Thinking

Complex Thinking Ability is critical for success as an Underwriter.

There are good, well proven tests for thinking capability, which can be used effectively in assessment, recruitment and development. The best simulate "real" situations by varying the emotive content. Items having neutral content deal with the weather, scientific facts or experiments, and other subject matter about which people generally do not have strong feelings or prejudices. Items having "controversial" content, although approximately parallel in logical structure to neutral items, refer to political, economic, and social issues that frequently provoke very strong feelings. As has often been shown, strong attitudes, opinions, and biases affect the ability of some people to think critically.

Aspects of Thinking Capability which can be objectively measured and tested

1. Inference.
   Discriminating among degrees of truth or falsity of inference is drawn from given data.

2. Recognition of Assumptions.
   Recognising unstated assumptions or presuppositions in given statements or assertions.

3. Deduction.
   Determining whether certain conclusions necessarily follow from information in given statements or premises.

4. Interpretation.
   Weighing evidence and deciding if generalisations or conclusions based on the given data are warranted.

5. Evaluation of arguments.
   Distinguishing between arguments that are strong and relevant and those that are weak or irrelevant to particular question at issue.

6. Pattern Recognition.
   Spotting patterns connections, similarities and differences (particularly those which are not obvious) in information from a variety of sources and domains.

The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal directly assesses items One to Five above and offers some insights into Pattern Recognition.