WGU C168 - CRITICAL THINKING FINAL
TEST 2026 QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
• Critical thinking is comprised of 3 interlocking dimensions 2- Evaluating
3-Improving.
Answer: 1- Analyzing
• bottom-up approach to critical reasoning.
• Answer:
Critical thinking comprises what three interlinking dimensions? -Evaluating
one's own thinking- identifying its weaknesses while recognizing its
strengths. -Improving one's own thinking- reconstructing it to make it
better..
Answer: -Analyzing one's own thinking- breaking it down into its
component parts.
• Critical thinking is characteristically what? self-disciplined self-monitored
self-corrective.
Answer: self-directed
• Egocentrism.
Answer: the tendency to view everything in relationship to oneself
• sociocentrism.
Answer: the assumption that one's own social group is inherently superior to
all others
• Sociocentrism.
Answer: the assumption that one's own social group is inherently superior to
all others
• In reasoning through any problem, a well-cultivated critical thinker: Gathers
and assesses relevant information Reaches well-reasoned conclusions and
solutions Thinks open-mindedly Communicates effectively with others.
, Answer: Raises vital questions
• First-order thinking How can we trust the engineering work on this
building? The structural engineers weren't educated in the U.S. My intuition
tells me to turn right here, so I won't bother to look at the map..
Answer: Americans have always done it that way, and as the greatest
country in the world, it's always worked for us in the past.
• First-Order Thinking - spontaneous and non-reflective -contains insight,
prejudice, good and bad reasoning - indiscriminately combined.
Answer: ordinary thinking
• Second-order thinking I'd like to talk this over with some colleagues. They
may have some insights we are missing. As far as I am concerned, you're
headed down the wrong path on this project, and I'm rarely wrong on these
matters. I didn't completely understand the repercussions of my original
decision, and so now I have changed my mind and I am recommending a
new approach.This is an example of second-order thinking, which is
self-correcting..
Answer: The assumptions we've relied upon may be flawed. Let's review
them again.
• weak sense critical thinkers Often seek to win an argument through
intellectual trickery or deceit. Lacks key higher-level skills and values of
critical thinking Makes no good faith effort to consider alternative
viewpoints. Lacks fair-mindedness Employ lower-level rhetorical skills
(making unreasonable thinking appear reasonable and reasonable thinking
appear unreasonable). Employ emotionalism and intellectual trickery. Hide
or distort evidence.
Answer: Ignore the flaws in their own thinking
• strong sense critical thinkers strive to empathize with other's viewpoints will
entertain arguments with which they do not agree change their views when
confronted with superior reasoning. employ their thinking reasonable
instead of manipulatively. requires fair mindedness combined with basic
critical thinking skills.
, Answer: consistent pursuit of what is intellectually fair and just strive to be
ethical
• Fair mindedness yields many intellectual virtues expect good reasoning
from supporters as well as from opponents apply the same critical criteria to
our own logic as to others' reasoning recognize the actual strengths and
weaknesses of any reasoning we assess.
Answer: consider all thinking by the same standards
• Intellectual Humility Commitment to discovering the extent of one's own
ignorance on any issue Recognition that one does not—and cannot—know
everything Consciousness of one's biases and prejudices Aware of the
limitations of one's viewpoint Recognition that one should claim only what
one actually knows Awareness that egocentrism is often self-deceiving (i.e.,
convinces the mind that it knows more than it does) Its Opposite Intellectual
arrogance Overestimation of how much one knows No insight into
self-deception or into the limitations of one's viewpoint Relationship to
Fair-Mindedness Fair-mindedness requires us to first recognize the
ignorance and flaws in our own thinking and to comport ourselves
accordingly. It requires self-awareness and a willingness to examine the
limitations of one's own point of view. Being a fair-minded thinker means
habitually applying the standards of reasoning to one's own thinking in an
effort to improve it..
Answer: Characterization
• Intellectual Courage Confronting ideas, viewpoints, or beliefs with fairness,
even when doing so is painful Examining fairly beliefs which one has strong
negative feelings and toward which one has previously been dismissive
Challenging popular belief Leads us to recognize that ideas which society
deems dangerous or absurd may hold some truth or justification Fortifies us
to confront false or distorted ideas embraced by social groups to which we
belong Its Opposite Intellectual cowardice Fear of ideas that do not conform
to one's own Deters serious consideration of ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints
perceived as dangerous Threatened by ideas when they conflict with our
, self-identity (e.g., conservative or liberal, believer or nonbeliever, etc.)
Relationship to Fair-Mindedness Critical thinkers don't link their
self-identities to their beliefs. They define themselves according to how they
arrive at their beliefs (i.e., the intellectual process) Refusing to connect one's
identity with one's beliefs fosters greater intellectual courage and
fair-mindedness.
Answer: Characterization
• Second-Order Thinking -first-order thinking is consciously realized -is then
analyzed, assessed, and reconstructed.
Answer: Critical thinking
• Intellectual Empathy Inhabiting the perspectives of others in order to
genuinely understand them Requirements Ability to reconstruct other
people's viewpoints and reasoning Ability to reason from premises,
assumptions, and ideas not one's own Motivation to concede when one was
wrong in the past despite a strong conviction of being right at the time
Ability to imagine being similarly mistaken in a current situation Its
Opposite Intellectual self-centeredness Thinking centered on self Renders us
unable to understand others' thoughts, feelings, and emotions Won't permit
us to consider problems or issues from a vantage point other than our own
Relationship to Fair-Mindedness Fair-mindedness requires a sincere attempt
to inhabit the perspectives of other people in order to fathom their thinking
One can't be fair to the reasoning of others if one has not genuinely tried to
understand it.
Answer: Characterization
• Intellectual Integrity Holding oneself to the same rigorous intellectual
standards that one expects others to meet Practicing daily what we preach to
others Admitting flaws and inconsistencies in our own thinking Identifying
weaknesses in our own thinking Basic measure: extent to which one's
beliefs and actions are consistent (i.e., one doesn't say one thing and do
another) it's oppopsite Intellectual dishonesty Marked by contradictions and
inconsistencies of which the perpetrator is unconscious Hiding our
TEST 2026 QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
• Critical thinking is comprised of 3 interlocking dimensions 2- Evaluating
3-Improving.
Answer: 1- Analyzing
• bottom-up approach to critical reasoning.
• Answer:
Critical thinking comprises what three interlinking dimensions? -Evaluating
one's own thinking- identifying its weaknesses while recognizing its
strengths. -Improving one's own thinking- reconstructing it to make it
better..
Answer: -Analyzing one's own thinking- breaking it down into its
component parts.
• Critical thinking is characteristically what? self-disciplined self-monitored
self-corrective.
Answer: self-directed
• Egocentrism.
Answer: the tendency to view everything in relationship to oneself
• sociocentrism.
Answer: the assumption that one's own social group is inherently superior to
all others
• Sociocentrism.
Answer: the assumption that one's own social group is inherently superior to
all others
• In reasoning through any problem, a well-cultivated critical thinker: Gathers
and assesses relevant information Reaches well-reasoned conclusions and
solutions Thinks open-mindedly Communicates effectively with others.
, Answer: Raises vital questions
• First-order thinking How can we trust the engineering work on this
building? The structural engineers weren't educated in the U.S. My intuition
tells me to turn right here, so I won't bother to look at the map..
Answer: Americans have always done it that way, and as the greatest
country in the world, it's always worked for us in the past.
• First-Order Thinking - spontaneous and non-reflective -contains insight,
prejudice, good and bad reasoning - indiscriminately combined.
Answer: ordinary thinking
• Second-order thinking I'd like to talk this over with some colleagues. They
may have some insights we are missing. As far as I am concerned, you're
headed down the wrong path on this project, and I'm rarely wrong on these
matters. I didn't completely understand the repercussions of my original
decision, and so now I have changed my mind and I am recommending a
new approach.This is an example of second-order thinking, which is
self-correcting..
Answer: The assumptions we've relied upon may be flawed. Let's review
them again.
• weak sense critical thinkers Often seek to win an argument through
intellectual trickery or deceit. Lacks key higher-level skills and values of
critical thinking Makes no good faith effort to consider alternative
viewpoints. Lacks fair-mindedness Employ lower-level rhetorical skills
(making unreasonable thinking appear reasonable and reasonable thinking
appear unreasonable). Employ emotionalism and intellectual trickery. Hide
or distort evidence.
Answer: Ignore the flaws in their own thinking
• strong sense critical thinkers strive to empathize with other's viewpoints will
entertain arguments with which they do not agree change their views when
confronted with superior reasoning. employ their thinking reasonable
instead of manipulatively. requires fair mindedness combined with basic
critical thinking skills.
, Answer: consistent pursuit of what is intellectually fair and just strive to be
ethical
• Fair mindedness yields many intellectual virtues expect good reasoning
from supporters as well as from opponents apply the same critical criteria to
our own logic as to others' reasoning recognize the actual strengths and
weaknesses of any reasoning we assess.
Answer: consider all thinking by the same standards
• Intellectual Humility Commitment to discovering the extent of one's own
ignorance on any issue Recognition that one does not—and cannot—know
everything Consciousness of one's biases and prejudices Aware of the
limitations of one's viewpoint Recognition that one should claim only what
one actually knows Awareness that egocentrism is often self-deceiving (i.e.,
convinces the mind that it knows more than it does) Its Opposite Intellectual
arrogance Overestimation of how much one knows No insight into
self-deception or into the limitations of one's viewpoint Relationship to
Fair-Mindedness Fair-mindedness requires us to first recognize the
ignorance and flaws in our own thinking and to comport ourselves
accordingly. It requires self-awareness and a willingness to examine the
limitations of one's own point of view. Being a fair-minded thinker means
habitually applying the standards of reasoning to one's own thinking in an
effort to improve it..
Answer: Characterization
• Intellectual Courage Confronting ideas, viewpoints, or beliefs with fairness,
even when doing so is painful Examining fairly beliefs which one has strong
negative feelings and toward which one has previously been dismissive
Challenging popular belief Leads us to recognize that ideas which society
deems dangerous or absurd may hold some truth or justification Fortifies us
to confront false or distorted ideas embraced by social groups to which we
belong Its Opposite Intellectual cowardice Fear of ideas that do not conform
to one's own Deters serious consideration of ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints
perceived as dangerous Threatened by ideas when they conflict with our
, self-identity (e.g., conservative or liberal, believer or nonbeliever, etc.)
Relationship to Fair-Mindedness Critical thinkers don't link their
self-identities to their beliefs. They define themselves according to how they
arrive at their beliefs (i.e., the intellectual process) Refusing to connect one's
identity with one's beliefs fosters greater intellectual courage and
fair-mindedness.
Answer: Characterization
• Second-Order Thinking -first-order thinking is consciously realized -is then
analyzed, assessed, and reconstructed.
Answer: Critical thinking
• Intellectual Empathy Inhabiting the perspectives of others in order to
genuinely understand them Requirements Ability to reconstruct other
people's viewpoints and reasoning Ability to reason from premises,
assumptions, and ideas not one's own Motivation to concede when one was
wrong in the past despite a strong conviction of being right at the time
Ability to imagine being similarly mistaken in a current situation Its
Opposite Intellectual self-centeredness Thinking centered on self Renders us
unable to understand others' thoughts, feelings, and emotions Won't permit
us to consider problems or issues from a vantage point other than our own
Relationship to Fair-Mindedness Fair-mindedness requires a sincere attempt
to inhabit the perspectives of other people in order to fathom their thinking
One can't be fair to the reasoning of others if one has not genuinely tried to
understand it.
Answer: Characterization
• Intellectual Integrity Holding oneself to the same rigorous intellectual
standards that one expects others to meet Practicing daily what we preach to
others Admitting flaws and inconsistencies in our own thinking Identifying
weaknesses in our own thinking Basic measure: extent to which one's
beliefs and actions are consistent (i.e., one doesn't say one thing and do
another) it's oppopsite Intellectual dishonesty Marked by contradictions and
inconsistencies of which the perpetrator is unconscious Hiding our
