Overfamiliarity with an idea can lead you to accept the information as true without questioning it. Just like the psychology myth that opposites attract, have you heard these other common psychology myths? Smiling makes you happier. We only use 10 percent of our brain. Memory is like a video recording. People are either left-brained or right-brained.
Have you ever wondered where these ideas originated and why so widely believed? Are they completely false or partially true? When you begin to look more closely at ideas and where the information came from, you have started the critical-thinking process.
Critical thinking is inherent in scholarly work because it forces you to separate opinions and biases from the evidence found in the research literature
In this Assignment, you will examine the value of critical thinking by exploring facts and opinions and how they are distinguished from one to the other.
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Review the readings in this week’s Learning Resources and specifically focus on the critical thinking resources.
Think of and choose a common psychology myth that you have heard. If you have trouble of thinking of an example, identify one using a general Internet search.
The Assignment (1-page):
Based on the psychology myth you chose, write a short paragraph that would be considered an opinion and why this is an opinion.
Search the Walden Library databases for a peer-reviewed article on this same topic. Based on what you learn from the article, write a second paragraph that would be considered a fact and why it would be considered factual. Support your ideas with information cited from the article and include the reference to the article in APA format.
Explain the differences between the two paragraphs. Explain how a reader would know which statement is opinion and which is factual. Use the Learning Resources to support your rationale
