The Prediction Of Critical Chinking And General Cognitive Abilities On Academic Performance

Critical thinking(CT)is described as purposeful,self-regulatory judgment that could promote individuals to effectively think,make decisions and solve problems.In recent years,more and more countries have attached great importance to the cultivation of CT of students at all levels of education,and encouraged students to think independently with a critical attitude to achieve academic success,thereby overall increasing the quality of education.CT play crucial roles in predicting individual academic performance have become consensus,but few empirical studies have investigated the impact of CT skills and dispositions in order to obtain a complete picture of CT and its relations tendencies on academic performance.Moreover,empirical research on predictors of academic performance mainly focuses on general cognitive abilities,such as fluid intelligence,working memory,and processing speed,and found that general cognitive abilities are powerful predictors of academic performance.CT is conceptually associated with general cognitive abilities,and its impact on academic performance may be affected by general cognitive abilities.The present study attempted to conduct two sub-studies to explore whether the prediction of CT on academic performance is independent of general cognitive abilities.Study 1 selected 232 university young adults as participants,examining individual CT comprehensively from two aspects of skills and dispositions,and adopted uses fluid intelligence,working memory,and processing speed tasks to tap individuals’ general cognitive abilities.We attempted to explore the individual differences of college students’ CT and its relationship with academic performance,and examin whether the prediction of CT on academic performance above general cognitive abilities.Study 2 selected 158 elementary school students as participants,also adopted CT skills and dispositions tasks to measure CT,and adopted fluid intelligence,working memory,and processing speed tasks to tap general cognitive abilities.We investigate whether the prediction of CT on academic performance of elementary school students is independent of general cognitive abilities,and compare it with college student to examine whether the detailed mechanism of academic performance affected by critical thinking and general cognitive ability is consistent among different age groups.The main research conclusions are as follows:(1)CT(including skills and dispositions)and general cognitive abilities(including fluid intelligence,working memory,and processing speed)significantly predict individual’s academic performance.And,CT indicated by skills and dispositions made unique contributions to academic performance even when general cognitive abilities were controlled for.Further,it was mainly CT dispositions that uniquely contributed to academic performance while the contribution of CT skills to academic performance largely overlapped with general cognitive abilities.(2)Regarding predictions on academic performance,the relationship between CT and general cognitive abilities is distinct in different age groups.Compared with the college students,we found that CT overlapped more with general cognitive abilities in predicting academic performance in the children sample.(3)For college students and primary school students,the predictions of CT and general cognitive abilities on academic performance may change in different age groups.Specifically,there are age differences in the prediction of fluid intelligence on academic performance,that is,fluid intelligence predicted academic performance significantly in early childhood,the predicition on academic performance gradually weakened as age increase.