Topic > Skills needed to succeed in life: Power of critical thinking of academics, professionally at work or personally. However, being able to think critically is one of the most important. As defined by the textbook, critical thinking is “the ability and willingness to evaluate claims and make objective judgments based on well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotions or anecdotes.” Eight guidelines for critical thinking that should be evident in tests or published research. To define the major skills needed to be successful in life, in this essay I will explore the article titled “Executive Control in Concussed Individuals and Non-Concussed Individuals” and determine whether or not the authors followed the guidelines. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Test Structure of the Research Experiment “Executive Control in Concussed Individuals and Unconcussed Individuals” was written by Thanh Phan, Jessica Harsch, Mary Brodowski, Tyler Oakes, and Rachel Boas and performed at Ursinus Colleges in Pennsylvania. The research experiment was conducted to determine whether there is a causal relationship between a concussion and decreased executive functions. Participants included forty-six college students, forty were collegiate athletes, and six were non-athletes. Concussion experience among participants ranged from zero, one, and multiples. To test executive functioning, five tests were performed: the DelisKaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), the Tower Test with BioPac EEG, the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT), Barkley Executive Function Questionnaire, Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPCSQ). There is a link between multiple sports-related concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), but an official diagnosis may only occur after death. However, a common symptom in retired football players who later received a diagnosis of CTE was emotional impulsivity, an aspect of executive functioning. The researchers in this study hoped to establish that damage from a minor concussion can lead to impulsivity and emotional changes that are often not included in the evaluation athletes receive to be cleared to return to play and that make them more likely to sustain injuries. . again due to the lack of ability to make decisions clearly. The collected data were entered into the IBM SPSS Version 22.0 data analysis program. Of the five tests performed, only the Stroop Color Word Test and Section 5 of the Barkley Executive Function Questionnaire were statistically significant and able to predict participants' concussion status. Analysis of Eight Guidelines for Critical Thinking The first guideline for critical thinking is Ask Questions. In this article, there is only one moment where a question is explicitly written: “Why is this?” which follows the statement: “Attentional processing deficits are among the most alarming and crucial to return-to-play decisions with athletes.” Following the question, the authors go on to explain how attention processes are an important part of executive functioning and that those who have difficulty with attention processing will show problems with impulse control. The second guideline is Define Your Terms, and this article does a very good job of thatdo it. The research is about the brain and mental processes, so at the beginning of the article the authors take the time to clearly define key terms such as traumatic brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury, i.e. concussion, second impact syndrome, chronic head injury, encephalopathy , post-concussion syndrome, executive function and what they are referring to when they talk about executive functional test battery or executive control battery. By clearly explaining the above topics, readers can clearly understand what they should look for in terms of symptom patterns and how all test results relate to possible brain damage. The third critical thinking guideline is Examine the evidence. Before presenting the evidence and results, the authors discuss what evidence of a possible correlation between TBI and executive function deficits has already been published so that the reader understands why they chose to perform the tests. Specific to their tests, the exam was the most popular method when analyzing data to arrive at specific figures for their study. The article says: “After reviewing the data and eliminating any outliers or incomplete data, 46 participants were included in the final data set…Statistical significance in this study was set at p. The fourth guideline is Analyzing assumptions and biases. One way this article combats bias is by including participants who were not athletes, which is important because it makes the sample more representative of the population of people who have had concussions and may have associated brain problems regardless of the environment in which the injury occurred. Furthermore, “each individual was assigned a four-digit number to ensure anonymity and the absence of bias.” The fifth guideline is Avoid emotional reasoning no sign of the authors' emotions emerging in executive control in concussed individuals compared to non-concussed individuals The article was fact-based and never seemed to go in the direction of opinion. The sixth critical thinking guideline is Don't oversimplify. As if to avoid emotional reasoning, there is no hint of oversimplification in this article. It's very clear that the authors took the time to explain everything they did and why they did it. They present all the facts and explain why they fit into what they were testing. They also avoid oversimplification by clearly defining every aspect of their experiment, as discussed above. The seventh guideline is Consider other interpretations. I see no case where the authors included other interpretations. However, I don't think the lack of other interpretations of their study is a bad thing. The way they presented facts, data and results does not seem to need any other interpretation. Indeed, including additional explanations may confuse readers. Finally, the final critical thinking guideline is Tolerate Uncertainty. While there are no specific parts of the study that produced unclear data, the authors address possible ways to improve the study or similar studies in the future. For example, the authors state, “…due to the lack of standardization in test administration, data varied among five administrators because there was no set time to test participants. Because the tests were administered in a college setting, testing was completed at all possible hours.” By acknowledging that this part of their study was flawed, they acknowledge the uncertainty. Personal Reflection on the Article I found the “Executive Control in Concussed and Non-Concussed Individuals, 1(1), 1-11.