THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CRITICAL THINKING, OPEN-MINDEDNESS
AND EEG COHERENCE
IN MIU STUDENTS

A Thesis

Submitted to the faculty of

Maharishi International University

by

Frederick J. Shaddock

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the degree

of

Master of Arts in Education

May 1981

Approved:   Allan I. Abrams

                   Sanford I. Nidich

ABSTRACT

Shaddock, Frederick J.  M.A., Maharishi International University, May 1981.  The relationship between critical thinking, open-mindedness, and EEG coherence in MIU students.  Thesis advisors: Dr. Allan I. Abrams, and Sanford I. Nidich.

    Educators have long sought to develop critical thinking ability and open-mindedness in their students, as well as to measure this development.  Physiological and psychological research studies on practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program have showed EEG brain wave coherence to be a measure of the development of orderliness in thinking and expanded awareness.

    It was hypothesized that EEG phase coherence would provide a neurophysiological correlate of critical thinking ability and open-mindedness.  It was also hypothesized that the educational curriculum at Maharishi International University, which as the TM program  as its basis, would show seniors to be more developed in critical thinking and open-mindedness than seniors at other universities.  Other hypotheses were that critical thinking (as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal) would correlate positively with open-mindedness (measured using the Rokeach Adult Dogmatism Scale), class, and show no difference between the sexes in critical thinking and open-mindedness.

    Results of the study showed that EEG phase coherence did not correlate significantly with critical thinking, open-mindedness, or with class. Critical thinking, as