# What Is Critical Thinking (and How to Get Better at It)?

> Critical thinking is the disciplined habit of reasoning carefully and judging claims on their merits. Here is what it involves, the biases that derail it, and how to improve.

*Section: Education — By Daily Junction Editorial Team (Newsroom) — Published October 20, 2025 — 5 min read*

Canonical URL: https://dailyjunction.org/education/what-is-critical-thinking
Tags: critical thinking, reasoning, cognitive bias, logic, media literacy

## Key takeaways

- Critical thinking is reasoning deliberately and evaluating claims, evidence and arguments on their merits rather than on instinct or authority.
- It rests on habits like asking questions, separating facts from opinions, checking sources, and considering alternative explanations.
- Cognitive biases - especially confirmation bias - quietly distort everyone's thinking, so part of the skill is spotting your own.
- Evaluating sources means asking who made a claim, what evidence backs it, and whether it can be corroborated.
- It is a learnable skill that improves with deliberate practice, not a fixed trait you either have or lack.

We like to think we make up our own minds. In reality, a great deal of what we believe arrives pre-packaged — from headlines, social feeds, confident friends and our own gut reactions — and slips in without much scrutiny. Critical thinking is the deliberate effort to slow that process down: to ask whether a claim is actually true, whether an argument actually holds, and whether we believe something because it is well supported or simply because it is comfortable. In an age of information overload, it may be the single most valuable habit of mind a person can cultivate.

## What critical thinking is

Critical thinking is the **disciplined process of analysing and evaluating information, arguments and claims in order to reach a well-reasoned judgement.** Put more plainly, it means not taking things at face value: examining the evidence, testing the logic, and weighing alternatives before deciding what to believe or do.

It is not the same as being negative or cynical, despite the word "critical." A critical thinker is not someone who rejects everything; it is someone who **judges claims on their merits** — accepting well-supported ones, doubting weak ones, and staying honest about uncertainty. Nor is it raw intelligence. Very clever people reason badly all the time, usually because they are skilled at defending conclusions they reached for emotional reasons.

## The core habits

Critical thinking is less a single ability than a cluster of habits you can practise:

- **Ask questions.** Before accepting a claim, ask what it actually means, what it is based on, and who is saying it.
- **Separate facts from opinions and inferences.** "Sales fell 10%" is a fact; "the product is failing" is an interpretation. Mixing the two is where a lot of muddled thinking starts.
- **Look for the evidence.** What supports this claim? Is it data, a study, an anecdote, or just assertion? Strong claims need strong evidence.
- **Consider alternative explanations.** Could the same facts be explained another way? Jumping to the first explanation is a common error.
- **Check the reasoning.** Does the conclusion actually follow from the premises, or are there gaps and leaps?
- **Be willing to change your mind.** The willingness to update your view when the evidence demands it is the hallmark of a genuine thinker.

> The aim is not to win arguments. It is to hold beliefs that are more likely to be true.

## The biases that trip us up

Here is the uncomfortable part: the biggest obstacle to clear thinking is not other people's nonsense but our own wiring. Human brains run on mental shortcuts that are fast and usually useful, but they systematically distort our judgement. A few worth knowing:

| Bias | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Confirmation bias | We seek and favour information that fits what we already believe |
| Anchoring | We over-rely on the first number or fact we encounter |
| Availability | We overrate things that are vivid or easy to recall |
| Sunk cost | We stick with something because of what we have already invested |
| Halo effect | We let one good trait colour our whole judgement of someone or something |

**Confirmation bias** is the most pervasive and the most worth fighting. We notice evidence that supports our view and quietly skip past evidence that does not, then feel as though we reasoned our way to a conclusion we actually started with. The practical antidote is deliberate: actively go looking for the strongest case *against* what you believe, and take it seriously.

## Evaluating sources and evidence

A large part of modern critical thinking is judging information you did not gather yourself. When you meet a claim — in an article, a video, a post — run it through a few questions:

1. **Who is making the claim,** and do they have relevant expertise or a stake in your believing it?
2. **What is the evidence?** A linked study and a transparent method are worth more than a confident tone.
3. **Can it be corroborated?** Do other independent, reputable sources say the same thing?
4. **How current is it,** and has it been updated or corrected?
5. **What is missing?** What context or counter-evidence has been left out?

These habits are the front line against false and misleading content online; our guides to [how to spot misinformation](/technology/how-to-spot-misinformation) and [how to spot phishing emails](/technology/how-to-spot-phishing-emails) apply the same scepticism to specific threats. Independent fact-checkers such as [Full Fact](https://fullfact.org/) are a useful reference point when a viral claim seems too neat.

## Putting it into practice

Critical thinking improves the way most skills do — through deliberate, slightly uncomfortable practice:

- **Steel-man opposing views.** Before dismissing an argument, state the strongest version of it in your own words. If you cannot, you do not understand it well enough to reject it.
- **Slow down on the important calls.** Snap judgements are where biases run riot. Big decisions deserve a pause.
- **Write your reasoning down.** Putting an argument on paper exposes gaps that feel solid in your head.
- **Ask "how would I know if I were wrong?"** A belief that no evidence could ever change is a belief you are not really thinking about.
- **Seek out disagreement.** Surrounding yourself only with people who agree is comfortable and quietly corrosive to good judgement.

These same habits underpin effective learning. The self-questioning at the heart of [studying for exams](/education/how-to-study-for-exams) is critical thinking applied to your own knowledge, and the appetite for testing and revising ideas is the engine of [lifelong learning](/education/lifelong-learning-explained).

## Why it matters

Strong critical thinking pays off everywhere. It helps you make better decisions with money and at work, resist manipulation and scams, navigate news and social media without being swept along, and hold opinions you have actually earned. In a world where anyone can publish anything and confident nonsense spreads as fast as careful truth, the ability to pause, question and weigh evidence is not an academic luxury. It is a basic life skill.

## The bottom line

Critical thinking is the disciplined habit of reasoning carefully and judging claims on their evidence rather than on instinct, emotion or authority. It rests on asking questions, separating fact from opinion, checking sources, weighing alternatives, and — hardest of all — noticing and correcting your own biases, confirmation bias above all. None of it requires unusual brainpower; it requires the willingness to slow down, stay curious, and follow the evidence even when it leads somewhere you would rather it did not.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the disciplined process of actively analysing, evaluating and reasoning about information and arguments, so that you judge claims on their evidence and logic rather than on assumptions, emotion or authority alone.

### What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias is the tendency to notice, believe and remember information that supports what we already think, while overlooking or dismissing evidence that contradicts it. It is one of the most common obstacles to clear thinking.

### How can I improve my critical thinking?

Ask questions before accepting claims, look for evidence and check its source, consider alternative explanations, be willing to change your mind, and deliberately seek out views that challenge your own. Like any skill, it improves with practice.

### How do I evaluate whether a source is reliable?

Consider who is behind the claim and whether they have relevant expertise or a vested interest, what evidence supports it, whether other reputable sources agree, and how recent and transparent the information is.

## Sources

- [Open University](https://www.open.edu/openlearn/)
- [Full Fact](https://fullfact.org/)
- [BBC Bitesize](https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize)

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Daily Junction — https://dailyjunction.org/education/what-is-critical-thinking