Mechanisms of epistemic change – Exploring the role of (non-)resolvable diverging information in epistemic change

Within this study protocol, we outline and thereby preregister planned procedures for data collection and data analysis of the study “Mechanisms of epistemic change – Exploring the role of (non-)resolvable diverging information in epistemic change”: Research on how to influence individuals’ (and especially higher education students’) epistemic beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing) is thriving because these beliefs have been shown to affect how individuals acquire and evaluate knowledge. Out of this growing body of research, presenting diverging information (i.e., conflicting knowledge claims) emerged as an especially promising method for promoting epistemic change. Based on this finding, Rosman and colleagues developed the resolvable controversies intervention. Although the resolvable controversies intervention’s overall efficacy is well established, results of a recent study, in which we scrutinized its theoretical underpinnings, were ambiguous (Kerwer & Rosman, in press). In the corresponding article, we discussed several issues – mainly with regard to the design of the intervention materials – as possible explanations for these unexpected findings (Kerwer & Rosman, in press). In the planned study, we will empirically address these issues and test if our initially in Kerwer and Rosman (in press) proposed hypotheses hold true if they are resolved. other