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Personal Epistemology: Nomenclature, Conceptualizations, and Measurement

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Links Between Beliefs and Cognitive Flexibility

Abstract

Personal epistemology pertains to empirical observations of the epistemology of laypersons. This area of study is of consequence to researchers due to its perceived significance to thinking and learning (see Hofer and Pintrich, Review of Educational Research 67:88–140, 1997; King & Kitchener, Educational Psychologist 39(1):5–18, 1994; Kuhn, The Skills of Argument, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991; Schommer, Educational Psychology Review, 6(4):293–319, 1994). One form of learning for which the learner’s personal epistemology is theoretically relevant is cognitive flexibility; however, the relationship between the two constructs is apt to be confounded by how each is interpreted. In this chapter, we address basic questions for the construct of personal epistemology, hoping to assist the reader in apprehending its significance to cognitive flexibility. We begin by asserting that personal epistemology is best regarded as having a dual nature: the first form we describe as conception oriented and the second as process oriented. Stemming from this foundational argument, we make three specific arguments defended by a review of the literature. Our first argument is that the conception-oriented form is sufficiently referred to as epistemological beliefs and defined as the abstract beliefs of lay folk that address questions relevant to professional epistemologists, typically about the nature of knowledge and knowing. Our second argument is that the process-oriented form is suitably referred to as epistemological judgments and defined as the judgments of lay folk that mimic those of professional epistemologists, normally pertaining to the evaluation and justification of certain assertions. Our third argument is reserved for the measurement of epistemological beliefs, which relies extensively upon inference, that is, knowing and interpreting the visible manifestations of the underlying beliefs. We assert multiple methods of measurement should be synchronized in instrumentation to support inferences and that novel methods should be actively pursued. We conclude with some remarks clarifying how the two forms of personal epistemology may uniquely relate to cognitive flexibility.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Various forms of the root word “epistem” were applied in the models (i.e., epistemic cognition, epistemological assumptions, epistemological beliefs, epistemological perspectives, epistemological theories, and epistemology). Because of this, and because we are aware of other more recent terms with the same root, we chose to enter “epistem*” to avoid excluding nomenclatures representative of PE.

  2. 2.

    The target populations for the research programs reviewed by Hofer and Pintrich (1997) were predominantly college-age young adults. Recent studies have begun to investigate, or are beginning to take an interest in, personal epistemology from the perspective of child development (see Kitchener, 2002).

  3. 3.

    Similar arguments are made by Kitchener (2002) in an earlier contribution.

  4. 4.

    We rely on our earlier arguments for choosing the adjective epistemological verses epistemic.

  5. 5.

    As stated earlier, the inclusion of the latter two dimensions has been controversial because they pertain to learning rather than directly pertaining to knowledge or knowing (see Bendixen & Rule, 2004 or Hofer & Pintrich, 1997).

  6. 6.

    Because the authors contend this is an indirect measure of epistemological beliefs via evaluative-associative assumptions, it did not fit into our cluster scheme. If viewed as a direct measure of epistemological belief dimensions, we would have regarded it as a novel Cluster II instrument.

  7. 7.

    It should be noted that “ill-structured” is used differently by Spiro and colleagues than it is with the RJM. Ill-structured problems according to the RJM are problems “about which ‘reasonable people reasonably disagree’” (King & Kitchener, 2004, p. 5). Specifically, they are problems in which the necessary elements for resolving them are either unknowable or unknown, there is no single correct procedure, and “there is not a single unequivocal solution which can be effectively determined at the present moment” (Kitchener, 1983, p. 224).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology, K.U.Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Jeremy Briell, Jan Elen, Lieven Verschaffel & Geraldine Clarebout

Authors
  1. Jeremy Briell
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  2. Jan Elen
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  3. Lieven Verschaffel
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  4. Geraldine Clarebout
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeremy Briell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Centr. Instructiepsychol.&-technologie, K.U. Leuven, Andreas Vesaliusstraat 2, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Jan Elen

  2. Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, Freiburg, 79117, Germany

    Elmar Stahl

  3. Inst. Psychologie III, Methodenlehre, Entwicklungspsychologie,, Universität Münster, Fliednerstr. 21, Münster, 48149, Germany

    Rainer Bromme

  4. , Subfaculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische, K.U. Leuven, Etienne Sabbelaan 53, Kortrijk, 8500, Belgium

    Geraldine Clarebout

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Briell, J., Elen, J., Verschaffel, L., Clarebout, G. (2011). Personal Epistemology: Nomenclature, Conceptualizations, and Measurement. In: Elen, J., Stahl, E., Bromme, R., Clarebout, G. (eds) Links Between Beliefs and Cognitive Flexibility. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1793-0_2

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