When emotion meets reason: the development and validation of EpiCT-CI scale to measure epistemic emotions in critical thinking application and cultural identity constructions

The results from Studies 1 and 2 indicate that epistemic emotions are a blend of neutral, positive, and negative states, rather than simple linear progressions. The initial 52-item scale underwent a thorough evaluation, modification, and validation process in Study 3, resulting in a four-dimensional 19-item EpiCT-CI Scale, which represents four groups of epistemic emotions: joy in critical cultural inquiry, boredom in critical cultural reflection, curiosity in cultural identity reflection, and distress in cultural adaptation. The EpiCT-CI Scale provides an effective tool for assessing epistemic emotions in cultural identity constructions and critical thinking applications.