The 8-Factor reasoning styles scale: development, validation, and psychometric evaluation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Building on Hacking's historical-philosophical notion of "styles of reasoning" and subsequent three-axis formalisation (Disposition, Perception, Organization), this study develops and validates the Eight-Factor Reasoning Styles Scale (8-FRSS). The instrument operationalises eight theoretically predicted styles that arise from the orthogonal intersections Empirical ↔ Hypothetical, Metaphorical ↔ Analogical, and Inductive ↔ Deductive.

Methods

Items (5 per style; 40 total) were generated from the Reasoning Style Model, vetted by five measurement experts, and refined through a pilot face-validity study (n = 50). A sequential mixed-methods design followed: (1) Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA; n = 441); (2) Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA-1; n = 316) with DWLS on pol

SUBMITTER: Duran V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12362910 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature