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 polychoric correlations; (3) cross-validation CFA-2 on an independent community sample (n = 604). Reliability (α, ω) and composite reliability/AVE were computed, and concurrent validity was assessed against the Turkish adaptation of the Sternberg–Wagner Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI-TR; 13 subscales). Results: The EFA revealed the theorised eight-factor solution after removal of two items, explaining 58.2% of variance (KMO = 0.932; Bartlett p