Naive Theories and Decision Making as Part of Higher Order Thinking in Social Studies

Abstract

In the present study, the authors attempted to show how naive theories, age, and education relate to higher order thinking in adolescents and adults. In a structured interview, 54 adolescents and adults were asked to make decisions about two political issues: global warming and homelessness. Half of the adolescents had attended an intensive workshop on multiple issues including global warming. Results showed that regardless of age and education, all subjects referred to their naive theories to (a) identify the causes of global warming and homelessness, (b) create strategies for addressing these problems, and (c) envision the consequences of implementing each of the proposed strategies. All students engaged in appropriate higher order thinking; however, the adolescents who attended the workshop demonstrated more accurate higher order thinking than the adults and the non-workshop adolescents. Implications for classroom practice are discussed.