measuring epistemic curiosity in young children jessica taylor piotrowski 1 jordan litman 2 patti...
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Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young
ChildrenJessica Taylor Piotrowski1
Jordan Litman2 Patti Valkenburg1
1 The Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam
2 Department of Psychology, University of South Florida
22 July 2013ISSID 2013 Conference
CcaM is part of the Amsterdam School of Communication Research / ASCoR
The Problem
• I and D-type EC manifests itself in early childhood …
• Yet, we currently have no way to measure these early expressions.
• Problems with existing measurements for I and D-type EC:– Developed exclusively for adults– Content of items inappropriate– Self-report nature inappropriate
• Inability to measure = little information about EC in early childhood
Epistemic Curiosity
the desire to obtain new knowledge expected to stimulate positive feelings of intellectual interest (I-
type) and
the desire to reduce undesirable conditions of uncertainty associated with feeling deprived of
information (D-type)
I-Type
D-Type
Develop and validate parent-report scales
of I- and D-type EC in Young Children (I/D-YC).
Study Aim
Item Development for I/D-YC
1. Literature review on early expressions of intellectual exploration
2. Adapt content of existing I- and D- type scales when possible
3. Develop new items for potential inclusion
Item Development for I/D-YC
I-Type EC
•alternating between novel sources of stimulation
•delight in encountering new things or people
•preference for novelty over making a detailed examination of familiar things
•E.g., My child has fun learning about new topics or subjects.
D-Type EC
•focused and sustained attention to and detailed inspection of sources of intellectual stimulation (e.g., toys)
•being bothered when something is detected as missing
•E.g., When presented with a tough problem, my child focuses all of his/her attention on how to solve it.
Validation for I/D-YC
I-Type D-Type
Sensation Seeking PositiveNo Relationship or Weak +
Shyness NegativeNo Relationship or Weak +
Inhibitory ControlNo Relationship
Negative
Hyperactivity-Inattention
No Relationship
Negative
Validation Hypotheses
Study Design– Cross-sectional survey
Sample– Parents with children aged 3-8 (n= 316; M = 5.30 years)
Measures– I/D-YC items (n = 16)– Sensation Seeking– Shyness– Inhibitory Control– Hyperactivity-Inattention
Method
Analytic Approach
Scale Development: •Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Validation:•Correlations and Partial Correlations
Scale Results (I/D-YC)
I-Type YC scale α = .85; D-Type YC scale α = .80χ2 (DF = 33, N = 316) = 82.75, p < .001, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .07, ECVI = .40
I-Type Items
I-Type Items
My child has fun learning about new topics or subjects.
My child is attracted to new things in his/her environment.
My child enjoys talking about topics that are new to him /her.
My child shows visible enjoyment when discovering something new.
When my child is learning something new, he/she asks many questions about it.
Response Options: (1) almost never, (2) sometimes, (3) often, (4) almost always.
D-Type Items
D-Type Items
When presented with a tough problem, my child focuses all his/her attention on how to solve it.
My child devotes considerable effort to trying to figure out things that are confusing or unclear.
My child is bothered when he/she does not understand something, and tries hard to make sense of it.
My child will work for a long time to solve a problem because he/she wants to know the answer.
My child carefully examines things by turning them around or looking at them from all sides.
Response Options: (1) almost never, (2) sometimes, (3) often, (4) almost always.
Validation Results
Partial Correlations Reveal:
I-Type D-Type
Sensation SeekingNo Relationship
Weak Positive (.13)*
ShynessNegative (-.30)*
Weak Positive (.10)*
Inhibitory ControlNo Relationship*
Negative (-.20)*
Hyperactivity-Inattention
No Relationship*
Negative (-.21)**in line with expectations
• Development of I/D-YC addresses important gap in literature.
• CFA resulted in a 10-item I/D-YC measure with acceptable psychometric properties.
• Future research: – Replication with different sample– Further evaluate reliability and validity (e.g., test-retest)
• Useful tool for researchers interested in young children’s intellectual exploration.
Discussion
Thank You
Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
j.piotrowski@uva.nl
Funding Acknowledgement
The research reported in this presentation is supported by a grant to the third author from the European Research Council under the European
Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no [AdG09 249488-
ENTCHILD].
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