Abstract

In this work the Reflective Judgement Model propossed by Kitchener & King (1981) is presented. This model suggest that reflective judgement is the most advanced stage in the development of epistemic cognition. An exploratory empirical study was conducted to asses the validity of this model in a sample of female students of Psychology at the University of Tarapacá, Arica, Chile. A three-level cross-sectional design was used. The conclusion was that the results support the validity of the model for this sample, showing the reflective judgement as a related but different development from other variables such as academic aptitude and formal thinking. The important effect of university education in its development is shown as well as the distinct achievement of the reflective judgement in relation to contextualized and non-contextualized problems according to the knowledge and educational background of the subjects. This made possible to propose the use of the reflective judgement development as an indicator of the results of the university education