Dorothe Kienhues
[Person] [Project]
Dorothe Kienhues, Dipl. Psych.
Short Vita
- 1979:
- Born in Ahaus (Germany).
- 1998-2005:
- Study of Psychology at the University of Münster (Germany).
- 01/2005:
- Graduation in Psychology at the University of Münster (Germany).
- Thesis: "Und bist du auch naiv, so bleibst du's vielleicht nicht"
- - Überprüfung der Beeinflussbarkeit epistemologischer
- Überzeugungen
- ["Even if you are naïve, you maybe won't remain that way"
- - An investigation of the potential for influencing epistemological
- beliefs].
- Since February 2005:
- Research associate at the University of Münster in the team of
- Prof. Rainer Bromme.
- Since January 2006:
- PhD student of the VGK.
Contact
Phone: ++49 (0) 251 / 83-31347
FAX: ++49 (0) 251 / 83-39105
email: kienhues@psy.uni-muenster.de
WWW: My homepageWestfälische Wilhelms University Münster
Psychological Institute III
Fliednerstr. 21
D-48149 Münster (Germany)
Ph.D. Project
Topic: Computer-based improvement of epistemological beliefs (working title!)Supervisor: Prof. Rainer Bromme
Summary
When people search the web for medical information, they commonly come across conflicting evidence. Such controversial topics are for example screening for breast carcinoma or treatment of high cholesterol. For instance, Eysenbach (2003) mentions that users seeking for information on cancer experienced the information they found as conflicting (76%), overwhelming (31%) and confusing (27%). Therefore, information seeking is much more than typing in the right keywords into search engines. It requires assessments concerning the validity and reliability of the information found. People have to evaluate the veracity of the information obtained and they have to decide what kind of evidence they accept for justifying specific claims. Furthermore, they have to solve conflicts between various perspectives of knowledge and integrate conflicting evidence into a viable framework of personal understanding and decision making. Personal beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing (epistemological beliefs) play an important role for dealing with such questions (Hofer, 2004; Braten, Stromso, & Samuelstuen, 2005).
My Ph.D. project addresses different aims. The major goal is to develop and to evaluate ways of improving such assessments during information seeking and thereby improving epistemological reasoning as well as (in the long run) epistemological beliefs (Tsai, 2004). Based on preceding developments within our research team (Stadtler, 2006), I use a computer tool for supporting laypersons when searching the web for medical information.
Another aim of the Ph.D. project is to gain deeper insight into the mechanism of and conditions for epistemological change, especially the role of epistemic doubt (Bendixen, 2002; Bendixen & Rule, 2004; Chandler, 1990). Furthermore, implications of the studies I conduct tackle the theoretical question of separating beliefs about ability and epistemological beliefs (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997).
References
Bendixen, L. D. (2002). A process model of epistemic belief change. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 191-208). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bendixen, L. D., & Rule, D. C. (2004). An integrative approach to personal epistemology: A guiding model. Educational Psychologist, 39, 69-80.
Braten, I., Stromso, H. I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2005). The relationship between Internet-specific epistemological beliefs and learning within Internet technologies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33, 141-171.
Chandler, M., Boyes, M., & Ball, L. (1990). Relativism and stations of epistemic doubt. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 50, 370-395.
Eysenbach, G. (2003). The impact of the Internet on cancer outcomes. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 53, 356-371.
Hofer, B. K. (2004). Epistemological understanding as a metacognitive process: Thinking aloud during online searching. Educational Psychologist, 39, 43-55.
Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67, 88-140.
Stadtler, M. (2006). Auf der Suche nach medizinischen Fachinformationen: Metakognitionen bei der Internetrecherche von Laien. Münster: Waxmann.
Tsai, C.-C. (2004). Beyond cognitive and metacognitive tools: the use of the Internet as an 'epistemological' tool for instruction. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35 (5), 525-536.
Publications
Bromme, R. & Kienhues, D. (in Druck). Epistemologische Überzeugungen: Was wir von (natur-) wissenschaftlichem Wissen erwarten können [Epistemological beliefs: What we can expect from scientific knowledge]. In J. Zumbach und H. Mandl (Hrsg.), Fallbuch Pädagogische Psychologie. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Bromme, R. & Kienhues, D. (in Druck). Allgemeinbildung [General Education]. In W. Schneider & M. Hasselhorn (Hrsg.) Handbuch der Pädagogischen Psychologie (S. 619-628). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Bromme, R., Kienhues, D., & Stahl, E. (in press). Knowledge and epistemological beliefs: An intimate but complicate relationship. In M. S. Khine (Ed.), Knowing, Knowledge, and Beliefs: Epistemological Studies Across Diverse Cultures. New York: Springer.
Kienhues, D., Bromme, R., & Stahl, E. (accepted with minor revisions). Changing epistemological beliefs: The unexpected impact of a short-term intervention. British Journal of Educational Psychology.
Conference Contributions
Kienhues, D. (2006, October). Computer-based improvement of epistemological beliefs. Poster presented at the VGK Autumn School "Improving Computer-mediated Learning and Collaborative Work: Which are the Promising Concepts?", Münster/Germany.
Kienhues, D., Bromme, R., & Stadtler, M. (2007). Dealing with conflicting evidence during Internet search: An investigation of epistemological reasoning and reasoning about ability. Paper to be presented at the 12th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction, Budapest/Hungary.
Kienhues, D., Bromme, R. & Stahl, E. (2006, September). Förderung epistemologischer Überzeugungen: Interventionen auf Grundlage der Forschung zum Conceptual Change [Encouraging epistemological beliefs: interventions based on the research on Conceptual Change]. Paper presented at the 45th conference of the DGPs, Nürnberg/Germany.
Kienhues, D., Bromme, R., & Stahl, E. (2006, June). Changing epistemological beliefs: The surprising impact of a short-term intervention. Paper presented at the 5th Symposium of the EARLI-SIG (Special Interest Group) on Conceptual Change, Stockholm, Sweden.
Kienhues, D., Bromme, R. & Stahl, E. (2005, August). CAEB: A semantic differential to measure connotative epistemological beliefs. Paper presented at the 11th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction, Nicosia/Cyprus.
Kienhues, D., Stadtler, M., & Bromme, R. (2007). „Kann man das gar nicht verstehen oder verstehe nur ich das nicht?“ – Erfassung von epistemological reasoning und ability reasoning bei der Recherche nach gesundheitsbezogener Information im Internet [„Is this really impossible to understand or am I just not able to understand it?“ – Epistemological reasoning and ability reasoning through searching the web for medical information]. Paper to be presented at the 11th conference of the dgps on Educational Psychology (paeps), Berlin/Germany.
Stahl, E. & Kienhues, D. (2007). Die Relevanz von Überzeugungen zur Natur des Wissens, des Wissenserwerbs und des Lernens in unterschiedlichen Informationsverarbeitungskontexten [The relevance of beliefs about the nature of knowledge, the nature of knowing and the nature of learning in different contexts of information processing]. Symposium organized for the 11th conference of the dgps on Educational Psychology (paeps), Berlin/Germany.
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Last update: 18th September 2007
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