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The authors investigated the relationship between individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the nature of learning (epistemological beliefs) and their thinking about everyday controversial issues. Adults (N = 174) ranging in age from 17 to 71 years old with a mean age of 38 completed the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire (M. Schommer, 1990), which assessed their beliefs in the certainty and organization of knowledge and the speed and control of learning. After they had completed the questionnaire, they responded to a series of questions about two controversial issues that had been discussed in the local newspaper. Regression analyses indicated that the more the participants believed in complex and tentative knowledge, the more likely they were to take on multiple perspectives, be willing to modify their thinking, withhold ultimate decisions until all information was available, and acknowledge the complex, tentative nature of everyday issues. Epistemological beliefs that are heavily influenced by a higher level of education appear to relate to thinking beyond the classroom, and introducing controversial issues into the curriculum may reciprocally foster the development of epistemological beliefs.

Recent theory (Schommer, 1990) suggests that personal epistemology is multidimensional. The multidimensional epistemology structure with middle school students was tested in this study. Over 1,200 students in Grades 7 and 8 completed an epistemological belief questionnaire. Prior theory, developed with college students, suggested 4 epistemological belief factors: Ability to Learn, Structure of Knowledge, Speed of Learning, and Stability of Knowledge. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to a random half of the sample indicated that a 3-factor model was a good fit to the data. That model was replicated with the second half of the data. Follow-up regression analyses indicated that the more students believed in gradual learning and incremental ability to learn, the higher GPA they earned.

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