A multiple time-scale model for personal epistemology A proposal

The present article proposes a multiple time-scale model that integrates existing models of personal epistemology. The model's assumptions are as follows: (a) in one's mind, knowledge and knowing are not represented as systems of decontextualized conceptions, but rather as resources embedded in particular situations of cognitive activity, (b) there are 2 distinct but interrelated domains of personal epistemology: general knowledge and knowledge for use; (c) a tentative view of the world as a situated typical mental model in which framework knowledge is controlled is constructed through the interaction between an individual's personal epistemology and actual tasks that the person faces in cognitive activity; (d) in cases in which problems cannot be resolved within that framework, the incongruity motivates the individual to reconstruct alternative tentative views of the world; and (e) if the new tentative view which conflicts with the individual's existing view of the world is built through repeated cognitive activity, and the person's epistemic beliefs are highlights by the perspectives of other people or by educational intervention, the individual's beliefs are forced to change in accordance with the demand of the new tentative view of the world.