The problem in having a firm grasp of critical thought is that it can be clouded by many different distractions and affected by variables outside of controllable circumstances. One of these factors is cognitive development. It is evident that cognitive development as a strong overall impact on the development of critical thinking. Genetics plays a strong role within cognitive development, as individuals are all born with differing genetic levels of comprehension and thus some people will have better critical thinking abilities purely based on their genes. The circumstances that an individual grows up in also have a profound effect on their critical thinking abilities and process. This is because as an individual grows up they can form differing opinions and stigmas that are taught both explicitly and implicitly through cultural doctrine, social convention, as well as education in both informal settings such as at home as well as formal settings such as school. The inevitable result is that as people grow up they develop a critical thinking paradigm that is constructed of basic premises that they have developed at a core level through their environment. Cognitive development therefore is one of the foundational measures by which critical thought forms in adulthood.

The role of logic within critical thinking is a constant factor. This is because logic or the process of analyzing situations through logical techniques and system is something that is objective rather than subjective. While cognitive development creates the premises in which logic can then be used as the vehicle of critical thinking, the tool of logic itself is completely objective. As such, logic is the foundational device within critical thinking in which lacking logic would cause there be no critical thinking at all. Since this is an objective standard...

As human beings we have a natural propensity towards thinking logically and using reason, therefore critical thinking is an implicit part of our mental arsenal. At the same time however, logic can also be taught and enhanced through the understanding of logic systems. In either case, logic is the tool that is used to rationally make decisions and therefore it is the vehicle of critical thinking.
Emotionality on the other hand has a strong impact on critical thinking but in a completely different way from the aforementioned topics. As Ruggiero explains humans have "feelings" and "thoughts" where feelings are influenced by emotions and thoughts by logic and analysis. Emotions have several affects in relations to critical thinking. It can often cloud critical thinking, because emotions can overwhelm logic and in fact take over the critical thinking process completely. This means that emotions at times will bypass the process of critical thinking since it has much more power within the physical nature of the brain. Another side effect of emotionality is that it can alter the premises by which critical thinking takes place. When the basic premises that are used are wrong then the evaluation process using logic will inevitably yield unprincipled and irrational thoughts as well. Therefore emotionality taints the critical thinking process by either bypassing it completely by over flooding the brain, or it can plant false seeds which also has an impact on the way the critical thinking process occurs.

All of three of these indicators, cognitive development, logic and emotionality play a strong role on critical thinking. The use of these measures becomes an important process in how the definition of critical thinking and human behavior can be explained.