Ch1 Test Bank Docx Critical Thinking And The Challenges Of

Chapter 1: Critical Thinking and the Challenges of Modern Media

Multiple Choice

(Correct answers are marked with an asterisk.)

1. A fundamental concern of critical thinking is…

a. The quality of your character

b. The quality of your beliefs

c. The cause of your beliefs

d. What you think, not how you think

2. The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs by rational standards is known as…

a. Explanatory hypotheses

b. Traditional beliefs

c. Creative thinking

d. Critical thinking

3. The word critical in “critical thinking” refers to…

a. Using careful judgment or judicious evaluation

b. A fault-finding attitude

c. Attempts to win an argument

d. A lack of respect for other people

4. An assertion that something is or is not the case is known as a(n)…

a. Predicate

b. Premise

c. Argument

d. Statement

5. Statements backed by good reasons are…

a. To be believed with certainty

b. Worthy of strong acceptance

c. Beyond doubt

d. Deserving of weak acceptance

6. Knowledge is…

a. Strong belief

b. A belief that you feel strongly about

c. True belief backed by good reasons

d. Science

7. The ability to access and understand media messages, apply critical thinking to them, and use them responsibly is called…

a. Media literacy

b. Knowledge

c. Logic

d. Cognition

8. Deliberately false or misleading news stories that masquerade as truthful reporting are known as…

a. Post truth

b. Propaganda

c. Hype

d. Fake news

9. Chief among the many psychological factors that distort our thinking is the well documented cognitive error known as …

a. Homophily

b. Confirmation bias

c. Availability error

d. Wishful thinking

10. If you passively accept beliefs that have been handed to you by your culture, then those beliefs are…

a. Worthy of acceptance

b. Not really yours

c. Critically examined

d. Worthy of rejection

11. Critical thinking concerns…

a. Determining the cause of our beliefs

b. Pinpointing the psychological basis of our beliefs

c. Determining the quality of our beliefs

d. Assessing the practical impact of our beliefs

12. The cognitive error of refusing to accept or acknowledge evidence that undermines your existing beliefs is known as…

a. Motivated reasoning

b. Denying contrary evidence

c. Cognitive distortion

d. Equivocation

13. Angee Dixson, who joined Twitter in 2017, tweeted about ninety times a day in defense of President Trump. But she wasn’t real; she was

a. A real person with a fake name

b. A bot-net

c. A bot

d. A computer

14. According to journalist Amanda Taub, partisan bias now operates more like…

a. College debates

b. Racism

c. Government propaganda

d. Partisan disagreement

15. Researchers at the Stanford History Education Group studied how well young people could judge the credibility of online information. They concluded that young people are…

a. Very savvy

b. More skilled than adults

c. More skilled than historians

d. Easily duped

16. Critical thinking is the enemy of…

a. Unwarranted assumptions

b. Subjective beliefs

c. Persuasion

d. Creative thinking

17. When statements are backed by good reasons, they are…

a. Acceptable to everyone

b. Clear

c. Beyond criticism

d. Worthy of belief

18. The term fact refers to…

a. A belief we feel is true

b. An explanation or belief

c. A state of affairs or true statement

d. An opinion

19. Social media algorithms curate news and information that you’ve already indicated you want to see, and this this kind of curating…

a. Does not necessarily give you what is true

b. Always gives you what is true

c. Does not necessarily give you any information

d. Is guaranteed to go viral

20. The tendency to give more credence to a statement if it comes from our friends is called…

a. Confirmation

b. Homophily

c. Availability error

d. Red herring

Short Answer/Short Essay

1. Why is it important to critically examine your beliefs?

2. What is the role of reasons in critical thinking?

3. How does logic differ from critical thinking?

4. What is the connection between critical thinking and personal freedom?

5. How does confirmation bias distort thinking?