Epistemic Factors Research Articles

Exploring generation Z consumers’ purchase intention towards green products during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

China's Generation Z consumers are gradually developing an awareness of environmental issues and a willingness to purchase green products. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected various traditional industries worldwide. This study aims to explore the factors that influence the purchase intention of green products among Chinese Generation Z consumers after the pandemic. This research utilizes the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a theoretical framework to discuss the effects of epistemic factors including attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control as well as non-cognitive factors including anticipated positive emotion and personal moral norms on Generation Z consumers’ purchase intention of green products under the circumstance of COVID-19 pandemic. We collected primary data from 259 Chinese Generation Z consumers through an online questionnaire collection platform. This research shows that anticipated positive emotion is the most important affecting factor of Chinese Generation Z consumers’ green product purchase intention under the circumstance of COVID-19 pandemic, followed by perceived behavioural control, personal moral norm, attitude, and subjective norm, respectively.

One size fits all: How the “Ethiopian Highlands” made Bale Mountains National Park inscrutable

The categories we use to make sense of a place are never neutral. Scientific classifications can maintain ignorance about some aspects of a landscape, even as they create knowledge about others. This article considers this in the context of Ethiopia's Bale Mountains National Park, a landscape whose hydrologic and socio-cultural characteristics have been made inscrutable through the convergence of imperial legacies, processes of knowledge production, and complex biophysical properties. We use the example to conduct a genealogy of the notion of the “Ethiopian Highlands” and its associated metaphors, tracing the political-economic, biophysical, and epistemic factors by which this category came into use, and how these intersected to maintain a particular yet partial vision of the region. By critically analyzing bibliometric data, historical sources, and chains of reasoning in the scientific literature, we show how a small group of foreign experts erroneously conflated the landscapes, peoples, and environmental concerns of one area with those of another. Together these forces reify imperial gazes, perpetuate degraded wilderness narratives, and overlook significant geologic, (paleo)climatic, sociocultural, and land use differences. The result is a simplistic understanding of a distinct hydrosocial landscape, the perpetuation of conflict and resentment, and poorer conservation outcomes.

EXPRESS: Social and non-social categorisation in investment decisions and learning.

Categorical processes allow us to make sense of the environment effortlessly by grouping stimuli sharing relevant features. Although these processes occur in both social and non-social contexts, motivational, affective and epistemic factors specific to the social world may motivate individuation over categorisation of social compared to non-social stimuli. In one experiment, we tested this hypothesis by analysing the reliance on categorical versus individuating information when making investment decisions about social and non-social targets. In an adaptation of the iterative trust game, participants from three experimental groups had to predict the economic outcomes associated with either humans (i.e., social stimuli), artificial races (i.e., social-like stimuli), or artworks (i.e., non-social stimuli) to earn economic rewards. We observed that investment decisions with humans were initially biased by categorical information in the form of gender stereotypes, but later improved through an individuating learning approach. In contrast, decisions made with non-social stimuli were initially unbiased by categorical information, but the category-outcomes associations learned through repeated interactions were quickly used to categorise new targets. These results are discussed along with motivational and perceptual mechanisms involved in investment decisions and learning about social and non-social agents.

Updating false beliefs: The role of misplaced vs. well-placed certainty.

People can update their misconceptions or false beliefs by learning from corrective sources. However, research has shown that people vary drastically in the extent to which they learn from feedback and update their false beliefs accordingly. That past work drew attention to cognitive and motivational factors such as cognitive rigidity and closed-mindedness as inhibitors of belief updating. Here we examined a novel epistemic structure, misplaced certainty, a subjective sense of certainty while recognizing uncertainty in oneself or most people (e.g., I feel certain although I recognize X is technically uncertain or it is technically uncertain according to most people), as a unique predictor of lower belief updating. In a preregistered study, we hypothesized that those with high chronic misplaced certainty would be less likely to learn from feedback and revise their misconceptions in a feedback-learning task. In our analyses, we controlled for well-placed certainty-certainty while recognizing no doubt in oneself or most others. We also controlled for variables associated with closed-minded cognition. Consistent with our predictions, those with high misplaced certainty were less likely to revise their false beliefs in response to corrective feedback. In contrast, those with high well-placed certainty were more likely to learn from corrective feedback and revise their false beliefs. By shedding light on the nuances of different forms of subjective certainty, the present work aims to pave the way for further research on epistemic factors in the perseverance and correction of false beliefs.

Empirical techniques and the accuracy of scientific representations

This paper proposes an account of accurate scientific representation in terms of techniques that produce data from a target phenomenon. I consider an approach to accurate representation that abstracts from such epistemic factors, justified by a thesis I call Ontic Priority. This holds that criteria for representational accuracy depend on a pre-established account of the nature of the relation between a model and its target phenomenon. I challenge Ontic Priority, drawing on the observation that many working scientists do not have access to information allowing them to describe this relation between model and target or compare them accordingly. I critique the ability of an ontic-first approach to provide accuracy criteria in such cases and present historical support for an alternative according to which a model is accurate if and only if integrating the model into a theory of the data acquisition process yields well-fitting predictions of patterns in the data.

Student understanding of kinematics: a qualitative assessment

ABSTRACT In engineering, kinematics is widely regarded as a fundamental topic with the literature agreeing that students possess a wide range in understanding of the topic. This study aims to take a second-order approach by understanding and exploring the qualitatively different ways in which students approach solving kinematics problems. Phenomenography was used to collect data through ten semi-structured interviews with early-stage mechanical engineering students. Following data analysis, four distinct categories of students’ approaches were identified; unstructured, framing the problem, strategic, and conceptual. It was found that these categories could be arranged in a hierarchy and were also supported by secondary epistemic factors in determining why students employed a particular approach. The findings emphasise the need for approaching instruction from multiple perspectives and suggest a more comprehensive learning experience can be supported by linking practical laboratory observations with real-world concepts, use of visual aids, dry labs, active and peer-to-peer learning.

An Oscillatory Path to Vaccination: The Roles of Normative and Epistemic Factors in Explaining Vaccination Hesitancy in COVID-19

ABSTRACT This study examined the roles of normative and epistemic factors in influencing individuals’ reluctance to be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals’ ethical orientations (IEO; teleology vs. deontology) were introduced as normative characteristics, while COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccine knowledge were addressed as issue-specific epistemic factors. We conducted two online surveys to investigate each of these three factors’ influences on the level of Americans’ reluctance to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Combinations of these factors that predict COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy levels were also explored to provide integrated perspectives in the specific vaccination context. Our findings demonstrated the positive association between IEO and reluctance to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Significant interactions between 1) COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs and IEO and 2) conspiracy beliefs and vaccine knowledge were also identified. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future study were addressed.

Policy Styles and Epistemic Policies in the Regulation of Health Claims. A Comparison of Europe, the United States, and Japan

ABSTRACT I analyse epistemic and non-epistemic factors involved in expert advisory practices and decision-making relating to the regulation of health claims in the US, EU, and Japan. I consider the changes that have taken place, historically, in regulatory policies in all three cases in order to confirm the hypothesis that not only epistemic, but also non-epistemic factors and values determine the methodological decisions on which expert assessments are based for the authorization of health claims. I found that the current European, US, and Japanese assessment systems are based on different kinds of what have been termed ‘epistemic policies’ and that these policies and other characteristics shape what might be identified as differing ‘policy styles’ in the regulation of health claims.

Intellectual structure of Library and Information Science in Iberoamerica using journal co-citation analysis: a comparative study based on Scopus and Web of Science

Abstract In this study, the intellectual structure of the Iberoamerican research on Library and Information Science was visualized, from the perspective of journal citation relations. In addition, the core journals that most influence intellectual structure were identified. The study had a comparative emphasis since data from Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were used. Journal co-citation maps were generated to identify the journal communities. Strategic diagrams with citation and betweenness centrality measures were also generated to identify core, under development, and peripheral journals. The results showed that the intellectual structure is fragmented into communities that respond to the geographic context and language affinity. Only two journals are considered core, El Profesional de la Información and Ciência da Informação. In general, there was not much difference in the comparative analyzes between the two databases. Complementary studies are necessary to show which epistemic factors influence the current fragmentation of the intellectual structure of the Library and Information Science research in the region.

A Tension in the Strong Program: The Relation between the Rational and the Social

ABSTRACT Advocating a sociological explanation of scientific knowledge, David Bloor protests against the adherents of the autonomy of knowledge; i.e., those who asymmetrically explain the credibility of theories in the history of science. These philosophers and historians regard the credibility of true and rational theories due to their proper reasons, while accounting for the acceptance of false or irrational beliefs by citing social causes. Bloor assumes that the credibility of all beliefs is socially influenced, and therefore considers all in need of sociological explanation. To substantiate this claim, he argues that all epistemic factors that are appealed to in explaining true or rational beliefs are really social. However, this argument aligns rational entities with social factors, and thus, undermines the ground of this division. Therefore, his prior complaint of the autonomy of knowledge would be invalidated. Hence, there is a conflict between Bloor’s objection to the asymmetrical explanation of scientific theories and his accounting of the social construction of epistemic reasons. In this paper, we reveal this concealed conflict and attempt to suggest ways to resolve it.

Single-Context Recording, Field Interpretation and Reflexivity: An Analysis of Primary Data In Context Sheets

ABSTRACT In recent decades, it has been frequently asserted that the standardization of recording methods for archaeological excavation has compromised the quality of site records because interpretative information is minimal, and it is difficult to assess its security due to the absence of a reflexive background. For many archaeologists, single-context recording is the perfect example of such problems in field recording. But this claim is controversial, as it is inconsistent with archaeological interpretative theory that states that field interpretation and data quality depend on various epistemic circumstances, such as the skill of fieldworkers, the background knowledge of a site, and the character of remains. By taking an example of a commercial excavation in London, this paper will show the extent to which standardization and other epistemic factors determine the process of field recording.

A Case for Domain-Specific Curiosity in Mathematics

Epistemic curiosity is a desire for knowledge accompanied by positive emotions, increased arousal, and exploratory behavior (Grossnickle, Educational Psychology Review, 28(1), 23–60, 2016). Although curiosity has typically been characterized as a domain-general construct, domain-general conceptualizations do not acknowledge systematic changes in an individuals’ development (e.g., domain knowledge) as they advance within a domain. Moreover, a domain-general conceptualization of curiosity stands in direct contrast to research on interest, given that interest is typically described as domain-specific (e.g., interest for mathematics). Without a domain-specific conceptualization of curiosity as it relates to development within academic domains, comparisons between curiosity and interest will remain muddled. In the present theoretical review, we put forward a conceptualization of curiosity as domain-specific and examine how the components of curiosity develop within one academic domain: mathematics. In doing so, we juxtapose conceptualizations of epistemic curiosity with literature related to the development of other epistemic factors (i.e., knowledge, epistemic beliefs) in mathematics. Specifically, we build on the knowledge gap theories of epistemic curiosity (Litman, Personality and Individual Differences, 48(4), 397–410, 2010; Loewenstein, Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75–98, 1994) to consider developmental shifts in (a) knowledge gaps, (b) heightened arousal, and (c) exploratory behaviors within the domain of mathematics. Understanding the domain-specific and developmental nature of curiosity is critical for distinguishing curiosity from interest and for supporting motivation within mathematics classrooms.

A novel method for risk-informed decision-making under non-ideal Instrumentation and Control conditions through the application of Bayes’ Theorem

Instrumentation and Control systems are often assumed to break and give no readings under certain conditions, but working perfectly otherwise. In reality, aleatory and epistemic factors create a grey area where operators are often unsure of the validity of sensor measurements. Through the use of Bayes’ Theorem, this paper proposes a novel approach that first characterizes both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty, and then combines all available information in a Bayesian network, in order to produce quantitative estimates of unobservable variables in the system. Uncertainties are also propagated from sources to results in a natural manner. The approach was applied to a test case, and was able to identify a Vessel Break transient with quantitative probabilities in a timely manner despite the information being scarce, uncertain, and heterogeneous. The approach was thus demonstrated to be a possible alternative method for decision-making under such non-ideal conditions.

Pragmatic Encroachment and Context Externalism

Pragmatic Encroachment (PE hereafter), sometimes called ‘antiintellectualism,’ is a denial of epistemic purism. Purism is the view that only traditional, truth-relevant, epistemic factors determine whether a true belief is an instance of knowledge. According to anti-intellectualists, two subjects S and S*, could be in the same epistemic position with regards to puristic epistemic factors, but S might know that p while S* doesn’t if less is at stake for S than for S*. Motivations for rejecting purism take two forms: case-based and principle-based arguments. In considering both approaches, I argue that PE is best viewed as externalist about epistemic contexts. That is to say, I claim that what determines a subject’s epistemic context is external to her mind.

Improving Pre-service Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of the Nature of Science Through an Analysis of the Historical Case of Rosalind Franklin and the Structure of DNA

This qualitative study analyses how effective an activity based on the critical and reflexive reading of the historical case of Rosalind Franklin and the elucidation of the molecular structure of DNA can be for learning about the nature of science (NOS). The aspects of NOS addressed are the plurality of methods in scientific research, research objectives, the strengths of scientific models and the epistemic and non-epistemic obstacles faced by scientists in the course of their research. The activity was implemented during a science teaching course for pre-service elementary teachers (PETs). The data were extracted from the PETs’ reports, analysing them with a rubric based on inter-rater agreement. The results showed the PETs to have overall improved their understanding of the different NOS aspects addressed, and that they gave more importance to non-epistemic than to epistemic factors. In short, the results showed this type of activity to be educationally effective in learning about NOS using cases from the history of science. They also lent support to the view that teaching NOS should take an equilibrated approach to both its epistemic and non-epistemic aspects.

To what extent does need for touch affect online perceived quality?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the potential impact of need for touch (NFT) on perceived product quality and the possible roles of purchasers’ social (subjective norms), personal (buying impulsiveness) and epistemic (e-commerce orientation) factors, as well as the likely interaction effect of the shopping channel.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study is based on 540 observations, analysed in a partial least squares structural equation model.FindingsThe link between the NFT and perceived quality tends to be negative, especially for online purchases. E-commerce orientation reduces the need to touch products, but subjective norms and buying impulsiveness have no significant effects.Research limitations/implicationsThe NFT scale might be improved by adding more items. Some of the structural model coefficients indicate a low effect size. Finally, the results are limited to Spanish purchasers of the focal product.Practical implicationsFirms should appeal to purchasers’ e-commerce orientation to reduce the negative implications of a need to touch products among consumers shopping online.Originality/valueThe need to touch a product may be an obstacle to online purchases, yet few studies deal with its impact in online, relative to offline, contexts to evaluate product quality. This study also integrates personal, social and epistemic factors.

Judgment and Agency

<i>Judgment and Agency</i>

Attitude toward m-advertising and m-repurchase

One of the business models that attracts scholars and professionals’ interest is mobile commerce. This paper applies the theory of shopping preference to this field. It analyzes the role of personal factors (perceived control and propensity to use technology), social factors (influence of a social group), and epistemic factors (compatibility) to determine consumers’ attitude toward mobile advertising (m-advertising) and mobile repurchase (m-repurchase). The information of 973 mobile shoppers is analyzed in two contexts (Spain as a developed country and Mexico as a developing country). A positive attitude toward m-advertising is confirmed to increase m-repurchase through the mobile phone and the indirect influence of personal, social, and epistemic factors on shoppers m-repurchase (through the attitude toward m-advertising) varies depending on the analyzed market.

Strict moderate invariantism and knowledge-denials

Strict moderate invariantism is the ho-hum, ‘obvious’ view about knowledge attributions. It says knowledge attributions are often true and that only traditional epistemic factors like belief, truth, and justification make them true. As commonsensical as strict moderate invariantism is, it is equally natural to withdraw a knowledge attribution when error possibilities are made salient. If strict moderate invariantism is true, these knowledge-denials are often false because the subject does in fact know the proposition. I argue that strict moderate invariantism needs an explanation of this phenomenon, but it does not have one. That is significant, for if strict moderate invariantism does not square with ordinary intuition, then it cannot rely on ordinary intuition for support. Section 1 introduces the concept of epistemic relevance blindness, which says ordinary subjects are generally insensitive to whether or not error possibilities are relevant to knowledge attributions. Section 2 focuses on Patrick Rysiew’s influential strict moderate invariantist pragmatic explanation of knowledge-denials and argues that such pragmatic explanations of knowledge-denials depend on attributors being epistemic relevance blind. Section 3 targets psychological explanations of epistemic relevance blindness offered separately by Jennifer Nagel and Mikkel Gerken. I argue that strict moderate invariantists lack a plausible explanation of epistemic relevance blindness.

Knowledge across Contexts. A Problem for Subject-Sensitive Invariantism

The possibility of knowledge attributions across contexts (where attributor and subject find themselves in different epistemic contexts) can create serious problems for certain views of knowledge. Amongst such views is subject-sensitive invariantism—the view that knowledge is determined not only by epistemic factors (belief, truth, evidence, etc.), but also by non-epistemic factors (practical interests, etc.). I argue that subject-sensitive invariantism either runs into a contradiction or has to make very implausible assumptions. The problem has been very much neglected but is so serious that one should look for alternative accounts of knowledge.