The purpose of these two studies was to examine critical thinking among college students using reading materials on “yutori” (reduced intensity) education. In the first study, 90 participants were presented with excerpts from two newspaper articles (reading material A) and an actual example from the PISA reading literacy test (reading material B). Participants were asked to write a concluding paragraph after reading both materials. It was found that only 10% of the participants could apply critical thinking while examining the materials and could point out inconsistencies between reading materials A and B. Participants who applied critical thinking scored significantly higher on Hirayama and Kusumi’s (2004) scale for “critical thinking attitude” and for “emphasis on evidence.” In the second study, another group of participants were presented with the same materials, but this time they were asked to think aloud as they worked on writing the concluding paragraph. Using protocol analyses, it was reled that critical thinkers formed a conclusion after they had searched for and evaluated the information in the presented materials. Non-critical thinkers, in contrast, mentioned their personal beliefs before thoroughly searching for and evaluating the information and formed a con-clusion that was consistent with their pre-existing beliefs. Implications of this finding for college education are discussed.