Relationships between critical thinking dispositions and evaluation of videos with variation in the level of expertise of the source among middle and high school students

Abstract

Adolescents massively use video-based applications for entertainment as well as for learning or informative purposes. However, videos present specific difficulties for processing information. Although adolescents may have the ability to critically analyze such content, they are not necessarily willing to engage in these cognitively costly processes. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether adolescents' critical thinking dispositions predict their evaluation of informational videos featuring experts or laypersons on complex topics. Middle and high school students (N = 363) evaluated the sources and information in four videos with different levels of expertise of the source (expert vs layperson), then answered questionnaires measuring self-efficacy, epistemic justification of claims, intellectual humility, and reasoning style. Videos featuring experts were favored over those featuring laypeople when students were older, more open to revising their viewpoint, and had a stronger belief that claims in videos should be justified by the authority of the source rather than by personal knowledge. Self-efficacy and respect for others’ viewpoints were associated with higher ratings of the credibility of videos, regardless of whether they featured laypeople or experts. We discuss prospects for research into adolescents' individual differences and evaluation of videos in learning contexts.