Uncommon Sense Effective Critical Thinking and Decision-Making in a Complex World

Presented as a supplemental text focusing on practical applications, Uncommon Sense embodies an innovative approach in discussing the roots of and lifelong influences on critical thinking.  In today’s technology-driven, need-answers-now world, students and laypeople alike will benefit from the study of various psychological theories of human functioning and their effects on our ability to make effective decisions in all areas of our lives.

This text offers a comprehensive balance in combination with theory-laden critical thinking texts, demonstrating how to put principles into action in our everyday encounters with self and others.

Dr. Lisa Weisman-Davlantes, MFT has been a Lecturer in the psychology department at California State University, Fullerton since 2002, teaching such courses as Reasoning and Problem Solving, Human Sexuality, Developmental Psychology, and Psychology of Gender.  Before that she taught at various community colleges in Southern California. She has also been a licensed marriage and family therapist since 1990 and has extensive experience treating diverse individuals, couples, groups, and children.

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

• Requirements and Goals of Critical Thinking 2

• Change and Growth: Nature vs. Nurture 11

• The Journey 15

• Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine? 17

• Snap Out of it! Stop Defending, Start Attending 24

• Chaos or Control? Internal vs. External Locus of Control 25

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 26

• Logical Conclusions 29

• The Value of Emotion 30

• The Importance of Intuition 33

• Embracing the Crucial Triangle 34

• Inductive Parenting 39

• Emotional Intelligence and Coping Skills 43

• Four Styles of Parenting 44

• Teaching Ego Strength 47

• Moral Development 50

A. Freud 50

B. Kohlberg 54

C. Self-Control 57

• Moral Relativism 58

A. Cheating in Education 59

B. Pressure to Perform 60

C. Very Casual Sex: Friends With Benefits, Booty Call 62

D. Corporate, Political, and Religious Misadventures 63

• Cognitive Development and the Connection to Narcissism 69

• The Isms: Egocentrism and Ethnocentrism 70

• Narcissism is Normal—For Toddlers and Teens 72

• The Personal Fable and the Imaginary Audience 75

• Corporate America and Gen X and Y Narcissists 78

• Three Processes of Memory 83

• Three Memory Systems 84

• Three Methods of Measuring Memory 86

• Causes of Forgetting 86

• Distress, Eustress, We All Stress 90

• Classical Conditioning 96

• Operant Conditioning 100

• Observational Learning 102

• CC, OC, and OL: A Marriage of Necessity 103

• Questioning Authority 106

• Becoming More Critical but Less Judgmental 109

• Finding a Purpose 110

• Social Networking and YouTube 114

• Cell Phones—Talking, Texting, and Sexting, OMG! 116

• Gaming 119

• Technology and Anonymity 121

• Is Anybody Out There? Does Anybody Care? 122

• Donkeys vs. Elephants 126

• Playing the Political Game 126

• Talking Heads: Technology, Television, and Tuning Out 128

• Family Feuds 130

• Can’t We All Just Get Along? 131

• Don’t Ask, Don’t Think 136

• Cafeteria Religion 139

• Religious vs. Spiritual 142

• Religion and Science: A Tentative Relationship 144

• Persuasive Techniques—“Hey, Mom!” 149

• Sensationalism vs. News 152

• Being Politically Correct and Other Euphemisms 155

• Messages About Men, Women, and Relationships 156

• The Decline of Self-Esteem and the Rise of Cosmetic Surgery 159

• Numbers Don’t Lie . . . Unless You Increase Your Subject Pool 162

• What is Your Communication Style? 165

• Lose the ‘Tude, Dude! It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say it! 168

• Hearing vs. Listening, Talking vs. Conversing 170

• The Necessity of Soft Skills 173

• Authority vs. Power 177

• Decision-Making and Employee Satisfaction 179

• Sealing the Deal 181

• Social Skills 183

• Relationship Choices 186

• On the Job 189

• Dollars and Sense 190

• Intellectual Laziness 194

• Individuals 198

• Groups 199

• Warning Signs 202

• How and When Do I Use My New Skills? 205

• When Not to Use Your New Skills 206

• Keep on Keeping on 208

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