The critical thinking process has four main components:

1. Questioning Assumptions

An assumption is something we think we know already. When people think critically about television or other media, they need to examine their own assumptions and also those of the people behind the television cameras.

When identifying your own assumptions, ask questions such as: What do I know about this already? How do I know what I know? Where did I get that idea? How does that idea compare to my experience?

When identifying the assumptions that the TV program and the makers of commercials hold about you, ask questions such as: Who do they think I am? What do they think I believe or value? Why do they think that? How does their idea of who I am compare to my own experience?

2. Detecting Bias

Ideas or information presented from one particular point of view are considered to be biased. Detecting bias is especially important when dealing with television, because it presents information as "authoritative."

People often assume that television and other media are objective or unbiased, but this is not the case. Critical thinking involves knowing that most information is presented from a specific point of view. Critical thinking involves finding out what point of view is being expressed and what point of view is left out.

To find bias or point of view, ask questions such as: What is the source of this information or idea? What do the producers have to gain by presenting this information? What information is left out? Could someone be harmed by this information and the way it is presented?

3. Analyzing Context

Context refers to factors that could affect an idea or action and how it is interpreted. For example, watching a televised hockey game in the context of a bar full of fans is a completely different experience from watching the same game alone at home. A parent may be much fussier about a child's table manners in the context of a restaurant than at home.

To identify the context, ask questions such as: Who is telling the story? What do they have to gain or lose from this story or event? When did this event take place? Where did this idea come from?

4. Seeking Alternative Points of View and Sources of Information

Critical thinking involves seeking alternative points of view or trying to imagine other ways of seeing things. It also involves looking for other sources of information. For example, a critical thinker will check the prices at several stores before believing an ad for the store that says it has the lowest prices. The critical thinker will put him/herself in someone else's shoes. An adult viewer of a violent scene in a music video will try to imagine how a young person might interpret it.

To find alternatives, ask questions such as: Is there another way to look at this? Whose point of view is included here? Whose is left out? Where could I get more information about this? Who would agree with this point of view? Who would disagree? Why?