Psychometric properties of the Actively Open-minded Thinking scale

Eva M. Janssen; Peter P.J.L. Verkoeijen; Anita E.G. Heijltjes; Tim Mainhard; Lara M. van Peppen; Tamara van Gog

doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100659

Psychometric properties of the Actively Open-minded Thinking scale

Eva M. Janssen^*, Peter P.J.L. Verkoeijen, Anita E.G. Heijltjes, Tim Mainhard, Lara M. van Peppen, Tamara van Gog

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The Actively Open-minded Thinking scale (AOT; Stanovich & West, 2007) is a questionnaire that is used to measure the disposition towards rational thinking as a single psychological trait. Yet, despite its frequent use, also in abbreviated form, it is still unclear whether sumscores of the AOT can actually be used to order individuals on their disposition towards actively open-minded thinking and whether the questionnaire can be validly shortened. The present study aimed to obtain a valid and shorter AOT. We conducted Mokken scale analyses on the (Dutch) AOT using two samples of higher education students (N = 930; N = 509). Our analyses showed that none of the 41 items could discriminate sufficiently between respondents with varying latent trait levels. Furthermore, no item-set of the AOT could be obtained to validly order individuals on the assumed latent trait, which is a crucial assumption when using it in research. Consequently, it is questionable whether scores on the AOT provide insights into the concept it aims to measure.

Original language	English
Article number	100659
Number of pages	12
Journal	Thinking Skills and Creativity
Volume	36
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100659
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2020

Funding

This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research under project number 409-15-203. The authors would like to thank Renske Kuijpers for her assistance with the data analysis.

Keywords

Assessment
Dutch-language version of the Actively open-Minded Thinking scale
Mokken scale analysis
Rational thinking
Reasoning and decision-making
Thinking dispositions

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10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100659

Psychometric properties of the Actively Open-minded Thinking scaleFinal published version, 314 KBLicence: CC BY

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title = "Psychometric properties of the Actively Open-minded Thinking scale",

abstract = "The Actively Open-minded Thinking scale (AOT; Stanovich & West, 2007) is a questionnaire that is used to measure the disposition towards rational thinking as a single psychological trait. Yet, despite its frequent use, also in abbreviated form, it is still unclear whether sumscores of the AOT can actually be used to order individuals on their disposition towards actively open-minded thinking and whether the questionnaire can be validly shortened. The present study aimed to obtain a valid and shorter AOT. We conducted Mokken scale analyses on the (Dutch) AOT using two samples of higher education students (N = 930; N = 509). Our analyses showed that none of the 41 items could discriminate sufficiently between respondents with varying latent trait levels. Furthermore, no item-set of the AOT could be obtained to validly order individuals on the assumed latent trait, which is a crucial assumption when using it in research. Consequently, it is questionable whether scores on the AOT provide insights into the concept it aims to measure.",

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AU - van Peppen, Lara M.

AU - van Gog, Tamara

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Psychometric properties of the Actively Open-minded Thinking scale

Abstract

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Keywords

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