Validating the Assessment of Epistemic Beliefs in Education and Psychology: Insights From Four Convenience Samples

Epistemic beliefs and their possible effects on human behavior have been a focal point in recent decades. By measuring epistemic beliefs, researchers aim to better understand how individuals perceive and approach knowledge. However, more recently, the construct of epistemic beliefs has become the subject of further investigation, as it is often described as difficult to conceptualize and assess. Hence, in this paper the psychometric properties of one of those instruments, namely the Connotative Aspects of Epistemological Beliefs (CAEB), are further analyzed. Across four data sets, a total of N  = 1,108 educational sciences and psychology students were asked to complete the CAEB with regard to educational science and/or psychology. Data was analyzed via confirmatory factor analyses, exploratory structural equation models and analyses of measurement invariance. Results show that neither the originally proposed theoretical, nor the empirically identified dimensions of the CAEB can be replicated. Furthermore, exploratory analyses reveal a new model with a total of 12 items and two factors, which share some similarities with the empirically identified measurement model. Group comparisons between the samples indicate that the metric invariance hypothesis holds, while scalar invariance cannot be substantiated. The findings suggest that the originally proposed CAEB dimensions are not applicable to educational science and psychology. Instead, this preliminary 12-item version appears promising for assessing connotative epistemological beliefs. Nonetheless, the characteristics of the convenience sample, as well as limitations regarding reliability, and the lack of scalar invariance, need to be addressed in future studies in different domains and across different samples.