Blog Post #2 Thinking Critically

Hello,

Research is very important in our lives. The more we know and gather information the more we gain knowlege. With the information we recieve we can make decisions and future plans. Research is used by students, professors, businesses, parents, and many others. Research can help solve problems and increase our awareness. Research helps us make educated decisions.

A piece of research that is valuable to me right now is researching colleges. I plan to go on to school and getting some sort of medical degree. I have been researching the University of Wood and several other UW systems in order to find the best one for me. I have looked at their courses and what they offer for credits. I also took into consideration how far these universities were away from my home and if I could afford it. Research is a vital part of my life especially in the case of my future. A relevant article to me from psyblog.com was "Essentials of Group Psychology". This article explained how a group can influence everyone's decision making skills, creativity,and productivity. I believe this is true because I have experienced this. Groups can persuade and manipulate what you think because eventually it will have to come to a majority. It feels good when others think the same as you and are considered on "ur side".

Some other things I learned is that critical thinking helps us assess someone elses ideas and brings forth new questions to research on. It helps us further understand somethings that might be interesting or something we are not quite sure about. Another thing is that the Scientific Method is a vital tool used to explain and organize our observations and form educated decisions. From the Scientific Method we are able to experiment and gain confidence in the explanation. I also learned that our culture shapes our behavior. It influences our life because of the shared ideas and behaviors that were passed on from generation to generation. We have to be aware of our culture and others because it continues to grow. Overall research is very important and without it we would not be where we are today.