1-Identify two barriers that influence your critical thinking. 2-Write 100 words for each barrier, describing them and how you can overcome them. Shaping agents are anything, or anyone, that shapes the way we think. Often they include family, friends, teachers, and the media. The list can also include internal factors, such as emotions and biases. It is advantageous to know what and who shapes our thinking so that we can "neutralize" their influence. Based on this week's readings, how can you remove shaping agents, such as family? 3-In this chapter, we learn that barriers to critical thinking are social, not biological in nature. In other words, we were not born with barriers to critical thinking. We learned them! These barriers include the following: ◾External ◾Family ◾Friends ◾Teachers ◾Media ◾Internal ◾Rationalizing ◾Emotions ◾Stubbornness ◾Biases (Ridel, 2015) Define and identify the barrier that you think most affects you and explain why you think it gets in the way of your ability to think critically. Ridel, R. (2015). Critical Thinking In Everyday Life. Phoenix, Arizona: Calm Sky Media. ...