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Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young Children

Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young Children. Jessica Taylor Piotrowski 1 Jordan Litman 2 Patti Valkenburg 1 1 The Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam 2 Department of Psychology, University of South Florida 22 July 2013 ISSID 2013 Conference.

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Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young Children

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  1. Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young Children Jessica 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 2013 ISSID 2013 Conference CcaM is part of the Amsterdam School of Communication Research / ASCoR

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Study Aim Develop and validate parent-report scales of I- and D-type EC in Young Children (I/D-YC).

  5. Item Development for I/D-YC • Literature review on early expressions of intellectual exploration • Adapt content of existing I- and D- type scales when possible • Develop new items for potential inclusion

  6. 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.

  7. Validation for I/D-YC Validation Hypotheses

  8. Method 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

  9. Analytic Approach Scale Development: • Confirmatory Factor Analysis Validation: • Correlations and Partial Correlations

  10. Scale Results (I/D-YC) I-Type YC scale α = .85; D-Type YC scale α = .80 χ2 (DF = 33, N = 316) = 82.75, p < .001, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .07, ECVI = .40

  11. I-Type Items Response Options: (1) almost never, (2) sometimes, (3) often, (4) almost always.

  12. D-Type Items Response Options: (1) almost never, (2) sometimes, (3) often, (4) almost always.

  13. Validation Results Partial Correlations Reveal: *in line with expectations

  14. Discussion • 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.

  15. Thank You Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam j.piotrowski@uva.nl

  16. 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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