Barriers to Critical Thinking

Barriers to Critical Thinking

There are several barriers that prevent people from becoming effective critical thinkers; these barriers may be internal or external. There are ways to overcome these barriers; this assignment will describe an internal and an external barrier, and will discuss how they can be overcome.

First, enculturation as an external barrier to critical thinking will be examined. The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2016) defines enculturation as “the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates.”(Definition of Enculturation: para. 1). Enculturation can occur at a place of work; where one “may learn certain manners of behavior, dress code, professional ethics, and work attitude.”(Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007, p. 15). If a person conforms to one way of doing things they will be unable to have an open perspective and will be unable to become effective critical thinkers. To overcome this barrier, one must examine situations from various perspectives and to not think of things as an employee of that workplace. When they examine the question they must do so as someone who has no knowledge of the culture within that company. If a person can disassociate themselves from the norm within that workplace they have the potential to be innovators within their workplace.

An internal barrier that people may encounter when trying to become effective critical thinkers is self-concept. Simply put: “Our self-concept is the way we view ourselves.”(Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007, p. 23). A person may believe they are not smart enough to solve a problem, or that they are animal lovers and would not ever allow animals to be hurt. When people are so focused on elements of themselves it clouds their judgement and does not allow them to think critically about any situations that may pertain to that element. “To some people, these elements are central to the notion of self;