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Abstract: Two studies were carried out to examine the relationship between epistemic beliefs and critical thinking. In the first study, 138 Chinese undergraduates completed the adapted Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI) and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment Using Everyday Situations. Their cognitive ability and thinking dispositions were also measured. Results showed that other than cognitive ability, the belief that knowledge is certain was most related to thinking performance. In the second study, 111 undergraduates read a passage on a controversial issue and were asked to indicate their position, explain the reasoning behind, and rate their confidence in judgment. They were then presented relevant counterarguments and asked to respond to them. Participants were also administered the adapted EBI. There was clear evidence that those believing knowledge to be certain exhibited poorer two-sided thinking and a stronger tendency to devaluate or ignore counterarguments. Implications for the enhancement of critical thinking are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dispositional factors have been suggested to affect individuals’ critical thinking performance. The relative and combined effects of thinking dispositions and cognitive ability on the critical thinking performance of a group of 137 Chinese undergraduates were examined. Participants were administered the Need for Cognition Scale, Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness Subscales of the NEO Five Factor Inventory as well as the Concern for Truth Scale. Cognitive ability and critical thinking performance were respectively estimated with the WAIS-III Verbal Comprehension Index and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment Using Everyday Situations. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that only the disposition of concern for truth accounted for unique additional variance in critical thinking beyond that explained by cognitive ability. The findings are discussed in the light of cultural factors affecting critical thinking in the Chinese context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]