A Key to Critical Thinking: Habits of the Mind

What are the habits of the mind?

A habit is a "a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition, an established disposition of the mind or character" (American Heritage® Dictionary, 2000, habit, 1a.,b). Habits are learned very early and assist us in managing both routine and complex activities. Initially, learning these behaviors are difficult and require attention, knowledge, repetition, and practice. Habits may imply productive or positive actions or negative and detrimental behaviors. A "habit of the mind" suggests a practiced way or manner in which we use or apply our thinking.

Disposition may be defined as “a habitual inclination, a tendency” (American Heritage® Dictionary, 2000, disposition, 2a). It can also be viewed as the motivation for an action or behavior, a particular character trait or an attitude. A critical thinking disposition suggests a mind frame or inclination to use critical thinking.

Spirit can be defined as “an inclination or tendency, mood or emotional state” (American Heritage® Dictionary, 2000, spirit, 7a). Spirits can denote a disposition, affect or frame of mind, i.e. in high or low spirits. A critical spirit suggests a positive affect that transcends normal thinking and can assist us in transforming our thinking. It has been described in the APA study as "a probing inquisitiveness, a keeness of mind, a zealous dedication to reason, and a hunger or eagerness for reliable information" (Facione, 1990, p.13).

Critical thinking dispositions or habits of the mind include being self-confident in own reasoning abilities, inquisitive, honest and upright, alert to context, open and fair-minded, analytical and insightful, logical and intuitive, reflective and self-corrective, sensitive to diversity (Alfero-LeFevre, 2004). Additional traits include a willingness to take a position and defend it, showing creativity, flexibility, perseverance, reflection, and maturity in judgments, and being truth-seeking, systematic, and showing maturity in judgments (Facione, 1990; Miller & Babcock, 1996; Scheffer & Rubenfeld, 2000). These have also been described as critical thinking indicators which also includes self-awareness, genuineness, and being self-disciplined (Alfaro-LeFevre, 2004). See What is Critical Thinking? for further discussion.

Why are “habits of the mind” so important to critical thinking?
Our traits and dispositions are necessary to motivate us to engage in critical thinking and they provide the scaffolding or underpinnings to support this type and level of thinking. Without this firm foundation or motivation, our critical thinking skills can wax and wane over time and not be readily available when needed. Although we can separate our traits from cognitive skills, they are truly an essential component of our critical thinking that operates in tandem with (co-occurs) with these skills.

How can we assess our dispositions or habits of the mind?
A person with a strong disposition toward critical thinking, according to Dr. Peter Facione (1996) might tend to agree with statements like: "Figuring out what people really mean by what they say is important to me" or "Making intelligent decisions is more important than winning arguments". Someone with a weak disposition might agree with statements like: "I hate when teachers discuss problems instead of just giving the answers" or "No matter how complex the problem, you can bet there will be a simple solution." The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory may be used to assess different traits or dispositions and overall disposition (see Measurement and Evaluation section). Critical Thinking Indicators ™ (CTIs)™ may be used to self-evaluate these behaviors (www.AlfaroTeachSmart.com).

How do we develop and establish these habits?
We learn habits of the mind through past experiences in dealing with complex problems or critical events, through the teaching or modeling of others, and through self awareness and reflections on our thinking and actions. In order to establish patterns of dispositions, we must continuously practice these behaviors and use self-evaluation and monitoring to improve them. We must seek teachers, mentors, and resources to guide us in this process. We must be willing to change our attitudes and "try on" new behaviors and "try out" different responses.

How do we promote these habits in ourselves and others?
We can listen to others fully while suspending judgment. We can practice empathy. We can expect beliefs and values to be clearly related to our practice. We can make sure that clinical reasoning is supported with evidence for making judgments and taking actions. We can value and appreciate both habits in ourselves and those of others that we work with in nursing education and practice.

References
Alfaro-LeFevre, R. (2004). Critical thinking and clinical judgment: A practical approach. St. Louis, MO: Saunders.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). (2000). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. Retrived May 25, 2004 from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary

Facione, P.A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruct. Executive summary: "The Delphi Report". Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.

Facione, P. A. (1996). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts--A resource paper. Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.

Miller, M.A., & Babcock, D.E. (1996). Critical thinking applied to nursing. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Scheffer, B.K., & Rubenfeld, M.G. (2000). A consensus statement on critical thinking in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 39(8), 352-359.