Apply Your Critical Thinking Skills to the Accompanying Research Study

question 50

Essay

Apply your critical thinking skills to the accompanying research study description. Use the five critical thinking questions provided in the text as a basis for your response.
What am I being asked to believe or accept?
What evidence supports this position?
Are there other ways this evidence could be interpreted?
What other evidence would I need to evaluate these alternatives?
What are the most reasonable conclusions?
A newspaper headline reads "Intellectual pursuits key to preventing Alzheimer's disease?" The researchers scanned the brains of healthy seniors with no memory loss and asked the seniors to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they were growing up. The researchers found that those who reported doing daily brain activities from a young age had low levels of amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease. The study involved fewer than 100 participants and could not account for certain factors that may have confounded the results, including socioeconomic factors, diet, and overall health behaviors that might also contribute to amyloid plaque formation and Alzheimer's risk. It also asked participants, whose average age was 76, to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they were in elementary school, high school, and as young adults.

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Definitions:

Controlled Processing

A type of mental processing that is deliberate, requiring effort and conscious attention.

Information Attention

The focus or concentration given to data or inputs from the environment.

Judicious Screening

The careful and wise examination or evaluation of potential candidates or factors, aiming to select the most suitable ones for a specific purpose.

Selective Perception

The cognitive bias that involves filtering and interpreting information in a way that aligns with one's preexisting beliefs and values.