Critical Thinking Predicts Academic Performance beyond General Cognitive Ability: Evidence from Adults and Children
Abstract
Abstract The present research investigated whether critical thinking predicts academic performance above and beyond general cognitive ability. Both critical thinking (CT) skills and dispositions were investigated in order to obtain a complete picture of CT and its relations to academic performance and general cognitive ability including fluid intelligence, working memory and processing speed. Measures of these variables were administrated to both university young adults (N = 232, study 1, a self-report scale was used for assessing academic performance) and primary school children (N = 158, study 2). Both studies showed that CT indicated by skills and dispositions made unique contributions to academic performance even when general cognitive ability was controlled for. Further, it was mainly CT dispositions that uniquely contributed to academic performance while the contribution of CT skills to academic performance largely overlapped with general cognitive ability. Our findings provide a first step toward understanding CT as a distinct construct from general cognitive ability in relation to learning and academic performance.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Critical thinking is central to academic achievement.
“CT is central to better outcomes in daily life and general problem solving (Hitchcock 2020), to intelligence and adaptability (Halpern and Dunn 2021), and to academic achievement (Ren et al. 2020).”
From Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education (2023) · cites this paper as Ren et al. 2020
Cites
Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task
Eriksen, B. A., & Eriksen, C. W. (1974) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03203267 · Cited by 7,230 · see citing works
Richardson, M., Abraham, C., & Bond, R. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0026838 · Cited by 3,646 · see citing works
A Developmental Perspective on Executive Function
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01499.x · Cited by 2,692 · see citing works
(1990) · Cited by 2,028 · see citing works
Intelligence and educational achievement
Deary, I. J., Strand, S., Smith, P., & Fernandes, C. (2007) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2006.02.001 · Cited by 1,723 · see citing works
Age-related change in executive function: Developmental trends and a latent variable analysis
Huizinga, M., Dolan, C. V., & van der Molen, M. W. (2006) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.010 · Cited by 1,636 · see citing works
Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking
Halpern, D. F. (1989) · Cited by 1,601 · see citing works
A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement
Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Tipton, E., Schneider, B., Hulleman, C. S., Hinojosa, C. P., et al. (2019) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y · Cited by 1,513 · see citing works
A controlled-attention view of working-memory capacity.
Kane, M. J., Bleckley, M. K., Conway, A. R. A., & Engle, R. W. (2001) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.130.2.169 · Cited by 1,414 · see citing works
Intelligence: Its Structure, Growth and Action
(1986) · Advances in psychology · doi:10.1016/s0166-4115(08)x6006-6 · Cited by 1,093 · see citing works
(2000) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511807947 · Cited by 870 · see citing works
An integrated critical thinking framework for the 21st century
Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M., & Stewart, I. (2014) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2013.12.004 · Cited by 861 · see citing works
Critical Thinking and Education
McPeck, J. E. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315463698 · Cited by 854 · see citing works
Predicting academic achievement with cognitive ability
Rohde, T. E., & Thompson, L. A. (2006) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2006.05.004 · Cited by 625 · see citing works
The Development of Academic Achievement and Cognitive Abilities: A Bidirectional Perspective
Peng, P., & Kievit, R. (2020) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/cdep.12352 · Cited by 577 · see citing works
Self-citationPeng, P., Namkung, J., Barnes, M., & Sun, C. (2016) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000079 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Self-citationExecutive Functioning and Mathematics Achievement
Bull, R., & Lee, K. (2014) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/cdep.12059 · Cited by 552 · see citing works
A meta-analysis on the relation between reading and working memory
Peng, P., Barnes, M., Wang, C., Wang, W., Li, S., Swanson, H. L., Dardick, W., & Tao, S. (2018) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000124 · Cited by 521 · see citing works
Self-citationWorking memory is (almost) perfectly predicted by g.
COLOM, R. (2004) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2003.12.002 · Cited by 436 · see citing works
Ku, K. Y. L. (2009) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2009.02.001 · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Zeidner, M., & Matthews, G. (2000) · Handbook of Intelligence · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511807947.027 · Cited by 430 · see citing works
Nash Unsworth, A., & Spillers, G. J. (2010) · Journal of Memory and Language · doi:10.1016/j.jml.2010.02.001 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
Liu, O. L., Frankel, L., & Roohr, K. C. (2014) · ETS Research Report Series · doi:10.1002/ets2.12009 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Peng, P., Wang, T.-F., Wang, C.-C., & Lin, X. (2019) · Psychological bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000182 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Self-citationGeneral Intelligence as a Domain-Specific Adaptation.
Satoshi Kanazawa, A. (2004) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.111.2.512 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Do instructional interventions influence college students’ critical thinking skills? A meta-analysis
Niu, L., Behar-Horenstein, L. S., & Garvan, C. W. (2013) · Educational Research Review · doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2012.12.002 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Critical Thinking: Literature Review and Needed Research
Idol, L., & Jones, B. F. (2013) · doi:10.4324/9781315044392-6 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Fluid intelligence as a predictor of learning: A longitudinal multilevel approach applied to math
Primi, R., Ferrão, M. E., & Almeida, L. S. (2010) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.05.001 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Cognitive ability, thinking dispositions, and instructional set as predictors of critical thinking
Macpherson, R., & Stanovich, K. E. (2007) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2007.05.003 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Innovations in Educational Psychology: Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Human Development
Preiss, D., & Sternberg, R. J. (2010) · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Geary, D. C., Nicholas, A., Li, Y., & Sun, J. (2017) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000159 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
The Role of Metacognition in Enhancing Learning
BIGGS, J. B. (1988) · Australian Journal of Education · doi:10.1177/000494418803200201 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
A meta-analysis on critical thinking and community college student achievement
Fong, C. J., Kim, Y., Davis, C., Hoang, T., & Kim, Y. W. (2017) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2017.06.002 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Stupnisky, R. H., Renaud, R. D., Daniels, L. M., Haynes, T. L., & Perry, R. P. (2008) · Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s11162-008-9093-8 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Twenty-First Century Students Need 21st Century Skills
Kay, K., & Greenhill, V. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0268-4_3 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Developmental changes in working memory, updating, and math achievement.
Lee, K. L., & Bull, R. (2015) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000090 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Standard-based science education and critical thinking
Forawi, S. (2016) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2016.02.005 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Colom, R., Escorial, S., Shih, P. C., & Privado, J. (2007) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.023 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Processing Speed Mediates the Development of General Intelligence ( g ) in Adolescence
Coyle, T. R., Pillow, D. R., Snyder, A. C., & Kochunov, P. V. (2011) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797611418243 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Validity and reliability of the Chinese critical thinking disposition inventory
Pang, M., Wong, K. S., Chan, K., Chan, M. F., Bai, H., Li, S., Li, S., Tsoi, Y., Wang, J., & Yin, L. C. (2004) · PolyU Institutional Research Archive (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Bringing Schools into the 21st Century
Wan, G., & Gut, D. M. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0268-4 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Validity and Reliability of the Chinese Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory
Jile, C. (2004) · Zhonghua huli zazhi · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Critical thinking and reasoning : current research, theory, and practice
Fasko, D. (2002) · Hampton Press eBooks · Cited by 67 · see citing works
A framework for critical thinking, rational thinking, and intelligence.
Stanovich, K. E., & Stanovich, P. J. (2010) · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Maričić, S., & Špijunović, K. (2015) · Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.174 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
THE VALIDITY OF HIGHER-ORDER QUESTIONS AS A PROCESS INDICATOR OF EDUCATIONAL QUALITY
Renaud, R. D., & Murray, H. G. (2006) · Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s11162-006-9028-1 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
The Pros and Cons of Identifying Critical Thinking with System 2 Processing
Bonnefon, J. (2016) · Topoi · doi:10.1007/s11245-016-9375-2 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Wan, Z. H., & Cheng, M. H. M. (2018) · Educational Studies · doi:10.1080/03055698.2018.1446331 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Dodonova, Y. A., & Dodonov, Y. S. (2012) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2012.01.003 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Critical Thinking : Conceptual Perspectives and Practical Guidelines
Dwyer, C. P. (2017) · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Liu, O. L. (2008) · ETS Research Report Series · doi:10.1002/j.2333-8504.2008.tb02133.x · Cited by 24 · see citing works
SELF‐REPORT PREDICTORS: A REMINDER1
McMorris, R. F., & Ambrosino, R. J. (1973) · Journal of Educational Measurement · doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1973.tb00776.x · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The Effectiveness of Instruction in Critical Thinking
Hitchcock, D. L. (2015) · Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781137378057_18 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Measurement and Meaning of Critical Thinking
Kuncel, N. R. (2011) · ATE Central (National Science Foundation) · Cited by 10 · see citing works
The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in higher education
Idnani, D. (2017) · Innovations in Education and Teaching International · doi:10.1080/14703297.2017.1330176 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Thornhill-Miller, B., Camarda, A., Mercier, M., Burkhardt, J.-M., Morisseau, T., Bourgeois-Bougrine, S., Vinchon, F., El Hayek, S., Augereau-Landais, M., Mourey, F., et al. (2023) · Journal of Intelligence · doi:10.3390/jintelligence11030054 · Cited by 768 · see citing works
Bellaera, L., Weinstein-Jones, Y., Ilie, S., & Baker, S. T. (2021) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100856 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ren, X., Tong, Y., Peng, P., & Wang, T.
- Affiliations
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Ren, Xuezhu
- Venue
- Intelligence
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 82
- Pages
- 101487
- ISSN
- 0160-2896 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3081940463
- Semantic Scholar
- f37b060f34e13bfd99d029b7e1a4bfe59a7f11d9
- Cited by
- 87
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 9
- FWCI
- 15.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Intelligence (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- HUST research Center for Innovative Education & Critical Thinking (2018CT012)
- Huazhong University of Science & Technology (2019WKZDJC005)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Education and Critical Thinking Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Keywords
- critical thinking, academic performance, general intelligence, fluid intelligence, working memory, processing speed, critical thinking disposition, critical thinking skills, children, young adults, unique variance
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review