Thinking Habit 11

Examine Influences
on Thinking

Recognize how emotions, biases, and context shape what and how you think.

Driving question

What may be influencing how I am seeing or judging this?

Teacher prompts

  • What was your first reaction, and what may have shaped it?
  • Are you applying the same standard to ideas you like and dislike?
  • How might the source, setting, or other people affect your judgment?
  • What could help you examine the idea more fairly?

What students do

  • Notice a reaction, preference, or pattern in their judgment.
  • Identify a possible influence, such as emotion, prior belief, social pressure, or framing.
  • Examine how that influence may affect attention, interpretation, or evaluation.
  • Adjust their approach and reassess the idea using relevant criteria.

See the habit in the work

A student dismisses a proposal after a disagreement with its author. Examining that influence allows the student to return to the proposal’s actual merits and limits.

Illustrative classroom example · Discussion · Evaluating a group proposal

Draft

I don’t think Eli’s plan will work. I don’t want to use it.

The information available

In this fictional example, the student recently disagreed with Eli over another task. Eli now proposes a shared checklist for group assignments. The class is considering whether it would clarify responsibilities and be practical to maintain.

The student’s reaction may be influenced by the earlier disagreement. That possibility does not establish whether the new proposal is good or bad.

Draft

I don’t think Eli’s plan will work. I don’t want to use it.

Teacher feedback

Is your reaction about this plan, the earlier disagreement, or both? What would you examine if the same plan came from someone else?

The teacher invites the student to consider a possible influence without assuming certainty about their motives or requiring personal disclosure.

Draft

I don’t think Eli’s plan will work. I don’t want to use it.

Revised

I may be reacting to our earlier disagreement. Looking at the plan itself, a shared checklist could make responsibilities clearer, but we still need to decide who updates it. I’ll use those criteria to evaluate it, regardless of who suggested it.

What changed: The student identified a possible emotional influence, reconsidered the proposal using relevant criteria, and retained a practical concern about implementation.

Try it in class

Notice, name, recheck

  1. Use a fictional scenario or a low-stakes classroom choice. Ask students to identify an initial reaction or judgment.
  2. Invite them to name a possible influence and explain how it could affect what they notice or conclude.
  3. Have them recheck the idea using relevant evidence or consistent criteria, then explain whether their judgment changed.

Make the influence examinable

Have students record the judgment, a possible influence, a way to recheck the idea, and the resulting assessment. A fictional example can serve the same purpose as a personal one.

Look for a plausible influence and a concrete adjustment. Naming a bias does not prove it is operating, and recognizing an emotion does not make the judgment wrong.