The Role of Critical Thinking to Improve the Efficiency of Media Literacy by Emphasizing the Audience's Cognitive System

Today, adolescents exist in a complex global society, encompassing both its positive and negative aspects, as well as their real-world society. This dual existence is largely attributable to their extensive and prolonged use of media, particularly cyber space and social media platforms. The most significant challenge posed by this situation pertains to the threat of conflicting values and culture. It may initially appear that this challenge, which is both global and ubiquitous, can be addressed through media literacy. The efficacy of media literacy in building resistance against the threats posed by media messages and the necessity to further strengthen or enhance it are crucial considerations. This study aimed to explore the correlation between critical thinking skills and religious commitment with media literacy in a sample of 205 final year high school students. The findings indicated that, based on the multiple regression model, there is a significant correlation between the research variables with a significance level above 0.05 and the adjusted coefficient of determination (0.58) also reveals that the data fits well and the research hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of media literacy, critical thinking and the cognitive and value systems can be used as valid approaches. Furthermore, the relationships between the variables in relation to the research's theoretical framework reveal that critical thinking holds a procedural nature, religious commitment possesses a value-based and criterion-based nature, while media literacy embodies a structural nature.
Introduction
 For a considerable period, media literacy has been the primary means of empowering audiences to counteract the threats posed by media messages. Media messages persistently influence every audience in myriad aspects, even affecting their reasoning and logical system by creating both overt and covert connections between data and messages. In contrast, the primary protective response of the audience is automatic data processing. Automatic and involuntary processing acts as the first line of defense against the overwhelming flood of data and information. Consequently, the question arises: is this automatic reaction sufficient?
Enhancing the audience's intellectual capacity and their ability to generate meaning in pursuit of truth is achieved through media literacy. This objective is realized through the critical thinking skills and the audience's cognitive system, which encompasses a valid, standard, and valuable set of principles. These two crucial elements form the "face" and "substance" of a person's cognitive structure within the "audience empowerment platform." Both of the aforementioned elements possess an independent nature and are outside the scope of media literacy. In fact, media literacy serves as a structured and flexible framework aimed at standardizing critical thinking skills and methods for evaluating messages with the goal of discovering truth and defense against threats. It also functions as a set of standards and underscores three primary requirements: information diversity, value system, and message analysis system as its fundamental components. These requirements respectively pertain to the enhancement of cognitive domains, the development and reinforcement of a valid value system for the audience, and the skill of message analysis (Masterman, 1980: 21). In essence, these requirements provide the foundation for a secure encounter between the audience and media, in the face of the dense volume of information and threats posed by media. The question arises: what relationship exists between media literacy and the aforementioned two elements, namely critical thinking and the valid criteria of the audience, and how should this relationship be analyzed and interpreted?
The central inquiry of this study concerns the relationship between critical thinking and religious commitment with media literacy. Consequently, the subsequent hypotheses were examined:
There exists a significant correlation between the level of critical thinking and religious commitment with the level of media literacy.
There is a significant relationship between the level of critical thinking and the level of religious commitment.
There is a significant correlation between the subscales of critical thinking, religious commitment, and media literacy.
Methodology
In this study, a survey methodology was employed with an explanatory approach and a correlational statistical method. The dependent variable in this research is media literacy, while critical thinking and religious commitment serve as the independent variables. For this study, three quantitative tests were conducted using the scoring method based on the Likert scale:
1- Worthington's religious commitment test comprising 10 items with a total score of 50; it has two subscales: intrapersonal commitment and interpersonal commitment.
2- Ricketts' critical thinking test with 33 items and a total score of 165, containing three subscales: creativity, maturity, and commitment.
3- A media literacy test encompassing 22 items and a total score of 110, spanning five subscales: understanding, awareness, selection, critical
The research tests were administered to 203 final-year high school students in the fourth educational region of Tehran. To facilitate comparison of the test results, scores were normalized as a percentage. The obtained scores were subsequently evaluated to analyze the subjects' performance. The internal validity of the researcher-developed questionnaire was determined by soliciting the opinions of 35 professors from across the country, utilizing the Lawshe model. This evaluation led to the confirmation of 22 items, demonstrating an overall reliability ratio of 0.36. The reliability of the research questionnaires was assessed through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha using SPSS software. The resulting Cronbach's alpha for media literacy, critical thinking, and religious commitment were 0.88, 0.85, and 0.94 respectively, indicating satisfactory reliability across all three variables in this study.
Discussion
In line with the cognitive theory of media literacy, audience intelligence and their ability to control optimally hinge entirely on cognitive growth and development in various domains. These domains encompass a hierarchical progression, from the lowest to the highest level. The standards, requirements, and key principles of media literacy function as a structured, standardized system to guide practical patterns of analysis and reasoning. Subsequently, while critical thinking is widely regarded as an established scientific discipline in its own right, it can be effectively integrated within the framework of media literacy's structure, prerequisites, and standards. This integration serves to enhance the recognition and promotion of the effectiveness of media literacy. Alternatively, the social theory of media literacy holds that media literacy cannot exist independently and detached from the social and institutional structures of the society in which it functions. Hence, beyond media literacy and critical thinking, it is imperative to give due consideration to possessing a cognitive system rich in "reference values and criteria". Such a system should align with the social structure of the audience and uphold the principle of "shared meaning-making" in media literacy.
Conclusions
The outcome of the hypothesis test in this research reveals that critical thinking bears a stronger association with media literacy compared to religious commitment. This finding emphasizes the importance of applying the principles and rules of critical thinking skills to augment the effectiveness of media literacy. Additionally, the values accepted by the audience exhibit a direct and relatively strong relationship with media literacy, regardless of the general and partial divergences among them. It is likely that the relatively weaker relationship observed between religious commitment and media literacy, in contrast to the association with critical thinking, reflects the absence of a robust and inherent value system within the structure of media literacy. This absence may impede the reliance on a standard value system for the study and analysis of media literacy.
Each subscale of religious commitment, along with the total score, displayed a direct correlation with media literacy in this study. The degree of correlation exhibited between the subscales of religious commitment (intrapersonal commitment and interpersonal commitment) and media literacy indicated that the weakest intensity of the relationship revolved around the subscale linked to awareness. Consequently, the Pearson correlation coefficient between the specified subscales and the subscale of awareness of hidden objectives in media literacy equates to 0.11 and 0.07, respectively, which corresponds to weak and insignificant correlations. Moreover, the findings of the tests reveal that the weak relationships of these subscales are associated to aspects that rely on active and volition-based training. These concerns pertain to cognitive domains and awareness that is contingent upon the learning process. Aspects such as possessing knowledge of principles, familiarization with methods, rules, and standard doctrines, might not appear plausible without systematic training and instruction, as acquiring knowledge and expertise spontaneously seems implausible.