Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Scientism

Abstract

From an original pool of 111 items, a 10-item short scale for assessing scientistic beliefs was constructed. Initially, the validity of the items was checked by interviews with students and experts. In the next step, 66 selected items were presented to a sample of 888 high school students. Factor analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the construct scientism. Furthermore, the 10-item short scale was proven to have sufficient internal consistency. A study with 273 undergraduates showed moderate correlations between the scientism scale and aspects of epistemological beliefs. A further study with 235 high school students and 276 undergraduates showed positive correlations of scientistic beliefs with cognitive closure and physics interest, as well as negative correlations with openness to experience and need for cognition. The results of an experimental validation study demonstrate that scientistic beliefs can be affected through reading a refutational text on the limitations of physics.