The Role of Epistemic Beliefs in the Comprehension of Single and Multiple Texts

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to review theory and research on the role of epistemic beliefs in text comprehension and discuss implications for educational research and practice. While “beliefs” refer to what individuals accept as or want to be true (Murphy & Mason, 2006), “epistemic beliefs”, in particular, refer to what individuals believe knowledge is like and how they believe people come to know (Hofer & Bendixen, 2012). A growing body of research indicates that epistemic beliefs may guide readers’ goals, processing activities, and comprehension. Take, for example, a student believing that knowledge in a domain is absolute and unchanging and consists of isolated facts. When this student encounters an expository text in that domain that deals with a complex issue for which there is no clear-cut, accurate answer, his or her reading goals (e.g., to gather pieces of factual information and identify the correct answer) and processing activities (e.g., rehearsing unrelated facts and searching for the “truth” about the issue) may be out of step with the task at hand and result in frustration and confusion on part of the student, as well as a superficial understanding that does not reflect the tentativeness and complexity of the issue.