well-founded conclusions. This section will discuss four notable models: The RED Model, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Paul-Elder Model, and The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment.

The RED Model

The RED Model stands for Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions. It emphasizes the importance of questioning assumptions, weighing evidence, and reaching logical conclusions.

  • Recognize Assumptions: Identify and challenge assumptions that underlie statements, beliefs, or arguments.
  • Evaluate Arguments: Assess the validity and reliability of evidence to support or refute claims.
  • Draw Conclusions: Make well-reasoned decisions based on available information and sound reasoning.

The RED Model helps individuals become more effective problem solvers and decision-makers by guiding them through the critical thinking process ^(source) .

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchical model that classifies cognitive skills into six levels of complexity. These levels are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. By progressing through these levels, individuals can develop higher-order thinking skills.

  • Remembering: Recall information or facts.
  • Understanding: Comprehend the meaning of ideas, facts, or problems.
  • Applying: Use knowledge in different situations.
  • Analyzing: Break down complex topics or problems into sub-parts.
  • Evaluating: Assess the quality, relevance, or credibility of information, ideas, or solutions.
  • Creating: Combine elements to form a new whole, generate new ideas, or solve complex issues.

Paul-Elder Model

The Paul-Elder Model introduces the concept of “elements of thought,” focusing on a structured approach to critical thinking. This model promotes intellectual standards, such as clarity, accuracy, and relevance. It consists of three stages:

  • Critical Thinking: Employ the intellectual standards to problem-solving and decision-making processes.
  • Elements of Thought: Consider purpose, question at issue, information, interpretation and inference, concepts, assumptions, implications, and point of view.
  • Intellectual Traits: Develop intellectual traits, such as intellectual humility, intellectual empathy, and intellectual perseverance.

This model fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of critical thinking ^(source) .

The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment

The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment is a standardized test developed by Diane Halpern to assess critical thinking skills. The evaluation uses a variety of tasks to measure abilities in core skill areas, such as verbal reasoning, argument analysis, and decision making. Pearson, a leading publisher of educational assessments, offers this test as a means to assess individuals’ critical thinking skills ^(source) .

These four critical thinking models can be used as frameworks to improve and enhance cognitive abilities. By learning and practicing these models, individuals can become better equipped to analyze complex information, evaluate options, and make well-informed decisions.

Evaluating Information and Arguments

In this section, we will discuss the importance of evaluating information and arguments in the process of critical thinking, focusing on evidence assessment, logic and fallacies, and argument analysis.

Evidence Assessment

Evaluating the relevance, accuracy, and credibility of information is a vital aspect of critical thinking. In the process of evidence assessment, a thinker should consider the following factors:

  • Source reliability : Research and understand the expertise and credibility of the source to ensure that biased or inaccurate information is not being considered.
  • Currency : Check the date of the information to make sure it is still relevant and accurate in the present context.
  • Objectivity : Analyze the information for potential bias and always cross-reference it with other credible sources.

When practicing critical thinking skills, it is essential to be aware of your own biases and make efforts to minimize their influence on your decision-making process.

Logic and Fallacies

Logic is crucial for deconstructing and analyzing complex arguments, while identifying and avoiding logical fallacies helps maintain accurate and valid conclusions. Some common fallacies to watch out for in critical thinking include:

  • Ad Hominem : Attacking the person making the argument instead of addressing the argument itself.
  • Strawman : Misrepresenting an opponent’s argument to make it easier to refute.
  • False Dilemma : Presenting only two options when there may be multiple viable alternatives.
  • Appeal to Authority : Assuming a claim is true simply because an authority figure supports it.

Being aware of these fallacies enables a thinker to effectively evaluate the strength of an argument and make sound judgments accordingly.

Argument Analysis

Analyzing an argument is the process of evaluating its structure, premises, and conclusion while determining its validity and soundness. To analyze an argument, follow these steps:

  • Identify the premises and conclusion : Determine the main point is being argued, how it is related and substance of the argument.
  • Evaluate the validity : Assess whether the conclusion logically follows from the premises and if the argument’s structure is sound.
  • Test the soundness : Evaluate the truth and relevance of the premises. This may require verifying the accuracy of facts and evidence, as well as assessing the reliability of sources.
  • Consider counter-arguments : Identify opposing viewpoints and counter-arguments, and evaluate their credibility to gauge the overall strength of the original argument.

By effectively evaluating information and arguments, critical thinkers develop a solid foundation for making well-informed decisions and solving problems.

Enhancing Critical Thinking

Strategies for improvement.

To enhance critical thinking, individuals can practice different strategies, including asking thought-provoking questions, analyzing ideas and observations, and being open to different perspectives. One effective technique is the Critical Thinking Roadmap , which breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: execute, synthesize, recommend, and communicate. It’s important to use deliberate practice in these areas to develop a strong foundation for problem-solving and decision-making. In addition, cultivating a mindset of courage , fair-mindedness , and empathy will support critical thinking development.

Critical Thinking in Education

In the field of education, critical thinking is an essential component of effective learning and pedagogy. Integrating critical thinking into the curriculum encourages student autonomy, fosters innovation, and improves student outcomes. Teachers can use various approaches to promote critical thinking, such as:

  • Employing open-ended questions to stimulate ideas
  • Incorporating group discussions or debates to facilitate communication and evaluation of viewpoints
  • Assessing and providing feedback on student work to encourage reflection and improvement
  • Utilizing real-world scenarios and case studies for practical application of concepts

Developing a Critical Thinking Mindset

To truly enhance critical thinking abilities, it’s important to adopt a mindset that values integrity , autonomy , and empathy . These qualities help to create a learning environment that encourages open-mindedness, which is key to critical thinking development. To foster a critical thinking mindset:

  • Be curious : Remain open to new ideas and ask questions to gain a deeper understanding.
  • Communicate effectively : Clearly convey thoughts and actively listen to others.
  • Reflect and assess : Regularly evaluate personal beliefs and assumptions to promote growth.
  • Embrace diversity of thought : Welcome different viewpoints and ideas to foster innovation.

Incorporating these approaches can lead to a more robust critical thinking skillset, allowing individuals to better navigate and solve complex problems.

Critical Thinking in Various Contexts

The workplace and beyond.

Critical thinking is a highly valued skill in the workplace, as it enables employees to analyze situations, make informed decisions, and solve problems effectively. It involves a careful thinking process directed towards a specific goal. Employers often seek individuals who possess strong critical thinking abilities, as they can add significant value to the organization.

In the workplace context, critical thinkers are able to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments, and draw conclusions, following models such as the RED model . They can also adapt their thinking to suit various scenarios, allowing them to tackle complex and diverse problems.

Moreover, critical thinking transcends the workplace and applies to various aspects of life. It empowers an individual to make better decisions, analyze conflicting information, and engage in constructive debates.

Creative and Lateral Thinking

Critical thinking encompasses both creative and lateral thinking. Creative thinking involves generating novel ideas and solutions to problems, while lateral thinking entails looking at problems from different angles to find unique and innovative solutions.

Creative thinking allows thinkers to:

  • Devise new concepts and ideas
  • Challenge conventional wisdom
  • Build on existing knowledge to generate innovative solutions

Lateral thinking, on the other hand, encourages thinkers to:

  • Break free from traditional thought patterns
  • Combine seemingly unrelated ideas to create unique solutions
  • Utilize intuition and intelligence to approach problems from a different perspective

Both creative and lateral thinking are essential components of critical thinking, allowing individuals to view problems in a holistic manner and generate well-rounded solutions. These skills are highly valued by employers and can lead to significant personal and professional growth.

In conclusion, critical thinking is a multifaceted skill that comprises various thought processes, including creative and lateral thinking. By embracing these skills, individuals can excel in the workplace and in their personal lives, making better decisions and solving problems effectively.

Overcoming Challenges

Recognizing and addressing bias.

Cognitive biases and thinking biases can significantly affect the process of critical thinking . One of the key components of overcoming these challenges is to recognize and address them. It is essential to be aware of one’s own beliefs, as well as the beliefs of others, to ensure fairness and clarity throughout the decision-making process. To identify and tackle biases, one can follow these steps:

  • Be self-aware : Understand personal beliefs and biases, acknowledging that they may influence the interpretation of information.
  • Embrace diverse perspectives : Encourage open discussions and invite different viewpoints to challenge assumptions and foster cognitive diversity.
  • Reevaluate evidence : Continuously reassess the relevance and validity of the information being considered.

By adopting these practices, individuals can minimize the impact of biases and enhance the overall quality of their critical thinking skills.

Dealing with Information Overload

In today’s world, information is abundant, and it can become increasingly difficult to demystify and make sense of the available data. Dealing with information overload is a crucial aspect of critical thinking. Here are some strategies to address this challenge:

  • Prioritize information : Focus on the most relevant and reliable data, filtering out unnecessary details.
  • Organize data : Use tables, charts, and lists to categorize information and identify patterns more efficiently.
  • Break down complex information : Divide complex data into smaller, manageable segments to simplify interpretation and inferences.

By implementing these techniques, individuals can effectively manage information overload, enabling them to process and analyze data more effectively, leading to better decision-making.

In conclusion, overcoming challenges such as biases and information overload is essential in the pursuit of effective critical thinking. By recognizing and addressing these obstacles, individuals can develop clarity and fairness in their thought processes, leading to well-informed decisions and improved problem-solving capabilities.

Measuring Critical Thinking

Assessment tools and criteria.

There are several assessment tools designed to measure critical thinking, each focusing on different aspects such as quality, depth, breadth, and significance of thinking. One example of a widely used standardized test is the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal , which evaluates an individual’s ability to interpret information, draw conclusions, and make assumptions. Another test is the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests Level X and Level Z , which assess an individual’s critical thinking skills through multiple-choice questions.

Furthermore, criteria for assessing critical thinking often include precision, relevance, and the ability to gather and analyze relevant information. Some assessors utilize the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment , which measures the application of cognitive skills such as deduction, observation, and induction in real-world scenarios.

The Role of IQ and Tests

It’s important to note that intelligence quotient (IQ) tests and critical thinking assessments are not the same. While IQ tests aim to measure an individual’s cognitive abilities and general intelligence, critical thinking tests focus specifically on one’s ability to analyze, evaluate, and form well-founded opinions. Therefore, having a high IQ does not necessarily guarantee strong critical thinking skills, as critical thinking requires additional mental processes beyond basic logical reasoning.

To build and enhance critical thinking skills, individuals should practice and develop higher-order thinking, such as critical alertness, critical reflection, and critical analysis. Using a Critical Thinking Roadmap , such as the four-phase framework that includes execution, synthesis, recommendation, and the ability to apply, individuals can continuously work to improve their critical thinking abilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main steps involved in the paul-elder critical thinking model.

The Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Model is a comprehensive framework for developing critical thinking skills. The main steps include: identifying the purpose, formulating questions, gathering information, identifying assumptions, interpreting information, and evaluating arguments. The model emphasizes clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and fairness throughout the critical thinking process. By following these steps, individuals can efficiently analyze and evaluate complex ideas and issues.

Can you list five techniques to enhance critical thinking skills?

Here are five techniques to help enhance critical thinking skills:

  • Ask open-ended questions : Encourages exploration and challenges assumptions.
  • Engage in active listening: Focus on understanding others’ viewpoints before responding.
  • Reflect on personal biases: Identify and question any preconceived notions or judgments.
  • Practice mindfulness: Develop self-awareness and stay present in the moment.
  • Collaborate with others: Exchange ideas and learn from diverse perspectives.

What is the RED Model of critical thinking and how is it applied?

The RED Model of critical thinking consists of three key components: Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions. To apply the RED Model, begin by recognizing and questioning underlying assumptions, being aware of personal biases and stereotypes. Next, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different arguments, considering evidence, logical consistency, and alternative explanations. Lastly, draw well-reasoned conclusions that are based on the analysis and evaluation of the information gathered.

How do the ‘3 C’s’ of critical thinking contribute to effective problem-solving?

The ‘3 C’s’ of critical thinking – Curiosity, Creativity, and Criticism – collectively contribute to effective problem-solving. Curiosity allows individuals to explore various perspectives and ask thought-provoking questions, while Creativity helps develop innovative solutions and unique approaches to challenges. Criticism, or the ability to evaluate and analyze ideas objectively, ensures that the problem-solving process remains grounded in logic and relevance.

What characteristics distinguish critical thinking from creative thinking?

Critical thinking and creative thinking are two complementary cognitive skills. Critical thinking primarily focuses on analyzing, evaluating, and reasoning, using objectivity and logical thinking. It involves identifying problems, assessing evidence, and drawing sound conclusions. Creative thinking, on the other hand, is characterized by the generation of new ideas, concepts, and approaches to solve problems, often involving imagination, originality, and out-of-the-box thinking.

What are some recommended books to help improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills?

There are several books that can help enhance problem-solving and critical thinking skills, including:

  • “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman: This book explores the dual process theory of decision-making and reasoning.
  • “The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking” by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird: Offers practical tips and strategies for improving critical thinking skills.
  • “Critique of Pure Reason” by Immanuel Kant: A classic philosophical work that delves into the principles of reason and cognition.
  • “Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking” by Richard E. Nisbett: Presents a range of cognitive tools to enhance critical thinking and decision-making abilities.
  • “The Art of Thinking Clearly” by Rolf Dobelli: Explores common cognitive biases and errors in judgment that can affect critical thinking.

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Critical Thinking Definition, Skills, and Examples

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Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. It involves the evaluation of sources, such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings.

Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information, and discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve problems or make decisions. Employers prioritize the ability to think critically—find out why, plus see how you can demonstrate that you have this ability throughout the job application process. 

Why Do Employers Value Critical Thinking Skills?

Employers want job candidates who can evaluate a situation using logical thought and offer the best solution.

 Someone with critical thinking skills can be trusted to make decisions independently, and will not need constant handholding.

Hiring a critical thinker means that micromanaging won't be required. Critical thinking abilities are among the most sought-after skills in almost every industry and workplace. You can demonstrate critical thinking by using related keywords in your resume and cover letter, and during your interview.

Examples of Critical Thinking

The circumstances that demand critical thinking vary from industry to industry. Some examples include:

  • A triage nurse analyzes the cases at hand and decides the order by which the patients should be treated.
  • A plumber evaluates the materials that would best suit a particular job.
  • An attorney reviews evidence and devises a strategy to win a case or to decide whether to settle out of court.
  • A manager analyzes customer feedback forms and uses this information to develop a customer service training session for employees.

Promote Your Skills in Your Job Search

If critical thinking is a key phrase in the job listings you are applying for, be sure to emphasize your critical thinking skills throughout your job search.

Add Keywords to Your Resume

You can use critical thinking keywords (analytical, problem solving, creativity, etc.) in your resume. When describing your  work history , include top critical thinking skills that accurately describe you. You can also include them in your  resume summary , if you have one.

For example, your summary might read, “Marketing Associate with five years of experience in project management. Skilled in conducting thorough market research and competitor analysis to assess market trends and client needs, and to develop appropriate acquisition tactics.”

Mention Skills in Your Cover Letter

Include these critical thinking skills in your cover letter. In the body of your letter, mention one or two of these skills, and give specific examples of times when you have demonstrated them at work. Think about times when you had to analyze or evaluate materials to solve a problem.

Show the Interviewer Your Skills

You can use these skill words in an interview. Discuss a time when you were faced with a particular problem or challenge at work and explain how you applied critical thinking to solve it.

Some interviewers will give you a hypothetical scenario or problem, and ask you to use critical thinking skills to solve it. In this case, explain your thought process thoroughly to the interviewer. He or she is typically more focused on how you arrive at your solution rather than the solution itself. The interviewer wants to see you analyze and evaluate (key parts of critical thinking) the given scenario or problem.

Of course, each job will require different skills and experiences, so make sure you read the job description carefully and focus on the skills listed by the employer.

Top Critical Thinking Skills

Keep these in-demand critical thinking skills in mind as you update your resume and write your cover letter. As you've seen, you can also emphasize them at other points throughout the application process, such as your interview. 

Part of critical thinking is the ability to carefully examine something, whether it is a problem, a set of data, or a text. People with  analytical skills  can examine information, understand what it means, and properly explain to others the implications of that information.

  • Asking Thoughtful Questions
  • Data Analysis
  • Interpretation
  • Questioning Evidence
  • Recognizing Patterns

Communication

Often, you will need to share your conclusions with your employers or with a group of colleagues. You need to be able to  communicate with others  to share your ideas effectively. You might also need to engage in critical thinking in a group. In this case, you will need to work with others and communicate effectively to figure out solutions to complex problems.

  • Active Listening
  • Collaboration
  • Explanation
  • Interpersonal
  • Presentation
  • Verbal Communication
  • Written Communication

Critical thinking often involves creativity and innovation. You might need to spot patterns in the information you are looking at or come up with a solution that no one else has thought of before. All of this involves a creative eye that can take a different approach from all other approaches.

  • Flexibility
  • Conceptualization
  • Imagination
  • Drawing Connections
  • Synthesizing

Open-Mindedness

To think critically, you need to be able to put aside any assumptions or judgments and merely analyze the information you receive. You need to be objective, evaluating ideas without bias.

  • Objectivity
  • Observation

Problem Solving

Problem-solving is another critical thinking skill that involves analyzing a problem, generating and implementing a solution, and assessing the success of the plan. Employers don’t simply want employees who can think about information critically. They also need to be able to come up with practical solutions.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Clarification
  • Decision Making
  • Groundedness
  • Identifying Patterns

More Critical Thinking Skills

  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Noticing Outliers
  • Adaptability
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Brainstorming
  • Optimization
  • Restructuring
  • Integration
  • Strategic Planning
  • Project Management
  • Ongoing Improvement
  • Causal Relationships
  • Case Analysis
  • Diagnostics
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Business Intelligence
  • Quantitative Data Management
  • Qualitative Data Management
  • Risk Management
  • Scientific Method
  • Consumer Behavior

Key Takeaways

  • Demonstrate that you have critical thinking skills by adding relevant keywords to your resume.
  • Mention pertinent critical thinking skills in your cover letter, too, and include an example of a time when you demonstrated them at work.
  • Finally, highlight critical thinking skills during your interview. For instance, you might discuss a time when you were faced with a challenge at work and explain how you applied critical thinking skills to solve it.

University of Louisville. " What is Critical Thinking ."

American Management Association. " AMA Critical Skills Survey: Workers Need Higher Level Skills to Succeed in the 21st Century ."

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Planning And Decision Making: Characteristics, Importance, Elements, Limitations

In everyday life, all of us make and execute certain plans to achieve our goals. For example, before going on a trip, we make a plan i.e. where and when to go, how to reach the destination, the duration of the trip, where to stay and luggage to carry, etc. All these tasks require creating an effective plan which consists of certain activities for the successful execution of a trip. Process of making such plans to achieve some goal or objective is called “Planning . “ In other terms, in order to execute activities in future, prior forethought is necessary and this forethought comes under the concept of “planning.”

From an organizational point of view, planning is defined as “process by which an organization identifies its short-term and long-term goals, design, and implement strategies to achieve them.” One of the important aspects of planning is to allocate resources and manpower in an organization.

The planning function was put forth by Henri Fayol, known for his Management Theories i.e. 14 principles of management and 5 basic functions of management.

Planning is one of the six management functions/processes of Henri and the management process starts with planning function in any organization.

For example, manpower planning or human resource planning is a crucial planning process which ensures the right kind of people at the right place, and at the right time to fulfil the right type of jobs in the organizations. This process includes different activities in the planning process to meet organizational goals.

The Purpose Of Planning

1. achievement of goals, 2. cost-effective decision-making, 3. forecasting, 4. productive utilisation of available resources, 5. facilitate other management functions, 6. risk-management, characteristics/nature of planning, 1. basic and important management function.

Planning is not only the base for the rest of the management functions i.e. staffing, directing, organizing, and controlling, but it is also one of the most crucial processes for any organization to meet goals. All the above management functions involve effective planning as without proper planning no function can be performed well. Therefore, the results might be ambiguous.

2. Goal-Oriented

Planning is focused on defining organizational goals or objectives, identifying different action plans, deciding and implementing the best action plan to achieve goals.

3. Omnipresent

Planning is involved at all the levels i.e. top, middle, and bottom. The effective functioning of different departments of organizations like sales, purchase, IT, HR, finance among others depends on planning their systems, optimum use of resources, etc. The scope may vary in different functions.

4. Continuous Process

Planning is a continuous process in an organization which involves making plans for a particular time period i.e. monthly or quarterly, half-yearly, yearly, etc. New plans are initiated after the previous plans lapse to fulfil organizational goals.

5. Demands Strong Analytical Skills

Planning requires robust analytical abilities i.e. analyzing information, problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, etc. at each level and function.

6. Forecast

Planning process demands forecasting future needs, i.e. analyzing and detecting future requirements, challenges in accomplishing organizational goals, etc.

Importance Of Planning

1. increase in efficiency.

Planning helps in increasing efficiency by aiming at cost-reduction and generating maximum output. It controls the wastage of available resources and their duplicity.

2. Minimize Risks

Risk-management is an important aspect of any organization, especially in forecasting. Planning predicts various risks related to business and further helps in generating action plans to control and reduce these risks. So, with effective planning, organizations prepare themselves for any future uncertainty.

3. Smooth Coordination

Planning ensures effective coordination at different levels, between various departments or functions. Plans are formulated at each level i.e. top, middle, and bottom as well as in different departments. Effective execution of these plans requires proper coordination which is possible through effective planning. Similarly, different plans like short-, mid-, and long-term plans require coordination to achieve organizational goals where planning plays an important role.

4. Optimum Utilization Of Available Resources

An organization needs different resources like funds, manpower, physical assets to disburse activities of different departments. These resources are limited. So, it’s necessary to utilize and organize them efficiently to produce maximum output. Planning helps in organizing these resources carefully.

5. Smooth Supervision And Direction

Planning paves a path for supervising subordinates, providing right instructions, and rendering top-notch guidance. It aims to provide help, direction for performing various tasks, and methods for carrying out different activities.

6. Facilitates Control

Performance of staff can be controlled or improved by devising plans for improvement in performance according to the variance in performance plans and actual performance at work. Without planning, this process of control could not be smooth.

7. Staff Motivation

Attractive monetary and non-monetary benefits can be designed through proper planning which is helpful in boosting the morale of the staff. This leads to high motivation among staff and reduces turnovers of quality staff.

8. Trouble-Free Decision-Making

Making effective and right decisions in an organization is essential to achieve goals. A supervisor has to make different plans and strategies for the smooth functioning of the department and to decide the most appropriate plan. So, planning helps in smooth decision-making in an organization.

9. Goal-Oriented

Proper planning ensures that the best strategies and decisions are made to fulfil organizational goals. Different plans made at different levels are aimed at achieving individual, departmental, and organizational goals.

10. Encouraging Creativity And Innovative Ideas

Planning demands thinking and implementing the best ideas or strategies for organizational success. Both supervisors and subordinates are encouraged to exploit their creative skills and present their innovative plans.

Elements/Components Of Planning

The planning process revolves around different aspects as shown in the diagram below:

Mission or purpose is the base of planning in any organization. The mission of an organization specifies its reason for existence, customers, products or services, service locations, etc. and mostly in written form. It acts as a direction towards achieving organizational goals. Mission also includes an organization’s values and belief system. It also clears the organization’s viewpoint on staff. Organizational goals are defined based on the mission statement of an organization.

The ultimate aim of the functioning of each department in an organization is to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Planning also requires setting of goals to make a plan further. Goals can be individual or team based. For example:

  • Individual goal of Hiring Manager in the HR department: To recruit top talent in the organization in given time-frame.
  • Team goal of Human Resource Department: To ensure the development of employees by fulfilling an individual’s personal, professional needs and by meeting organizational goals.

Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Short-term goals can be for less than a year and long-term goals are defined for a time-period of more than a year.

3. Policies

Planning is also based on defined policies of an organization. Policies are a set of guidelines to accomplish any task effectively and also includes procedure and actions. These are defined as a set of plans to handle different situations. Different policies like an insurance policy, travel policy, HR policies are designed to facilitate smooth functioning in any organization. Similarly, if an organization policy says that the minimum annual salary increment of staff will be 10% of the salary then increment can’t be less than 10%. So, policies act as a decision-making element as well.

Planning is connected to a process, and it is an important element of planning. A process defines guidelines to execute different activities, i.e. action plan. In any planning activity, the process is practical. A process like planning is aimed at achieving something. These are step-by-step inter-related activities to be performed and require different resources like money, manpower, machinery, etc. to produce the desired output. For example, in a manufacturing company, different processes are present like production process, quality control and quality assurance process, maintenance process etc.

Plans that are made for estimating income and expenses for a specific period are defined as “budget.” Budget is a set of financial plans which are made for a specific period and reviewed at regular intervals. Whether it is an organization or a family or an individual; all make budget plans to utilize their financial resources efficiently. For example, in an organization business budget is present that includes fixed and variable costs, expected sales, profits, etc.

A well-designed budget also helps in planning during a financial crisis.

6. Projects

Project in an organization refers to the set of inter-related activities which are planned to fulfil certain goals in a specific time period at a given cost using limited resources. Project planning includes defining goals, project schedule, resources, budget, project quality, manpower, and risk management. So, this element of planning consists of other planning elements as well. For example, software companies work on different projects for their clients.

7. Strategies

Strategies are a set of plans and actions that are defined to meet certain results. Proper planning and implementation of strategies are essential for organizational success and to meet certain goals.

Types Of Planning

Planning is mainly of four types i.e. Operational, Strategic, Tactical, and Contingency.

a) Operational Planning

Operational plan or work plan refers to the planning process aimed at achieving departmental and organizational goals. It is related to the day-to-day functioning of organizations. These plans clear planned activities of departments for the near future in detail. The operational plan provides answers of: -What goals have to be achieved and what strategies to use?

-Who will be responsible for different activities?

-What is the time limit to complete activities?-

-How much budget in terms of financial resources is required and available to complete activities?

For example, the goal of the marketing team of an engineering college is to increase the number of students by increasing marketing promotional activities. Marketing operational plan is explained in the diagram below:

Operational planning is of two types i.e. single use plans or ongoing plans. Single-use plans are developed for one-time activities or tasks like sales or marketing event or seminar. Ongoing plans have a defined set of policies, rules, and procedures to achieve goals and are continued for the future as well, like a performance management system for employees.

b) Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is defined as the strategies made by management to achieve its objectives. It also includes defining directions and allocating resources for execution. Strategic planning is meant for long-term business decisions. A strategic plan starts with the vision and the mission statement of an organization.

The process of strategic planning includes vision clarity, collecting and analyzing information, strategy formulation, and implementation of strategy, evaluating, and controlling. For example, the strategic plan of an organization which aims to reduce the current turnover rate is explained in the below diagram:

Models of Strategic Planning

There are five models of strategic planning which represents its designs or blueprints. Selection of the right model depends on an organization’s goals, mission, and vision. These models are:

1. The basic model of strategic planning

These are used by new organizations having less experience in using strategic business planning. It is mainly useful for small-scale organizations and business. This planning includes defining mission, goals, identifying strategies, creating action plans, evaluation etc.

2. Goal-oriented model

This one is an extended version of the basic strategic planning model and is used by established organizations which aim at introducing an improved strategic process. The process of this model includes a SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat), identifying goals and mission, making strategies, action plans, operational plans, budget allocation, and evaluation on yearly basis.

3. Scenario-based model

This model is more of a technical model. It is used by organizations to face different challenges or scenarios which arise due to external factors or environmental change. Change can be demographic or in the form of rules and regulations. The process includes identifying problem areas in business and different scenarios- both best and worst, designing suggestions for an action plan of business in different scenarios, selecting common strategies to handle changes, and identifying common issues through which business is being affected or will be affected in the near future.

4. Alignment model

This model is useful in making a balance between an organization’s mission and available resources as well as aligning resources to the mission. It helps in identifying any gaps in planning i.e. gap between actual results and expected results. Organizations facing huge efficiencies prefer this strategic planning model to rectify issues.

The process includes identifying an organization’s mission, resources, process, etc, inspecting which areas are working in the right direction and which areas need improvement. It also requires finding ways of improvement and incorporating these improvements in the form of strategies in the plan.

5. Organic model

This strategic model is the self-organizing model which is based more on the value system and less on the process. The process includes clearing values and vision to stakeholders in a meeting; an action plan is established by each person as per values and vision, everyone clears results of actions and update values, vision accordingly.

c) Tactical Planning

This type of planning is for short duration i.e. plans and actions by functions for short-term and aims at contributing to the strategic plan of an organization. Tactical planning is based on today’s need and is a bit more detailed. This planning needs to be flexible to meet unexpected issues which are not predefined. It answers what to do to achieve the strategic objective rather than how-to-do as in case of operational plans. Below is an example of tactic planning by HR Hiring Manager to achieve the goal of hiring twenty sales representatives in the first quarter:

d) Contingency Planning

These type of plans are need-based and are formulated when the need for change arises or during the occurrence of any unexpected circumstance. It is also called alternate plans as it comes under picture once other plans fail to produce desired results. The process includes formulating policy, identifying critical factors of a business, risk analysis, preventive control measures, developing recovery strategies, and testing, training, monitoring plan.

An example of contingency planning can be seen in the diagram below which is a crisis situation of organization i.e. what-if HR Head, who is taking care of all HR gamut of organization, left suddenly. To handle such unexpected situations, contingency plans are made. Like in the below diagram, an organization has formulated a plan i.e. performance development program to train the rest of the HR staff to work at the capacity of HR Head in such crisis situations.

Planning Process

The planning process is defined as the steps to define goals and making the best action plans to achieve it.

Steps In Planning Process

1. Defining goal or objective

Goal setting is the first and important step in the planning process. Goals are defined at the organizational, department, and individual level and are meant to be achieved in future in a specific time period. A goal can be short-term, mid-term or long-term. Plans are devised which are aimed at achieving these predefined goals. Goals specify what to achieve by defined rules, policies, process, resources, strategies, etc.

2. Collecting information

Gathering information like facts and figures required to achieve goals is a necessary part of planning. Target audience, circumstances, market information, competitor’s strategy, etc. are required to make a right and effective plan.

3. Analyzing information

The next step in the planning process is interpreting information as per goals. Analyzing information includes organizing collected information as per importance, identifying accuracy and relevancy of information from different sources, its unique features, sources and reliability for the organization.

4. Making a plan

Once relevant information is collected and analyzed, the next step is to formulate a plan to achieve defined goals; the plan includes identifying different activities, required resources, timelines, etc. to implement a plan.

5. Implement the plan

Implementing a plan refers to allocate defined activities, resources, time guidelines to individuals. In this step, strategies and plans are converted into actions to achieve goals. Implementation of plans also requires allocation of responsibility in the team which is responsible for accomplishing the plan.

6. Monitor the plan

Once a plan is implemented, it’s necessary to evaluate and monitor its effectiveness and impact according to desired goals.

The planning process can be understood further in below example of an organization plan to formulate competitive compensation and benefits structure or plan for employees.

Planning Limitations

Although planning has lots of advantages for any organization aiming to achieve its goals; it also has certain constraints or limitations. Few of them are:

1. Costly process

Planning requires much investment as lots of aspects, i.e. funds, resources, manpower etc, are included in the process of planning. Due to limited capital or funds in small and medium organizations, it is quite challenging to have comprehensive plans. It is hard to allocate funds for information gathering, predicting future needs, developing strategies, and hiring specialists. If a plan is more detailed, then the cost is high too.

2. Time-consuming task

The planning process is a bit time-consuming and, sometimes, there is a delay in decision-making especially in immediate decisions. Due to this, the planning process can’t be detailed in some organizations.

3. Fewer employee initiatives

Planning demands work under predefined policies and rigid processes. This, in turn, marks an impact on initiatives and innovative ideas from the employees. Complexity arises in managerial work as well.

4. Change resistance

The planning process is backed by a change in methods, policies, rules, etc. Employees resist this change due to insecurity, the uncertainty of new plans’ success, and getting used to the current plan. This fails the new plan.

5. Budget constraints

The planning process requires an appropriate or fixed financial budget for future actions. An investment in purchasing fixed assets by organizations puts a constraint on the budget required for implementing the planning process.

6. Scope of inaccuracy

Planning cannot be 100% accurate and reliable as it is based on forecasting and the future is uncertain, data and information used in making plans may not be accurate, vague decisions made by incompetent planner etc. There is no surety of risks in future.

Apart from these, there are few other external factors like change in government policies i.e. tax policy, import-export policy etc. The trade-unions may also hinder a smooth planning process.

Decision-Making

Decision-making is defined as the process by which different possible solutions or alternatives are identified and the most feasible solution or course of action is finalized. It is an integral part of planning. Decision-making results in selecting the right action among different available options.

It is also one of the important management functions and effective decision-making leads to fulfilling expected goals by sorting out different problems related to such decisions. Decision-making is also a time-bound process and eliminates confusions to reach a conclusion. It has a minimum of two or more alternatives or solutions to a problem so that the best can be decided. If only one alternative is available, then there is no requirement of decision-making.

Relation Between Planning And Decision-Making

Both planning and decision-making are connected to each other. These are the most important aspects of management functions. Planning requires a series of decisions to be incorporated in advance. The foundation of planning is decision-making. The role of a planner demands good decision-making abilities also as the planner has to take a lot of decisions simultaneously. So, decision-making is an important task in planning. Simultaneous and a number of decisions make a plan. In the absence of decision-making, it’s not possible to answer what, how, when, and who is planning. To execute planned activities, decision-making is compulsory.

So, planning has an important role to play in decision-making.

Characteristics of Decision-Making

Different characteristics of decision-making are mentioned below:

1. Process-oriented

Decision-making consists of a process to choose the best solution to a problem among available alternatives. The process includes identifying and analyzing problems, collecting different facts and figures, finding different solutions, and, finally, narrowing down and implementing the best one to meet organizational goals.

2. Demands creativity and Intellectual mind

Decision-making process requires creativity and logical thinking. It demands a lot of mental exercise and other components, i.e. education, experience level, intelligence, etc.

3. Demonstrates commitment

Decision-making process ensures better results based on the decisions made. So, it indicates the commitment of desired results. It requires joint efforts of the team.

4. Ensures the best solution

Decision-making also provides the best solution to any problem as the best solution is decided after evaluating different available alternatives.

5. Impacts of decision-making

Decision-making can be either positive or negative. A positive or right decision can bring positive results and negative or wrong decisions can bring negative results.

6. Decision-making is a final process

After disbursing different activities and tasks, decision-making takes place to get the results of the work done. It is the end result of discussions, comparisons, etc.

7. An ongoing and changing process

Organizations take decisions on a regular basis; so, decision-making is a continuous process. Every decision consists of separate situations that make decision-making a changing process.

Decision-Making Process

There are different steps in effective decision-making process;

a. Situation analysis and information gathering

The first step of the decision-making process is analyzing any situation, defining a problem, collecting relevant information, and identifying goals. This step includes collecting data and information to identify a real issue or problem. Problem identification is necessary for furthering the decision-making process. Once the problem is identified, an effective solution is determined. Problems are solved as per priority. After the solution is improvised, an action plan is designed to achieve the solution.

b. Plan and make alternatives

After collecting information, the next step is to develop different action plans or an alternative course of action. It requires imagination skills of a decision maker. Sometimes, additional information is also required to define better alternatives.

c. Evaluating and selecting the best alternative

This step in the decision-making process not only includes the analysis of different alternatives available or solutions but also an examination of each one of them based on results they are going to produce. The actual results of these solutions are not known as it’s based on performance in the future. So, it comes with uncertainty. It also includes choosing the best solution to achieve objectives. Different alternatives or solutions are judged based on different criteria, i.e. risk involvement, the least effort, the least timing based on the urgency of the situation, limited resources etc.

d. Implementing and evaluating decisions

After deciding the best solution to address a problem, the next step is to make and implement plans. This requires getting and allocating resources, budgets, time frame, etc. Once made, decisions are evaluated to know the progress by preparing progress reports.

Evaluating and monitoring decisions will clear different aspects, i.e. if everything is going as per the plan, different internal and external factors influencing decisions, the performance of subordinates as expected etc.

Example of the decision-making process is shown in the below visual presentation to solve the problem of high employee turnover in an organization;

Factors Affecting Decision-Making

1. timelines.

The quality of decisions depends on how much time has been devoted to making decisions. Most of the time decision-makers have to take decisions in a limited time frame as instructed by the management. Due to the time limit, decision-makers are not able to collect all the necessary information that influences decisions and are, also, not able to look for more alternatives.

2. Value and beliefs of decision-makers

In addition, the quality of decisions also depends upon the value and belief system of the decision-makers. Anyone’s reaction to a particular situation is more likely to depend on the individual’s values, likes and dislikes, thoughts, and beliefs. It is also a behavioural aspect of the decision-makers and reflects in their decisions related to goals, strategy-making activities. So, value-based decisions help in prioritizing tasks and making goals, identifying different solutions to problems, and finalizing the best solution or alternative.

3. Policies of organization

Decisions are affected by the policies of an organization. Decisions taken have to be in the boundary or within the limits of these policies. Decisions which violate policies are not considered for implementation. Though there is a scope to make changes in policies as per decision, most of the time decisions should be at par with the policy guidelines. However, a change in policy is a time-consuming task and requires lots of things to be considered before any change. Comparatively, a change in proposed decisions is much easier.

4. Other factors like budget, manpower, values of management also influence decision-making .

Types of decisions.

Decisions can be of different types depending upon their nature and influence:

1. Programmed and non-programmed decisions

Programmed decisions are meant for daily routine issues and for those problems that repeat frequently. A Set of tasks are defined to handle such problems or issues and are mostly initiated by the entry-level decision-makers.

For example, HR department issues like handling grievances related to leaves or attendance of employees require programmed decisions. Non-programmed decisions are made for tough situations where defining different alternatives is a challenging task. These types of decisions strategically affect organizations.

For example, decisions related to expanding the operation of an organization to other countries, launching a new product, introducing performance management system for the first time to the employees are non-programmed decisions where decision-making is a challenging task and these decisions are mostly taken by management or at the top-level.

2. Routine and strategy-oriented decisions

Routine decisions are a regular activity in an organization once identified. These are quick decisions and don’t require deep thinking or analysis. These decisions are generally taken by the bottom-management staff. Different alternatives are not required in these as everyone is aware of what action to take on a daily basis.

Examples of such decisions include what reports to generate from the biometric system of attendance by the HR staff.

Decisions, in which involvement of organizational goals, resources, and policies is required, are termed as strategic decisions. Strategy-based decisions are future-related and executed by the top management. These are for the long term and are centrally focused. A large amount of investment is required to execute strategic decisions. Different alternatives or course of actions are considered and evaluated to finalize such decisions.

For example, developing a performance management system (PMS) strategy for employees demands strategic decisions. Steps involved in strategic decision-making for formulating PMS strategy starts with identifying goal which might be retaining and motivating the quality staff. Further steps involved are: developing a process for monitoring performance and formulating a comprehensive PMS plan.

3. Policy-related and operational decisions

Decisions related to policy issues are policy-related or tactical decisions. These decisions come under the preview of the top management and leave a long-term impact. For example, changing leave structure or office timings are policy-related decisions.

Operating decisions are for operational functioning and on a daily basis. Middle- and bottom-level management is responsible for such decisions. Different departments or functions of an organization like sales, IT, production, purchase, accounts, or HR take operations decisions.

For example, Diwali bonus payment to employees is a policy matter and calculation of such bonus to handover to employees is considered an operational decision.

4. Organization-based and personal decisions

Decisions, taken by an individual as office staff, are organizational decisions. For example, conducting a campus interview decision by hiring executives is an organizational decision. Wherein, personal decisions are related to an individual’s decision to meet personal commitments. These are also known as life decisions. Buying a house is a personal decision.

5. Major and minor decisions

Major decisions are those which require much time, effort, and thinking to finalize and have a long-term impact. For example, a decision regarding higher studies whether to continue in own country or to go abroad is a major decision. Minor decisions are routine decisions and don’t require much time and deep thinking. Like purchasing stationery for different departments is a minor decision.

6. Individual and group decisions

Individual decisions are taken by one person i.e. routine decisions; as the decision of making an excel sheet for attendance management to keep the attendance record is an individual decision.

Decisions which are taken by a group of people aiming to achieve a common goal are group decisions. For example, employee engagement activities demand HR staff to work as a group and take decisions for better employee engagement programs.

Importance of Decision-Making

1. optimum utilization of resources.

With the help of decision-making, all resources of organizations i.e. money, men, material, machine, market and method are used carefully and as per requirement.

2. Problem-solving approach

By decision-making, organizations can determine and face different problems in working. It not only helps in identifying problems but also solving them by making correct and fast decisions.

3. Contributes to organizational growth

As decision-making ensures optimum utilization of resources, making the right decisions to solve problems or issues helps in achieving organizational goals and overall growth.

4. Encourage initiatives and innovations

Decision-making task is performed at all levels of organization i.e. top, middle and bottom. This motivates the staff members to contribute to decisions through brainstorming or alternatives to solve the problem. Thus, it encourages innovative thoughts and ideas which, in turn, help the organization to be at a competitive place in the market.

5. Employee motivation

Good decisions help in increasing the productivity of organizations that result in more profits. Surplus profits help in increasing compensation benefits to employees which ultimately boosts their morale and keeps them motivated.

To conclude, planning is a systematic process that supports organizations to carry out all its present and future activities to achieve desired objectives. Planning, being a continuous function, works well in adverse situations too. Plans can be modified and restructured as per requirement and available information.

Decision making is also an important activity that supports the organization by reducing risks in projects with quick and better decisions.

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Excellent notes on planning and decision making i have ever seen, thank you keep posting on Management based topice with real example of companies how it is working.

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thank you for good notes on planning and decision making

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  • J Int Med Res
  • v.48(11); 2020 Nov

Judgment and decision-making in clinical dentistry

Liviu feller.

1 Office of the Chair of School, School of Oral Health Sciences. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Johan Lemmer

2 Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Oral Health Sciences. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Mbulaheni Simon Nemutandani

3 Chair of School of Oral Health Sciences. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Raoul Ballyram

4 Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa

Razia Abdool Gafaar Khammissa

5 Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

The development of clinical judgment and decision-making skills is complex, requiring clinicians—whether students, novices, or experienced practitioners—to correlate information from their own experience; from discussions with colleagues; from attending professional meetings, conferences and congresses; and from studying the current literature. Feedback from treated cases will consolidate retention in memory of the complexities and management of past cases, and the conversion of this knowledge base into daily clinical practice. The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss factors related to clinical judgment and decision-making in clinical dentistry and how both narrative, intuitive, evidence-based data-driven information and statistical approaches contribute to the global process of gaining clinical expertise.

Introduction

Today’s dentists face complex challenges; these include dealing not only with younger and healthier patients but also with aging populations who have an increasing number of illnesses, as well as with rapidly evolving biomedical and dental knowledge and technologies. To successfully meet these challenges, clinicians must regularly and continuously update their biomedical understanding and technical skills, which should result in enhanced quality of diagnosis (clinical judgment) and treatment planning (decision-making). 1 Clinical judgment and decision-making both use intuitive (rapid, non-analytical reasoning) and analytical (deliberate reasoning) cognitive processes, which integrate many factors including information obtained in a patient’s physical examination and medical history, prior clinical experience, deductive knowledge, and relevant statistical data. 2 – 5

In dentistry, as in medicine, clinical judgment and decision-making are complex processes 4 , 6 dealing with many uncertainties, including patient-specific health factors, treatment-related technical factors, financial constraints, and clinician-related factors such as experience, intelligence, fatigue, and mood. Skills in clinical judgment and decision-making vary substantially among clinicians, such that some are better diagnosticians than others. 7 , 8

The way in which information is communicated by the patient to the clinician influences the clinician’s clinical judgment and decision-making. Conversely, the way in which treatment choices and decisions are framed and communicated by the clinician may direct patients’ attention to particular details, affecting overall understanding and influencing their own process of judgment and decision-making, and ultimately, their choice of treatment. 9 , 10

There are different ways to inform patients about the frequency and severity of risks associated with treatment, which substantially vary in their effects. Different presentations of the same problem will bring about different judgments and decisions on the part of the patient. Low-probability events described in terms of relative frequencies (how many) are more heavily weighted than when these are described in more abstract terms, such as probability or chance (how likely). One should be aware of the intuitive human tendency to overestimate the risk of unlikely events, if these are over-weighted. 11

Although evidenced-based guidelines are important for clinical judgment and clinical decision-making, they cannot be applicable to, or appropriate for, all patients. 12 These guidelines do not take into consideration patient-specific clinical and biopathological data, which are essential to clinical decision-making, and ultimately, to the outcome of treatment. Furthermore, evidence-based treatment does not allow for the use of subjective tacit knowledge and wisdom or intuitive cognitive processes, which are crucial for the process of clinical judgment and for the development of clinical expertise. 2

Personal clinical experience refers to the clinical knowledge and wisdom assembled and integrated over time in memory, through the experience gained from treating a large number of patients with diverse medical or dental conditions. Personal clinical experience is critical for clinical judgment and decision-making. 2 , 13 In this context, clinical judgment refers to the cognitive processes of forming diagnoses, making choices of treatment, and conjecturing relevant prognoses. 14

When encountering the same medical or dental problem, clinical judgment and decision-making sometimes differ among clinicians. This is probably owing to the subjective nature of the cognitive mechanisms used by different clinicians in the process of clinical judgment, 15 as well as the uncertain and ambiguous nature of relevant clinical data that may be interpreted in several ways. 15

Compared with a novice, an experienced clinician has a higher knowledge level of the subject matter and is able to focus attention more effectively on the details of a clinical problem, to consciously generate and evaluate a greater number of potential strategies for solving a relevant problem, and to better assess and change the course of treatment on an ongoing basis as new information becomes available. These qualities confer upon the expert clinician effective and efficient analytical and problem-solving skills. 8

The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss factors related to clinical judgment and decision-making in clinical dentistry and how both narrative, intuitive, evidence-based, and data-driven information, as well as the statistical approach, contribute to the global process of gaining dental clinical expertise. Relevant databases and individual authoritative texts were critically analyzed and the findings integrated, to consider ways of improving clinical problem solving.

Cognitive executive functioning in relation to clinical judgment and decision-making

Executive functions refer to neurocognitive faculties including working memory, that is, the ability to update, integrate, and retain information; cognitive flexibility, which is the ability to shift between rules or modes of thought; inhibition of inappropriate responses; and attentional control. In general, all these permit formulation of higher-order cognitive processes such as reasoning, judgment, and decision-making, regulation of emotional responses, and control over cognition, self-gratification, and behavior patterns. Together, these processes enable execution of goal-directed behaviors and regulation of responses to psychosocial stressors and to noxious stimuli. 16 – 22 Dysfunctional executive functioning increases the risk of poor stress regulation and of impaired learning, clinical judgment, and decision-making. 18 , 21 , 22

The generation of executive functions resides in the prefrontal cortex, which is functionally connected to the limbic system (amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus), which is engaged in processing emotion-related information; and to brainstem regions, which have roles in arousal, autonomic control, primitive emotional responses such as aggression and rage, and in predatory and sexual behaviors. 18 Intact neural connections between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system are critical for cognitive functioning and for adaptive regulation of primitive, emotional, and stress responses. 18 Both behavioral responses and learning capacity are thus the outcome of coordinated interactions between autonomic, neuroendocrine, and psychological processes that require input from both the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. 23

High-order cognitive processes that are executive function-driven can generate goal-directed behaviors that are mentally taxing rather than automatic or routine. 17 , 19 The reserves of mental energy fueling executive functions in the prefrontal cortex are limited. Repeated or continued exposure to psychosocial stressors, to involuntary negative emotions, and to fatigue may deplete these limited resources, leading to impairment of cognitive functioning. Such impairment may result in poor emotional control, judgment, and decision-making, with consequent maladaptive behavior and impaired learning. 16 , 18 , 19 , 24 , 25

Clinical judgment and decision-making that are initially cognitively effortful become routine with practice, such that high-level expert clinicians can solve clinical problems more frequently, more quickly, and with less cognitive effort than novice clinicians. Furthermore, experts perform standard procedures efficiently and effectively, almost automatically, with minimal focused attention. However, complex, difficult or atypical clinical scenarios demand, effortful, time-consuming, and focused analytical cognitive processes, even from clinical experts. 26

Performing complex clinical procedures demands constant focused attention to pertinent cues in the local environment, and changes in the environmental cues may affect the goals, objectives, and outcome of treatment, to which the clinician must adapt. Focusing concurrently on several clinical variables requires splitting of the limited mental resources for cognitive executive functioning, particularly that of attention, with the risk of maladaptively dealing with one or more variables. 3 , 26 This may lead to diagnostic errors. With increased experience, the clinician will be able to satisfactorily perform such complex tasks with less focused attention and cognitive effort.

Negative emotions or moods, such as psychological stress, depression, anxiety, anger, burn-out, loss of self-esteem, and loss of motivation; or negative physical sensations, like pain or fatigue, are some factors that may impair cognitive executive functioning, adversely impacting clinical judgment and decision-making. 26 This may result in a reduction in the quality of the clinician’s performance. 8 , 26 In contrast, positive emotions such as compassion, joy, hope, kindness, and goodwill may improve the ability to constructively evaluate clinical problems with consequent appropriate decision-making and enhanced clinical performance, leading to favorable clinical outcomes. 8

Factors influencing clinical judgment and decision-making in the learner and the inexperienced clinician

In dentistry, as in any other professions, acquisition of knowledge, and communicative and manual skills, require an environment conducive to learning. Continuous third-party assessment, with immediate constructive feedback, is an essential part of the process. Under such circumstances, with time and with repetition, cognitive skills will eventually be developed, such that sound clinical problem-based judgments, choices, and decisions can be made, with the outcome of effective and efficient clinical solutions but with the ability to change course according to changing circumstances. 11 , 13 , 27 Novices will then be able to largely take responsibility for their own further learning and development as clinicians and will gain cognitive, affective, and psychomotor capacities for continual dental education and training, at the same time becoming imbued with the moral and ethical responsibility of being lifelong learners. 28

Assessment should evaluate not only the learner’s performance but also the effectiveness of the teaching and training, and it should serve as the basis for meaningful interactions between learners and their academic teachers and clinical instructors. This should lead to thoughtful reflection by the learners, which is essential to self-learning and to the development of moral and ethical values and of empathy, as well as to improvement of the processes of clinical judgment and decision-making. Feedback and reflection reinforce the capacity to recognize patterns of diseases/conditions from previous clinical experience, to promote understanding and to facilitate integration of established and newly acquired knowledge. 4 , 25 , 27 – 29 For the fortunate few, clinical experience will be crowned by clinical wisdom.

The formulation of a treatment plan should be based on obtaining statistical evidence from a large number of similar cases (evidenced-based treatment) and not based on individual case reports, as is all too often done. 11 , 27 , 30 In general, there is a common lack of awareness of the potential adverse effects of decision-making based on a small sample size. 11 The clinician’s judgments and decisions regarding the choice of the most appropriate patient-specific dental treatment plan should be guided by personal experience, by evidence-based knowledge, by the expert opinion of colleagues, and in consultation with the patient after presentation of the proposed treatment plan and alternatives. However, the outcome of a successfully executed treatment plan is usually unpredictable, and things may go wrong. Therefore, it is essential to inform the patient of the risks associated with treatment.

Medical and dental professionals may deal with the same patient on different occasions. According to their mood and emotional state, which is determined by any number of personal circumstances, as outlined above, these professionals may come up with different diagnoses and treatment plans. 31 For example, on different occasions, the same oral pathologist may make inconsistent histopathological diagnoses of the same biopsy specimen; even more frequently, diagnoses of the same biopsy specimen may differ when made independently by different oral pathologists. 32

Factors influencing clinical judgment and decision-making in clinical practice

As mentioned, errors in clinical judgment and inconsistent diagnoses are not uncommon and are usually caused by common cognitive biases. There is an intuitive tendency to search for and to interpret new information that confirms prior beliefs and preferred hypotheses and a tendency to effectively retain and remember new information that supports a pre-existing cognitive position. 33 Cognitive errors can also be attributed to various extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including limited financial resources, time constraints, limited cognitive executive functioning, work overload, overconfidence, deficiency of relevant information, incorrect evaluation and inappropriate prioritization of elements of the clinical information, poor communication skills, or simply to incompetence. 3

One tends to make decisions based on intuition (rapid, almost automatic and effortless, non-analytical reasoning) rather than on time-consuming, analytical, deliberately attention-demanding reasoning; both are influenced by mood, emotions, and stress, which fluctuate considerably. There is an inherent element of uncertainty in predicting the outcome of any treatment plan because the formulation of a treatment plan relies heavily on the clinician’s familiarity with similar cases (heuristic planning) and on the cognitive ease with which relevant information comes to mind. The information retrieved is determined by factors such as characteristics of the event that generated the information, the characteristics of cognitive executive functions, and the quality of the emotional state or mood of the clinician at that time. 13 , 15 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 34 , 35 Intuitive errors of reasoning tend to be recognized by the clinician and corrected by deliberate analytical cognitive and metacognitive processes. 4 , 6 Both intuitive and analytical reasoning are generally used concurrently in clinical judgment and decision-making. 25 , 29 , 36

Intuitive cognitive processes in diagnosis and treatment planning are prone to bias, and deliberate rational analytical reasoning is time consuming and mentally taxing and does not always lead to predictably successful or beneficial outcomes. Therefore, the question to be asked is, when and at what stage of the diagnostic process—within the constraints of time and workload in clinical practice—should the systematic analytical approach be used? 26

In diagnosis and in planning a treatment for a new patient, the clinician retrieves from memory (i.e., from their abstract store of knowledge) the relevant information linked to pattern recognition of similar, previously managed clinical cases. This is how the cognitive process of clinical judgment and decision-making operates. Thus, with the management of each new patient, there is evolution of new knowledge and understanding, generated by integration of new and old clinical experiences. Together with wisdom gained from formal continuing education and evidence-based data, the ability to solve novel and/or complex clinical problems is enhanced. 1 , 26 , 27 , 36 However, diagnostic errors can never be completely eliminated because occasional cognitive biases and mistakes in interpretation of data are unavoidable. 26

Frequent conscious reflection on daily clinical experience promotes retention of newly acquired knowledge and understanding and its integration with existing knowledge. This, in turn, improves the processes of clinical judgment and decision-making and perfects the technical skills of the clinician. 27 , 37 Thus, with daily clinical practice and critical reflection upon their own reasoning and decisions, expert clinicians create a bank of pattern-recognition and memory-anchored prototypes. 36 , 38 Experienced clinicians diagnose and decide on treatment of routine cases intuitively, using automatic pattern recognition and non-analytical reasoning. Deliberate analytical reasoning is activated only by atypical or difficult clinical problems. 27 , 38

With clinical experience, newly acquired clinical knowledge is integrated with existing theoretical biomedical knowledge, forming a meaningful concept of the clinical condition in the mental image. Understanding of the pathogenesis of a disease consolidates its features in memory, improves recollection, and enhances the processes of judgment and decision-making. 39

Ignoring information about the incidence and prevalence of any clinical condition, constructing clinical judgments on the basis of weak evidence or subjective first impressions, underestimating the role of chance, evaluating evidence on the basis of unsubstantiated prior concepts, and focusing on obvious evidence but missing less obvious evidence, are all factors contributing to cognitive biases, predisposing to inconsistent decision-making. 11 , 13 , 30 , 40 , 41

If a clinician has elicited an incomplete medical history and does not understand the technical complexities of the proposed treatment, or is simply overconfident, then the treatment may be fraught with unforeseen risks, which would have been avoided had the clinician been more knowledgeable and familiar with the pros and cons of such a treatment plan. 11

To minimize the random variability in diagnosis and treatment planning, in every case, there must be intense focus of attention and critical deliberation on the details of the medical history, signs and symptoms, and routine consideration of plausible alternatives during the process of diagnosis and formulation of a treatment plan. 4 , 7 , 31 , 34 , 36

To avoid the common tendency for cognitive bias, whenever possible (and particularly for complex cases), evidence-based guidelines, algorithms, and statistical methods should be used for diagnosis, prognostication of treatment, and decision-making, rather than relying solely on personal clinical experience. 14 , 31 , 41 Evidence-based dentistry requires searching and evaluation of the literature, selecting relevant studies and determining their validity and importance, and using this scientific information in treatment planning. 42

Generally, clinicians intuitively choose an unequivocal mode of action (yes versus no, do versus do not do) rather than choose a possibly more statistically informative but equivocal mode of action. The adoption of statistical information into an unequivocal decision is cognitively demanding. 43

Evidence-based dental clinical practice

Evidenced-based clinical practice refers to the application of current supposedly best available evidence from randomized trials and meta-analytical studies. However, not all evidence-based information is of unquestionable scientific quality because of bias and inconsistency brought about by variabilities in study design and methodology, in methods of statistical analysis, and in criteria for exclusion of selective subgroups from the population investigated. 35 , 44

To provide evidence-based care, clinicians must obtain a comprehensive picture of their patient’s problem, must have the skills to efficiently search the medical/dental literature and to select relevant studies, to scientifically evaluate the quality of the captured evidence, and to apply the best available evidence whenever possible, to reach a clinical decision. In general, evidence-based practice is likely to improve clinical care and treatment outcomes; 42 however, treatment modalities that have been found in evidence-based research to not be completely effective for the average patient may nevertheless be beneficial for certain patients. 45 , 46

Although best available evidence may suffice for the average, randomized patient, others remain who do not fit the characteristics of the “average” patient. For these patients, randomized and meta-analytical studies do not provide guidance for the management of deviations in symptoms, clinical course, and pathobiology of disease, nor do such studies take into account patient-specific risk factors, comorbidities, response to prior treatment, compliance, social support, psychological status, or lifestyle. These are all important factors influencing clinical judgment and decision-making. 44

Judgment and decision-making in clinical practice should not be determined only by the “best available evidence”. Other factors, including those listed above, together with the patient’s personal preferences, expert clinical opinions, personal clinical experience, and observational research, must be taken into account. 2 , 44 Furthermore, because the realm of clinical practice is inherently contingent and ambiguous, strictly evidence-based practice cannot eliminate errors in clinical judgment or therapeutic decisions, which are related to uncertainly. 2

Framing effects

Clinicians should be aware of the effects of “framing” on patients who are engaged in making decisions about their treatment. There is no doubt that the patient’s decision-making and their choice of treatment options can be strongly influenced by a clinician’s choice of words in framing the nature of the condition and the proposed treatment plan. 47 , 48 This framing effect is also influenced by many patient-factors including age, sex, thinking and analytical processes, statistical understanding, mental health, emotional state, lifestyle, cultural background, and whether the patient turns to relatives and friends for advice and discussion. 47 , 49

Frank, emphatic, and comprehensive but relaxed discussion with the patient regarding the treatment plan can go a long way toward bringing into perspective a plan of treatment that might initially have been biased by the framing effect. As a result, the patient may also be more compliant and more likely be satisfied with the outcome of treatment. 47

Comprehensive patient care is the outcome of complex judgment, decision-making, treatment choices, and the application of a wide range of clinical skills under the uncertainties of everyday clinical practice. Clinical judgment is a complex adaptive cognitive process with unavoidable variations in details among practitioners. Clinical judgment and knowledge-based technical skills are acquired by practice experience, frequent feedback, and reflection.

Well-designed algorithms and guidelines, incorporating principles of statistics and evidence-based data, can be useful adjuncts to personal experience and expert opinion. Neither errors in diagnosis nor in treatment planning nor in execution of the treatment plan can be completely avoided because of individual cognitive biases and mistakes in data interpretation, and because of human factors of uncertainty that so often characterize clinical practice.

Authors’ contributions: LF and JL developed the study design. LF and JL wrote the first draft of the manuscript. LF, RAGK, SM, RB, and JL critically revised the second and final draft. RB and RAGK finalized the references. RAGK managed the process of submission.

Declaration of conflicting interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

ORCID iD: Liviu Feller https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5221-7805

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