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Critical Thinking: A Model of Intelligence for Solving Real-world Problems
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Version 1
: Received: 13 January 2021 / Approved: 14 January 2021 / Online: 14 January 2021 (09:40:18 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Halpern, D.F.; Dunn, D.S. Critical Thinking: A Model of Intelligence for Solving Real-World Problems. J. Intell. 2021, 9, 22. Halpern, D.F.; Dunn, D.S. Critical Thinking: A Model of Intelligence for Solving Real-World Problems. J. Intell. 2021, 9, 22.
Abstract
Most traditional theories of intelligence have little to do with the question of whether people with high intelligence can successfully address real world problems. A high IQ is correlated with many important outcomes (e.g., academic prominence, reduced crime), but it does not protect against cognitive biases, partisan thinking, reactance, confirmation bias, and even falling for discredited beliefs such as alchemy, cold fusion, and astrology. There are several newer theories that directly address the question about solving real-world problems. Prominent among them is Sternberg’s adaptive intelligence with “adaptation to the environment” as the central premise, a construct that does not exist on standardized IQ tests (e.g., Sternberg, 2019). Similarly, Stanovich and West (2014) argue that standardized tests of intelligence are not measures of rational thought—the sort of skill/ability that would be needed to address complex real-world problems. Halpern and Butler (2020) advocate for critical thinking as a better model of intelligence for addressing real-world problems than those that are based on psychometric properties of general intelligence. Yes, intelligence (i.e., critical thinking) can be enhanced and used for solving a real-world problem like Covid-19, which we use as an example of contemporary problems that need a new approach. Critical thinking may be an antidote for the chaos of the modern world.
Keywords
critical thinking; intelligence; real-world problems
Subject
Social Sciences, Psychology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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