NAIVE THEORIES AND DECISION-MAKING AS PART OF HIGHER-ORDER THINKING IN SOCIAL-STUDIES

In the present study, the authors attempted to show how naive theories , age, and education relate to higher order thinking in adolescents an d adults. In a structured interview, 54 adolescents and adults were as ked to make decisions about two political issues: global warming and h omelessness. Half of the adolescents had attended an intensive worksho p on multiple issues including global warming. Results showed that reg ardless of age and education, all subjects referred to their naive the ories to (a) identify the causes of global warming and homelessness, ( b) create strategies for addressing these problems, and (c) envision t he consequences of implementing each of the proposed strategies. All s tudents engaged in appropriate higher order thinking; however, the ado lescents who attended the workshop demonstrated more accurate higher o rder thinking than the adults and the non-workshop adolescents. Implic ations for classroom practice are discussed.