sally critical thinking scenario essay

Critical Thinking: Reason, Emotion, Communication Essay

Introduction, elements of critical thinking, reason, emotion, and communication, fallacies and argument.

Critical thinking is important for the decision-making process and effective communication between people. It may be applied to all spheres of people’s lives. Emotions, unwarranted assumptions, stereotyping, denial, poor communications skills, and other factors are barriers to critical thinking. Sally’s case shows that it is necessary to avoid biased opinion, dishonesty, over-reliance on feelings, and self-centered thinking in daily situations to make reasonable and weighed decisions.

The apparent barriers to critical thinking were conformism, unwarranted assumptions, and an over-reliance on feelings (“Barriers to critical thinking,” 2019). They were present in the situation when Sally did not agree with her colleagues but pretended that she did to avoid confrontation. The woman decided that she would not spend time with her coworkers again only because they had a different opinion and did not feel comfortable about it. Sally may not be a good critical thinker as she relied on her emotions a lot.

The concept of reason was mainly presented when Sally collected evidence to support her proposal and provide the basis for her argument. Sally’s critical thinking involved emotion too; the woman felt agitated and tired, which led to the inability to assess her coworkers’ viewpoints. Sally’s communication style was passive because she was quiet, did not admit that she disagreed with others, and tried to avoid conflict.

The scenario presents a fallacy in Sally’s thought process, which is shown in the situation at dinner. Sally concluded that she did not know enough about the topic to confront her colleagues. It was not possible to identify whether her coworkers had more knowledge than she did. The scenario does not provide an argument for this point of view as it is unreasonable.

Sally’s example shows that a lack of critical thinking may result in emotional distress and the individual’s inability to take weighed decisions. In the presented case, the barriers to critical thinking included unwarranted assumptions, conformism, and an over-reliance on feelings. They prevented Sally from making reasonable conclusions and being more open to her colleagues’ opinions. Moreover, a lack of critical thinking resulted in fallacies in the woman’s thought process.

Barriers to critical thinking . (2019). Web.

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1. IvyPanda . "Critical Thinking: Reason, Emotion, Communication." May 12, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-thinking-reason-emotion-communication/.

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IvyPanda . "Critical Thinking: Reason, Emotion, Communication." May 12, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-thinking-reason-emotion-communication/.

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Critical Thinking: Reflection of Sally’s Case

• Author: Arsalan
• Posted on: 5 Jan 2024
• Paper Type: Free Essay
• Subject: Education
• Wordcount: 1378 words
• Published: 5th Jan 2024

Critical thinking may be applied to all spheres and processes of life from decision-making to effective communication in people’s lives. However, denial, dissonance, stereotyping, unwarranted emotions as well as assumptions, and poor communication skills are potential barriers to critical thinking (Geertsen, 2013). In Sally’s case, she used multiple types of critical thinking such as avoiding biased opinions, self-centered thinking, and dishonesty as well as different fallacies through her emotions, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills. I believe she made a reasonable argument about why the warranty should be changed to facilitate the customers and made weighed decision not to interact with management and coworkers but rather with the leadership of the company.

Elements of Critical Thinking

Sally’s case shows that over-reliance on emotions, unwarranted assumptions, and conformism were the apparent barriers Sally dealt with through her effective communication skill to meet the needs of the situation. I believe Sally does not portray herself as an effective critical thinker as she did not agree with her colleagues over the issue at work that was causing friction among departments in the company, but she did not say anything. Sally’s non-verbal communication style shows signs of conformity at the dinner when she nodded to be appeared to agree with her friends to avoid confrontation showing that she is thrust into a situation that she seems to be uncomfortable and agitated with. There seems to be a barrier when Sally decided not to spend time with her coworkers again just because she had a different opinion. This shows that she relied on her emotions a lot and her unwarranted emotions are a barrier to her critical thinking which she could overcome through logic and patience.

Reason, Emotion, and Communication

The concept of reason is mainly presented in the scenario when Sally provided the basis for her argument that the printer warranty was inadequate. She collected adequate evidence to support her proposal in front of the company’s leadership and the end process to circumvent an argument through critical thinking was the positive one. Sally’s critical thinking involved passiveness in her communication style when she conformed to the arguments of her co-workers just to avoid confrontation. Moreover, her agitation and exhaustion turned out to be a potential barrier to her critical thinking which led to her inability to understand, assess, or disagree with her co-workers. Later, she proved herself to be an effective critical thinker when she took her argument to the manager who used fallacies to rebuff her. The manager showed ignorance and resistance after hearing all the information backed by proper evidence because he avoided learning the truth. However, Sally succeeded by getting the warranty extended in the end which shows that she proved herself to be an effective critical thinker overcoming the barriers by applying all the elements that were needed to solve an issue like a critical thinker.

Fallacies and Argument

Sally’s case shows a fallacy in her thought process when she turned out to be a quiet and submissive worker in an argumentative situation at dinner. She did not admit that she disagreed with her co-workers or had any solution to overcome the problem departments in the company faced rather she kept quiet and tried to avoid the conflict. The scenario presents a fallacy in this regard as Sally concluded that she did not know enough about the problem or the frictional gap between departments. So, the point of view is not backed up by any argument and is unreasonable. Unwarranted emotions can lead to ignoring logical reasoning and hinder the ability to be an argumentative person and critical thinker (Dwyer, n.d.).

Sally’s example showcases barriers to critical thinking and the elements to overcome those barriers show that a lack of critical thinking can lead to emotional distress. In the presented scenario, Sally’s barriers to critical thinking included over-reliance on emotions, conformism, and unwarranted assumptions which prevented her to make reasonable conclusions when she was with her co-workers. A person who cannot fathom the situation through good reasoning and critical thinking skills remains unable to take weighed decisions in his life as lack of critical thinking resulted in fallacies in Sally’s thought process. In a nutshell, critical thinking can enhance all areas of one’s life from personal to professional space and engages in the enhancement of independent and reflective thinking.

Dwyer, C. (n.d.). 5 Barriers to Critical Thinking .

Geertsen, R. (2013). BARRIERS TO CRITICAL THINKING ACROSS DOMAINS . 6 (20), 10.

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Critical Thinking Essay Example

Critical thinking has been around since the beginning of time. A good critical thinker will be rational, logical, able to use reason, and see things from another's perspective while maintaining their ability to analyze information and come up with a solid argument or solution. A good critical thinker will challenge authority and have all the information ready to win the issue or at a minimum make a valid point, also called, "take a stance."

Elements of Critical Thinking

Sally's job is an excellent example of someone who uses all the elements of critical thinking daily. She uses communication, analysis, problem-solving, evaluation, synthesis, and reflection, as these skills make up the elements of an excellent critical thinker. Although Sally was able to overcome the barrier of having a lack of knowledge to get the point across to her coworkers, ultimately, she made the right decision not to pursue the topic. What qualifies Sally as an excellent critical thinker is that she used reason, emotion, and communication successfully.

Reason, Emotion, and Communication

Sally shows reasoning when she decides she did not have enough information to dispute the friction in other departments. However, Sally's communication style was passive aggressive; she was avoiding conflict by not engaging in negative talk. If Sally did not agree with her colleagues, most likely, she should have put forth a well-informed argument. Furthermore, Sally did commit the fallacy of a hasty generalization when she decided to never go out with her coworkers. 

Fallacies and Argument

Sally’s, scenario presents a few fallacies, for example, when the customer shares "how the ability to print materials equated to his ability to put food on the table for his family,” the customer is committing the fallacy of an appeal to pity. Furthermore, when Sally's boss comments, "How can you be arguing for a change in policy when you are late to work most of the time.” She is committing the fallacy of ad-hominem by attacking her character. Extending the warranty for the printers is the main argument, and the argument is valid because the printer’s malfunction right after the warranty expires.

Finally, in closing, Critical thinking makes a difference in the workforce and daily life situations, and many people are not aware of the significance of critical thinking. Sally did show that she was an excellent critical thinker by using the elements of critical thinking such as problem-solving, and communication. Furthermore, Sally was able to show reason, emotion, and communicate to her customer and her boss productively and positively. Sally is an excellent critical thinker and a good employee.

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