Psychological measurement of critical thinking as a component of metacognitive regulation

Abstract

Critical thinking is in high demand in the modern world. People have always faced the daily need to make choices, but only recently the development of information technology has made the range of options unusually wide. The ability to make the right choice not only contributes to professional success and improves the quality of life, but also prevents an individual from becoming a victim of information fraud and terrorism. An individual with developed critical thinking sees more options when making a choice, is able to evaluate them and choose the one with the maximum benefit. Critical thinking is studied by psychologists and education scholars, but its place among psychological structures is still to be found. However, the importance of critical thinking for one’s well-being has been established, which makes it important to measure critical thinking for the purpose of its development and improvement. The definition of critical thinking is associated with such characteristics as reflexivity, controllability and awareness, which points to the metacognitive nature of the phenomenon. Psychological instruments for studying critical thinking are limited, but there are already standardized measurement methods (e.g., Starkey Critical Thinking Test), including their adaptations for Russianspeaking respondents. The article discusses the ’s self-designed questionnaire for measuring the level of critical thinking. It involves a qualitative analysis of the respondents’ answers, which increases the variability of results as compared to test methods. The article presents the results of a pilot testing of the ’s questionnaire based on the relationships with the indicators of the Starkey Critical Thinking Test. The presented questionnaire for measuring critical thinking may be used by psychologists in individual consultations, when working with a group, and when solving problems of professional activity and education. In the work of a teacher, the questionnaire will help to focus on specific tasks when planning lessons.