Belief Identification in adolescence: Development across age and domain

• Main Author: Page, Laura A. S
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2008
• Subjects: Adolescents; Age; Child development; Cognitive psychology; Developmental psychology; Educational psychology; Reading Comprehension; Teenagers; Undergraduate Students
• ISBN: 0494447370; 9780494447376

"Belief Identification" is the process of identifying certain beliefs as critical parts of the self. This construct has important implications in adolescence, as strong commitments may facilitate identity formation, yet may also inhibit open-mindedness during the belief forming process. This study examined three theoretical components of Belief Identification: Epistemological development, cognitive flexibility, and personal meaning. The primary goal was to determine whether the components varied by age (Grades 8 and 12) and/or by domain (academic, sociocultural and moral) and to explore interrelations among them. The secondary goal was to examine whether variation in the components could be explained by individual differences in cognitive ability (IQ), thinking dispositions, implicit theories of intelligence and/or self-concept. To address these goals, 80 adolescents completed an interview assessing the three components of Belief Identification. Epistemological development measured adolescents' stance toward the objective and subjective dimensions of their beliefs. Cognitive flexibility was measured by a debate task requiring adolescents to assume opposing perspectives on their beliefs. Personal meaning measured the strength of adolescents' conviction in their beliefs. Overall, the processes of Belief Identification functioned differently across the three domains. Regarding epistemological development, both age groups were more likely to judge their moral beliefs as absolute, relative to academic and/or sociocultural beliefs. While cognitive flexibility did not vary by age or domain, it was related to cognitive ability and individual dispositions toward open-mindedness. Moral beliefs elicited the highest personal meaning compared to academic and sociocultural beliefs. Significant interrelationships among components were found only in the moral domain. Specifically, adolescents showing the highest personal meaning in their beliefs clustered in two groups, at the highest and lowest levels of epistemological development. Although these groups were equivalent on age and IQ, the group higher in epistemological development showed more cognitive flexibility, whereas those in the lower group appeared more constrained. The findings have implications for both belief and identity formation, two critical aspects of adolescent development. The findings also have implications for education, for as adolescents encounter the differing perspectives of others, they must learn to value reflecting on their own beliefs.