An investigation into the structure of epistemological style

Abstract

The development of post-formal operational thought has been widely studied using interview procedures. Perry (1970; Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston) proposed 9 observable developmental positions construed as resulting from the interaction of 4 underlying and overlapping stages. In contrast, Kitchener and King (1981; Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,2, 89–116) have argued for 7 discrete and non-overlapping stages which correspond directly to 7 observable positions. This paper investigates whether models invoking overlapping or non-overlapping stages are more appropriate to the data. Taking Kitchener and King's Reflective Judgement theory as a point of departure, a paper and pencil instrument for assessing epistemic style was assembled. Factor analysis of items derived from King's (1977; unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota) descriptions of interviews revealed 3 factors, interpreted as representing 3 underlying and overlapping developmentally related epistemic strategies. A 44-item Scale of Adult Intellectual Development (SAID-44) was constructed. The replicability and reliability of the SAID-44 were established. Convergent validity was explored by examining correlations between the SAID-44 and Dogmatism, Locus of Control, Desirability of Control, Need for Cognition, and the Scale of Intellectual Development. The results are discussed in light of their relation to some current issues in the epistemological literature.