Critical Thinking Revisited

Abstract:

Over the past six weeks in Psych700, I realized that critical thinking is an important practice that should be done regularly, but is rarely practiced in reality. Critical thinking requires that people take in information, as defined by Wikipedia, and interpret it, analyze, debate, and evaluate the pieces of that information to find a context for judgments, assumptions, actions and outcomes. Critical thinking requires a person to divest from egoism, motivations or prejudices to analyze information impartially and fully ("Critical thinking," 2010). Do people critically think? Are we engaged in education and excited about original thought, or are most of us apathetic towards the process of thinking?



Learning to think in new ways is essential to our success as students and professionals.

Treatment:

Of course some people naturally assume the position of truth advocates: debating facts, justifications, and information in a scholarly way, but most people can only respond to information through their own purviews, limited as they may be. It usually comes down to the issue of exposure. Education can give exposure to information that is essential for people to expand their thoughts and abilities to think broader with more contextual and worldly viewpoints. What about people who have limited exposure and are fed only what is selected for them through their societies, schooling, and media? Can those people critically think if the thoughts they think about are limited?

This question in itself requires critical thinking. Most of us have a jerk reaction stating, “I am very smart; I think broadly, worldly, and correctly.” Is that really the case? Can we truly think without impartiality, ideologies, and filtering information and responses through our personal experiences and beliefs?

I think we can, but it takes effort to find accurate and transparent information, which is far and few between, and a persistent hunt for truth that require a keen mindset. Running information through strict litmus tests of criteria to identify primary sources, discussed in this class, is required. Those tests would involve using Michael Shermer’s Baloney Detection Kit (2010) and Elizabeth Kirk’s test for: authorship, publishing bodies, accuracy and transparency, and understanding how search-engine placement works (Kirk, 1996).

Shermer and Kirk’s tests are helpful in addition to identifying: timeliness, peer-reviewed sources, and credibility of source and author. We must implement these litmus tests when looking at information from mass-media and other sources. Media have carefully wrapped packages of information as attractive propaganda, often times, with limited fact checking due to the high-pressure time environment in which news hits the market within minutes of happening. Also, media have vested business interests in what airs. Media outlets tend to construct versions of reality; therefore, we as consumers must become more vigilant and erudite over what we believe. I will do so in this Ph.D. program and in my profession. The way I use media has changed as I am more skeptical and cautious about the information I absorb.

Furthermore, the Internet has provided a vehicle of sharing and gaining vast amounts of information quickly, especially through web 2.0, which enhances people’s exposure to information. However, what people think and do with that information is questionable and whether the majority of that information should be believed in another question. We must learn to interpret good information from inaccurate, biased, and sensationalistic material that is packaged as truths on the web.

“Although there's little debate that computer technology complements—and often enhances—the human mind in the quest to store information and process an ever-growing tangle of bits and bytes, there's increasing concern that the same technology is changing the way we approach complex problems and conundrums, and making it more difficult to really think” (Greengard, 2010).

To branch off of what Greengard mentioned above, critical thinking is a key in education that I will continue to work into my curriculum as an educator. I must create more opportunities for my students to implement higher levels of thinking instead of regurgitation, which utilizes the lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning, which is simply memorizing (Overbaugh, n.d.). As a student at Fielding, I will increase my ability to think well and write research papers with theory, methodology and argumentation that houses unbiased truths. I plan to derive new truths through research that advances our field of media psychology further. This class has given me more tools to do so.

As for how I use media, I learned that I should start using multi-media to deliver my messages and research in a digital, artistic, creative, and innovative way. The lectures by Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Dr. Jason Ohler dove into visual and aural paradigms and the importance of engaging emotions as a connection to memory (Isbouts & Ohler, 2010). I saw the difference of just writing a paper in Microsoft Word verses posting that information in a multi-media ePortfolio blog that has images, video, music, and color. Suddenly the information came alive. What a brilliant technique that my professors gave me. I will use that from here on out.

Additionally, after reading the articles we covered, notably Will Richardson’s discussion on utilizing web 2.0 as part of the pedagogy and teaching in our classrooms (Richardson, 2008), I recognized that I need to operate my classes in a way that encourages multi-media creation and web usage, instead of more static deliverables such as lectures and tests. By doing so, my students will gain the necessary education in telling stories and operating in a multi-media atmosphere, which is a bankable skill. This course has given me more ideas on how to enhance my professional practices in the classroom.



Conclusion:
In summary, critical thinking requires effort to divulge the truth and unpeel the layers to gain knowledge. My guess is that most people do not question what is real nor do they dig to find the truth, especially if their exposure to accurate information is limited or their questioning skills are stunted.

Big media often relies on the fact that people don’t think for themselves. This is seen in ad campaigns that spin state elections, such as Reid v. Angle in Nevada, and in advertising, such as training the public to think a Nike tee-shirt is worth $100. Media and the Internet have great influence over people, and can feed the general public what they want.

To critically think is imperative to our success as thinkers. Although many don’t aspire to that pinnacle of mental aptitude, I will work hard to utilize critical thinking in my profession and academics by employing the techniques and research skills derived from this course.

References:
Critical thinking. (2010). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

Greengard, S. (2010). Are we losing our ability to think critically? ACM. Retrieved from http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2009/7/32082-are-we-losing-our-ability-to-think-critically/fulltext

Isbouts, J.P. and Ohler, J. (2010, September 13). Visual and aural paradigms [Speeches]. NSO SB lectures media psychology

Kirk, E. E. (1996). Evaluating information found on the Internet. Johns Hopkins University, The Sheridan Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/

Overbaugh, R.C., Schultz, L. (n.d.) Bloom's Taxonomy. Old Dominion University. Retrieved from http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm

PicApp. (2006). Statue of Thinker, Rodin. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=thinker&pageNum=0&cats=creative

PicApp. (2008). Computer animation. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=web&pageNum=2&cats=creative

PicApp. (2010). Combination photo of Senate candidate Sharron Angle v. Senator Harry Reid. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=harry%20reid&pageNum=0&cats=

Richardson, W. (2008). Read/Write Web with Will Richardson. YouTube. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFbDEBNS7AE

Shermer, M. (2010). The baloney detection kit. The committed sardine. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=181

YouTube. (2007). A vision of today's students . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

The Field of Media Psychology

The Process

Abstract:
“So what is media psychology?” I was asked this about a dozen times in the last week sitting over meals in the dining room at Hotel Mar Monte. I said, “We live in a high-tech media world with cell phones, Internet, social-networking sites, print sources, movies, and devices, with new ones coming out every week. How does that stuff affect people?” That was my discussion on day one. After a week at NSO in Santa Barbara, my explanation of what media psychology is has grown leaps and bounds.



Treatment:
In the loud world of constant noise, images, and advertising, what captures consumers’ attention? Or better yet, what captures consumers’ emotions? Dr. Karen Dill spoke of her mentor Dr. Anderson who questioned if people are persuaded easily and fall into a sleeper effect often times, in which a point is planted and stays dormant in the brain till enacted. This launched the question of consciousness verses unconscious digestion of media (Dill, 2010). That interests me! I know we are exposed to a plethora of images and ideas daily, but which ones stick and why?

The lectures by Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Dr. Jason Ohler dove into visual and aural paradigms and the importance of engaging emotions as a connection to memory. “Media is a form of persuasion in such a way that we want to reach emotions and suspend critical thinking. This activates faculties we don’t use when we just use text” (Isbouts, 2010). In other words, if we add visual context that is meaningful, such as iconography, nature or motifs, to our imagery plus add music, the combination is a winning one. For example, a scene of a woman sitting on the beach starring at the ocean in quiet solitude is maximized if a contemplative classical tune sits in the audio track while the camera zeros in for a close look at the tear on her cheek. We question, “Is she okay” and our hearts tug. We experienced the emotion of the scene and therefore that combination worked.

We tried this ourselves as we spent an afternoon session on Monday to make one-minute movies that employed the method of DAOW: digital, art, oral, written, as Dr. Ohler explained (Isbouts & Ohler, 2010).

I made a movie about the fast pace of my life. I pulled literal and artistic images from the Internet and I dropped a lyrical track by Adele into my movie. It was exciting and a great exercise on how to create emotional media that tells a story.

Another thing I learned this week was about narrative and how intrinsic they are to people, particularly creative writers, who watch the world, see it, feel it, and try to capture it. Jonny White covered that in his defense for his dissertation, and the point was well-made. Narrations are the stories of our lives. If we in media can capture the narrations, use imagery, music, and emotional delivery systems such as movies to reach our audiences, a potential for great influence is there.

The powerful part of NSO for me was that I was inspired. This field of media psychology is incredible. It includes: movie makers educating the world one documentary at a time; creative writers capturing the essence of love and living; those who create real-time data devices that help farmers in Africa sell their goods for the right price; or those setting loose thousands of virtual butterflies in Japan for game players to find. I am so excited about this industry and my future in this field.

I realize my thinking was too small when I arrived in Santa Barbara on Saturday, September 11. I thought I would pursue imagery in advertising for my dissertation, simply looking at the images on the page that I can see with my bare eyes. Now I think I might pursue augmented reality and advertising, and how images will transport viewers from static pages to a virtual world of participation and engagement. How cool will it be to figure that out?



Conclusion:
Fielding is an amazing educational institution. I found Fielding on an Internet search one day back in April but the randomness of that search was not so random, as I do not believe in coincidences. I know my education here will launch me into this new field. The journey has begun with great faculty, colleagues, and staff, and I am thrilled to be on this path to better define media psychology for the world.

References:
Dill, K. (2010, September 12). Fantasy verses reality [Speech]. NSO SB lecture media psychology

Isbouts, J.P. and Ohler, J. (2010, September 13). Visual and aural paradigms [Speeches]. NSO SB lectures media psychology

PicApp. (2005). Young woman lying on air bed on beach. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=woman%20on%20beach%20sad&pageNum=0&cats=creative

PicApp. (2008). Computer animation . Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=high%20tech&pageNum=0&cats=creative

YouTube. (2008). Did you know. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

YouTube. (2009). Layar, world's first mobile Augmented Reality browser. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64_16K2e08

Web Bias

Search for the Truth

Abstract:

Searching for good information on the web is no easy task. The majority of sites are not suitable for academic research. In order to pinpoint valuable, credible, and accurate information, strict litmus tests must be used. “The Internet epitomizes the concept of ‘caveat lector’: let the reader beware” (Kirk, 1996). We must be aware and question everything in order to not be duped by nonsense.

Treatment:

I was a curious child inquisitive of the world, asking the key question, “why?” It is no surprise that I became a journalist who was trained and expected to ask: who, what, when, where, why, and how on every news story. I learned to dig deep even at a young age and those questions have served me well. Truth does not sit on the surface; we must peel the onion layer by layer in order to divulge good information and distinguish truth from bias and run-a-muck on the web.

Michael Shermer noted in his Baloney Detection Kit, that we must become acutely aware of personal beliefs that lead to biases in reporting (2010). If a theory is not fully tested in a cogent and impartial way, the results will be tampered. Additionally he discussed that sources should be reliable and credible who challenge theories using scientific methodology (Shermer, 2010). If aliens exist, a researcher needs to present the evidence they do, not just dispute evidence that they do not. “Science is the best tool ever devised to truly understand the world” (Shermer, 2010). Although this statement is a good one, standing alone it shows bias in Shermer’s viewpoint, as other pedagogy can be very useful in understanding the world too.

Watch out for bias


Whether using scientific or other standards, the goal in researching is to find the truth. In order to find good primary sources, students must look for the following: transparency in research, timeliness, credibility of source and author, verifiability, peer-reviewed sources, accuracy, and experts. I teach this in my writing courses at the University. Supportively, Elizabeth Kirk wrote about similar criteria in her article. She took it a few steps further to identify the need to: understand search-engine placement and paid-for positioning, referral to literature that shows a command of the discipline by the author, and knowing publishing companies and their reputations in the industry (Kirk, 1996). By adding these criteria together and implementing them on all searches, good information can be found on the web.

Additionally, while researching we need to ask who is dispensing the information. Alan November said, “You are in trouble if you don’t know who controls the information you access” (November, 2007). We can use the site EasyWho Is.com to find out who owns and publishes web sites. It is important to know that a white-supremacy group runs the racist semantics on martinlutherking.org, instead of a more noble organization who espouses truth. We must know who is dispensing information in order to give it credence.

Conclusion:

With millions of web sites, more than 70 million blogs, Wikipedia that can be edited by anyone, and web 2.0, any person can participate in information giving and gathering today. So how do we distinguish bias, credibility, and authenticity in information on the web? We must always question and use strict criteria to find good sources.

T: Can we trust the source and author?
R: Is the information real? Does evidence support it?
U: We must understand the big picture, always critically think
T: Is the information timely, relevant and pertinent?
H: We must hone research skills to divulge good, accurate, and unbiased information


References:
Kirk, E. E. (1996). Evaluating information found on the Internet. Johns Hopkins University, The Sheridan Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/

Shermer, M. (2010). The baloney detection kit. The committed sardine. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=181

November, A. (2007). November learning. YouTube.com. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLS_rlwnwI

Picapp. (2010). Internet. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=internet&pageNum=2&cats=creative

YouTube. (2009). Cognitive bias video song. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RsbmjNLQkc

Social Media Pros and Cons

Abstract:
The web has come alive with new social-media networks and vast resources to connect us. Active readers are engaging in multi-media experiences, communicating with large networks of people, and connecting to the global world daily on the web. Web 2.0 is remarkable but not without its flaws.

Treatment:
“If it doesn’t include you, it may not be worth sitting still for” (Shirky, 2008). These words were said by Clay Shirky in his keynote speech on web 2.0. He posed the question, will people spend their time and cognitive surplus on television, radio, and static entertainment or will they interact in the lively, viral, and massive web full of millions of sites.

The goal of web 2.0 is to create interconnectivities, interactions, and communications that bring people together (Shirky, 2008). Social-networking sites are the new coffee shop, where people meet, greet, and connect with new and old friends. Sites like Facebook and MySpace are leaders in the industry creating virtual chat rooms for millions. However, these social networking sites might take the place of creating real world, face-to-face relationships. Will these cyber relationships fulfill people? I asked my college students if they felt more connected to people due to Facebook, or if in fact they felt more isolated. Most felt more connected but some felt isolated sitting behind their computers instead of enjoying time with their best friends in person.



Skype, blogs, wikis, listservs and emails allow people to communicate in new ways. This quick flow of information and communication has many benefits and downfalls. On the positive, the new consumption notion involving production and sharing that Shirky noted allows people to be players in the media world instead of just consumers (Shirky, 2008). By being active communicators, no longer is the flow of information from news sources to consumers a one-way street. Now news is created by consumers: edited, published, and shared. Additionally people are taking a much larger role in public discourse, interactive media, and citizen journalism. On the flip side, communicating by email is a stunted communication model, where the flow goes only one way at a time. Also privacy is an issue as any message or wiki list can be shared publically.

In addition to those social sites, informational sites are frequented. There’s a need to organize the vast resources in an efficient manner. Google Reader can help with that. Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content daily or monthly to show you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place. “It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web” (Google, 2010).

Various businesses will utilize most aspects of web 2.0 to their advantages. In the field of marketing and advertising, this new social-media world will have a large affect on how products are pushed and sold. Sophisticated ads will use algorithms to track mathematically how people buy. Ads will stalk their consumers who showed interest in products by putting cookies on hard drives; thereby, popping up ads for that product on each site the consumers visit. Advertising will become so advanced, clever, and viral, all with the goal of capturing consumer attention on the net. Since the web has become much noisier, advertisers will have to become that much better.



Additionally social media and the Internet will affect education. I must prepare my students to think critically about information and how to find what they are looking for within seconds on the web. I agree with Will Richardson that new curriculum must make room for web 2.0 (YouTube, 2008). The connectivity, engagement, and collectivism that can come about from use of the web will make students better, if used properly. Fundamentals still need to be taught but they can be taught in a more high-tech way.

Conclusion:
Web 2.0 is full of amazing things and ways for us to connect to others, learn, do business, and communicate. This powerful medium has so many benefits, but it also has many downfalls. Social scientists will likely study the affects the Internet, social media sites, and viral communications has on people, for years to come. The positives are well-known, but the negatives need some attention.

References:
Google. (2010). Google reader. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlereader/tour.html

Picapp. (2010). Internet Advertising. Retrieved from http://www.picapp.com/search.aspx?term=internet%20advertising&pageNum=0&cats=creative

Shirky, C. (Speaker). (2008). Web 2.0 Expo Keynote. Google videos. NewsBlaze.com. Retrieved http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2708219489770693816#

YouTube . (2009). Social media revolution . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

YouTube. (2008). Read/Write Web with Will Richardson. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFbDEBNS7AE