Psych Files Podcast Ep 187: I’d Like to Have an Argument Please

This podcast from the Psych Files Podcast is the third in a series on critical thinking - the other episodes are Ep 184: Critical Thinking (Part 2) – Important? Yes. But Can We Teach It? Well… and Ep 183: Critical Thinking – Important? Yes. But Can We Teach It? Well….

Learning how to argue well, and fairly, is crucial to having healthy and lasting relationships. The couple that never argues, or that argues with name calling and digging into the past, is eventually doomed.

Ep 187: I’d Like to Have an Argument Please (critical thinking part 3)

Podcast: Download

How would you like to have an argument? Turns out that learning how to have a good argument might just be the best way to learn to think critically. In this episode I discuss a neat piece of research in which 7 and 8 year olds are taught how to effectively argue. And they do a darn good job of it as it turns out. Perhaps this is the way to teach our young people critical thinking: give them some great books to read – like The Giving Tree – and have them discuss what they think about it. The key ingredient: making sure that they fully understand the point of view of the other person. This’ll be fun. I promise. Especially since I’ve got a couple funny clips from Monty Python’s Argument Clinic sketch to help move things along. 

Resources on Critical Thinking 

Walker, C. M., Wartenberg T. E., & Winner E. (2012). Engagement in Philosophical Dialogue Facilitates Children’s Reasoning About Subjectivity. Developmental Psychology. Online First Publication(doi: 10.1037/a0029870)

Author Caren Walker’s website

Thank You for Arguing: 

What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

Introduction to Epistemology video on YouTube


Ten Takeaway Tips for Teaching Critical Thinking

…children not only improved in their ability to provide evidence for their own perspective but also improved in their ability to generate compelling arguments for the opposing view… 

children who received the philosophy training demonstrated a striking shift from a general unwillingness to entertain multiple perspectives to accepting that people could in fact hold opposing perspectives. – Walker et al. (2012)

Pen Pal News is the site I mentioned in this episode where children from very different backgrounds learn to argue constructively. Really worth checking out if you’re into critical thinking and children’s education.

Kuhn, D., & Crowell, A. (2011). Dialogic argumentation as a vehicle for developing young adolescents’ thinking. Psychological Science, 22, 545–552. doi:10.1177/0956797611402512

Kuhn, D., Iordanou, K., Pease, M., & Wirkala, C. (2008). Beyond control of variables: What needs to develop to achieve skilled scientific think- ing? Cognitive Development, 23, 435– 451. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2008 .09.006

Wartenberg, T. (2009). Big ideas for little kids: Teaching philosophy through children’s literature. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Kuhn, D. (1991). The skills of argument. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511571350