Critical Thinking

Katz3 suggests that attitudes can be linked in some instances to motives; I agree with the statement and use the following example to explain. I am scared of spiders (affective), and when I see a spider I either scream or run (behavioural), I do believe that some spiders are dangerous and could kill (cognitive), this clearly linked in to the ABC above, and these 3 would give you “motive” to kill the spider.

BELIEFS are what “we” know to be true, they are concerned with what is known about the world and are usually associated with things such as the spiritual, moral, social and political arenas. Beliefs are also the assumptions we make about ourselves, about others in the world and about how we expect things to be... Beliefs tend to be deep set and our values stem from our beliefs It is usually very difficult to change a person’s beliefs but this can be achieved by the provision of over-whelming evidence; i.e. example religious views.

VALUES - are stable long-lasting beliefs about what is important to a person. Values are about how we have learnt to think things ought to be or people ought to behave, especially in terms of qualities such as honesty, integrity and openness which when people are asked what are their values tend to be the main values. They become the standards by which people order their lives and guide how choices are made. In effect they reflect a sense of right or wrong, they help decision making and can be related to happiness, wealth, career success or family. Groups, societies, and cultures have values that are largely shared by their members.

We tend to gravitate towards those individuals who share BAV’s (beliefs, attitudes and values) and this can result in successful relationships, be it personal, educational or professional. When making decisions either consciously or sub-consciously the 3 areas (B, A, V) can overlap in spite of their distinctive component parts, but it is through these 3 that we have collective power over our...