The reciprocality between critical thinking and deep processing strategies: A longitudinal approach

Research evidence indicates that critical thinking practice and study processing strategies act in concert to make a unique contribution to the prediction of academic performance. More recently, however, the research inquiry has concerned predominantly the direction of causal effects between critical thinking practice and study processing strategies. The present paper discusses a longitudinal study that examined the reciprocality between critical thinking and deep processing. Three waves of data were collected using two hundred and fourteen university students (127 women, 87 men). Various Likert-response questionnaires (e.g., Reflective Thinking Questionnaire) were used to measure critical thinking and deep processing strategies. Structural equation modeling using LISREL 8.72 showed that deep processing at T1 exerted a temporally displaced effect on critical thinking at T2; critical thinking at T2 also exerted a temporally displaced effect on deep processing at T3. There was little evidence to support the reciprocal effects model.

Key words: Critical thinking, deep processing strategies, reciprocality, longitudinal study