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Nonconscious Thinking and Critical Thinking

Quame Ennin

Arizona State University

Psy 304 Effective Thinking

Laura Petrolle Clemons, Ph.D.

May 25, 2024

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Critical Thinking Strategies

According to Abrami et al. (2015), critical thinking is described as "purposeful, self-

regulatory judgment that results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well

as explanations of considerations on which judgment is based." Although this is a skill that

may be applied in a variety of situations, academics and job searchers frequently recommend

it. The ability to process all information in order to concentrate on choosing one's course of

action or words is known as critical thinking (Facione, 2016). Another strategy that can be

used is nonconscious thinking, this strategy is focused and influences rather then observing

all information. Nonconscious thinking requires quick judgment due to previous influences.

Study Summary

A study was conducted to imitate real-life decision making, as detailed in the article Deciding

Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy. Investigating how people make

decisions before discovering the optimal approach was the aim of the experiment. According

to Bechara et al. (1997), it looks for evidence of a prefrontal nonconscious process that

influences decision-making and uses brain networks and past experiences in place of

conscious thought. Two groups of participants were formed: one group played a card game,

while the other group made hypothetical decisions (called Patients). Patients suffer

impairments in decision-making and prefrontal injury. Each participant receives a loan of

$2,000 in addition to four decks of cards. Without any prior knowledge of the game's

mechanics, they are urged to lose the least amount of money and make the most. Each person

pulls a card one at a time, with some carrying a penalty and others carrying an instant reward.

Decks A and B are disadvantageous and choosing from these decks leads to an overall loss.

Decks C and D have smaller penalties and lead to an overall gain. The participants have no
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way of knowing when a penalty will arise, and no way of accurately predicting the net gain or

loss of each deck.

Three things are measured during the study: the number of cards drawn from the good decks

relative to the bad decks, the skin conductance responses (SCRs) that occur prior to making a

risky decision, and the participants' descriptions of the game and their feelings towards it.

After the first 20 cards are pulled, the assessments are completed and repeated every ten

cards.

The study discovered that while the normal participants began to generate SCRs following a

few losses, they showed no signs of comprehending the mechanics of the game. Neither did

the patients express understanding nor produce any SCRs. Most of the regular participants

started to suspect that decks A and B were riskier than decks C and D about halfway through

the trial. Every time they decided to select one of the riskier decks, they produced an SCR.

Seven out of the ten normal participants had acknowledged why the bad decks were awful by

the time 80 cards had been pulled, and they had refrained from drawing cards from them. The

three normal participants who did not come to this realization, however, still made

advantageous decisions. Most of the patients did not reach the same conclusion, and those

that did continued to choose disadvantageously. None of the patients generated anticipatory

SCRs.

The study comes to the conclusion that conscious reasoning and decision-making are

preceded by a complicated process. The findings demonstrated that people frequently choose

well even before fully comprehending the optimal course of action. This implies that intuitive

processes might be involved in decision-making. All things considered, the experiment

emphasizes how difficult it is to make decisions and how important intuition is when making

wise decisions.
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Critical Thinking and How It Compares

Critical thinking is an alternative method of making decisions. According to Facconi and

Gittens (2016), there are six fundamental components of critical thinking: interpretation,

analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation. Particularly concentrating on

Inference and Self-Regulation, the methods share a great deal in common. Making logical

inferences and conjectures based on the information at hand and prior understanding is

known as inference. Self-regulation is the capacity to continuously assess one's own actions

and conclusions in light of fresh information (Facione & Gittens, 2016). The ability to think

critically and the unconscious approach to decision making are comparable. Inference

because it makes use of prior experience to decide the optimal course of action even when the

person is unaware of the process. It differs in the sense that the nonconscious method does

not provide a tangible decision, it just points the person in the right direction. In other words,

the brain subconsciously infers what the correct decision could be and presents the inference

in something like a “gut feeling”. Self-regulation is comparable to the nonconscious approach

because in the study, participants began to generate SCRs when a risky decision was

presented (Bechara et al., 1997). Participants were subconsciously self-regulating and making

wiser decisions as the game went on and this was

shown through the SCRs displayed. The two skills differ from the nonconscious method

because each of the skills require deliberate evaluation of evidence presented. Inference

requires a conclusion to be drawn considering all the facts and using inductive or deductive

reasoning; and Self-regulation requires changing judgment or behavior appropriately when

new evidence or experience is obtained (Facione & Gittens, 2016). Both the skills involve

conscious evaluation of the circumstances and information, while the nonconscious approach

is mostly based on past experience and the emotional reaction associated with the experience.

Researchers believe that nonconscious thinking guides us before conscious thinking does
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identifying relationships, one can see that nonconscious thinking and critical thinking are

different ways of thinking (Facione & Gittens, 2016). There is no evidence that demonstrates

whennonconscious thinking guides our minds before conscious thinking. An individual can

chose to move from nonconscious thinking to critical thinking at any time. An individual may

use an experience to influence their decision or decide to think critically about the past

experience to prevent nonconscious thinking (Facione & Gittens, 2016).

Nonconscious Thinking and Critical Thinking Work Together

Nonconscious thinking and critical thinking can work in conjunction for optimal

outcomes. Nonconscious thinking will allow for familiarity with a situation, and critical

thinking will assist in understanding the reason for previous failures and experience.

Recognizing and understanding previous success and failures will allow for the prediction of

results and actions of others. The authors of “Practical Reason” define the term reason can

have rules, one of those rules is instrumental reason (Johnson, 2006). This rule provides an

explanation that reasons should be used as a tool to determine a solution. It is necessary to

reflect on reasons, facts, and actions from previous experiences while using both thinking

strategies. Nonconscious thinking can increase chances of success in complicated situations,

and critical thinking can assist in interpreting the meaning to apply the reasons, facts, and

actions within the different scenarios.

Deciding between critical thinking and nonconscious thinking can be a difficult task due

to each thinking strategies having their own advantages and disadvantages. Nonconscious

thinking is a great strategy to use when applying it to previous experiences. The disadvantage

tononconscious thinking is the limitations based on previous experiences. Critical thinking is

auseful strategy when an individual needs to analyze, and interpret a situation. The

disadvantageof critical thinking is over-scrutinizing a simple situation. Each thinking

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strategies aremexceptional skills, allowing for advancement. Nonconscious thinking and

critical thinking can be used to make decisions and solve a problem

References

Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1997). Deciding advantageously

before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275(5304), 1293–1295.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5304.1293

Buskist, W., & Irons, J. G. (n.d.). Simple strategies for teaching your students to think

critically. Teaching Critical Thinking in Psychology, 49–57.

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444305173.ch5

Facione, P. A., & Gittens, C. A. (2016). Think critically. Pearson

Meszaros, M. (2007). Multiattribute judgment and nonconscious cognition: Further

characterization of the deliberation -without -attention effect (Order No. 3277697).

Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304698162).

http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-

theses/multiattribute-judgment-nonconscious-cognition/docview/304698162/se-2