The Effect of Teaching Critical and Creative Thinking Skills on the Locus of Control and Psychological Well-being in Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of teaching critical and creative thinking skills on the locus of control and psychological well-being in high school students. In an experimental study 40 students that were selected using random multilayer sampling, were divided into test and control groups. On pre-test stage, they responded to locus of control questionnaire of Rotter (1966), and Ryff scale of psychological well-being (1989). The tests were organized in group form. In later stages of research, the test group through 10 educational sessions (20hours) was taught thinking skills (creative and critical) and it is noteworthy that no education was given to a control group. Upon completion of educational sessions, in post- test stage, both test and control groups were tested with California critical thinking skills test B (1990), Abedi creativity inventory (1996) and questionnaires of pre-test. Statistical method of independent t-test showed significant increase in creative thinking and critical thinking in post-test of the experimental group. Furthermore, Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed a significant increase in internal locus of control and psychological well-being (p < 0.05).