Epistemological World View Preference Predicts Recall Patterns From a History Text

Abstract

This study evaluates two sets of epistemological world views, or intellectual styles, called mechanism and organicism. Although Pepper’s (1942) ideas have had a small presence in research across various knowledge domains, they have been overlooked by epistemic beliefs and intellectual styles researchers. This article reintroduces Pepper’s epistemological world views to researchers by empirically demonstrating their purported influence on the basic cognitive process of recall. After measuring their preference for mechanism and organicism, 98 participants read and recalled 1 of 2 texts about the French Revolution written from either a mechanist or organicist perspective. Analyses of these free recall data revealed a significant interaction between participants’ world view preference and the amount of text that they recall. The data are interpreted to support the hypothesis that mechanism and organicism affect how students process information and therefore may play a role in learning and instructional practices.