Children's Epistemological Understanding: Developmental Mechanisms and Individual Differences

Abstract

Individuals’ epistemological understanding—that is, their beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing— is thought to have important implications for critical thinking in both formal and informal learning contexts (Burr & Hofer, 2002; Council of Chief State School Officers, 2014; Kuhn, 1999; NGSS Lead States, 2013). Indeed, our epistemological beliefs are thought to influence the questions we ask, the sources of information we place trust in, the certainty of our beliefs, and even academic outcomes (Greene, Sandoval, & Bråten, 2016a). However, most of the literature describes the developmental patterns of epistemological understanding in adolescence and adulthood, without characterizing the cause-effect mechanisms at play, particularly those in childhood. Although there is observational evidence suggesting that parent-child interactions are a context in which epistemological understanding may develop (Luce, Callanan, & Smilovic, 2013), and parent epistemological beliefs have been found to predict children’s critical evaluations of speakers who reason about evidence with varying competence (Suárez & Koenig, accepted), the role of adult influences on children’s epistemological development has not been examined experimentally. In the present study, I investigate: 1) How children develop the ability to consider the nature of knowledge within the context of conversation; 2) Whether improved epistemological understanding supports children’s critical thinking in informal social learning; 3) Whether cognitive self-control and verbal IQ moderate or mediate epistemological development; and 4) Whether individual differences in epistemological understanding relate to parent characteristics.