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Appendix V. Answers to Pre-tests and Post-tests
- Temple University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
267 appendix V Answers to Pre-tests and Post-tests Pre-test 1: What Kind of Thinker Are You? Scoring Often Sometimes Rarely Mark 1. I ( ) ask a lot of questions. 3 1 0 2. When discussing issues, I ( ) get frustrated when people disagree with me. 0 1 3 3. It is ( ) a waste of time to talk with others who think completely differently from the way I do. 0 1 3 4. I ( ) question others in detail in order to clarify what they have just said. 4 1 0 5. In a heated interchange, when others are talking, I ( ) use that opportunity to consider how I can restate my own position more persuasively. 0 2 4 6. I ( ) find it humiliating to “back down.” 0 1 3 7. I am ( ) reluctant to change my position on certain issues, because my position on those issues is part of who I am. 0 1 3 8. I ( ) express confidence in a position even if, at the time, I am unable to back it up convincingly. 0 1 3 9. I have ( ) said that since I do not have adequate data or information, I am not in a position to give an opinion on an issue. 3 1 0 10. I ( ) find complexity annoying. 0 1 4 11. I am ( ) reluctant to disagree with people who are important to me. 0 1 3 12. I ( ) seriously question what a good life is and what kind of person I want to become. 4 1 0 13. I ( ) spend time just thinking. 2 1 0 Yes Sort of No 14. I have a precise idea of what a good thinker looks like. 3 1 0 15. I can define “good thinking.” 3 1 0 16. When someone else uses poor thinking, I understand and can explain why the thinking is faulty. 3 1 0 17. Having a lot of money is necessary for my well-being. 0 1 3 Total 268 appendix V Post-test 2: Logic Answers 1. c 2. b 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. c 7. a 8. a 9. c 10. b 11. b 12. c 13. c 14. b 15. b What Kind of Thinker Are You? If you scored between 46 and 54, you are a good thinker, and you have learned to appreciate the importance of rigorous, complex, impartial thinking. If you scored between 36 and 45, you are a pretty good thinker. If you are diligent in forcing yourself to reflect on the merits of opposing viewpoints impartially , you will continue to improve. If you scored between 26 and 35, you may be on the road to becoming a good thinker, but you are in serious jeopardy of backsliding into the quagmire of your own prejudices. You need to keep reminding yourself that your autonomy—your very existence as a unique self-legislator—depends on your capacity to test the merits of your own views against those of competing contenders seriously. A score below 26 suggests that you are on the hook of some seriously powerful puppet strings. It also suggests that you are hostile to the process that has been laid out for you here. If so, then remember that the challenge remains open to you to show wherein it is faulty (see the invitation at the end of Part I). Remember , too, that the choice to choose yourself is always open, and it is always rewarding, even if the road to finding yourself seems like a treacherous one. Note on Comparison The pre-test may have been transparent to some—i.e., some of you will have guessed what the “politically correct” answers would be. If this is the case, there will be little difference in the two fairly high scores. Nonetheless, many of you may believe that you have a much more profound insight into precisely what these tests are getting at, and you may believe, therefore, that although there is little difference in the scores, there is a profound difference in the way you now think. If so, good for you! For some of you, there will be a significant difference for the better. If so, congratulations ! You have come a long way in a short period of time. For some of you, both scores may be low. If so, see the previous comments. ...