REFLECTIVE JUDGMENT MODEL : Examples and Strategies

        The quality of conclusions about how to handle a problem is called Judgment.  The process of consideration before reaching a conclusion, sometimes called reasoning, is also known as reflection. Conclusion after due consideration is therefore called Reflective Judgment.  

        A model describing seven levels (called stages) of Reflective Judgment was devised by Dr. Karen Strohm Kitchener of the University of Denver and Patricia King of Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  Other models exist that describe three stages.  Still others describe seven that are different from King and Kitchener's seven.  However, all agree that how people reach conclusions vary from person to person.  How you reason affects the conclusions reached and therefore the actions taken.

        The stage of Reflective Judgment used when solving problems within a work environment can have a dramatic effect on the outcome and productivity of the entire corporation.  Understanding and recognizing the various stages can help managers to develop the skills in their employees necessary for Empowerment and higher levels of productivity.  

        The following section describes Kitchener and King's Seven Stages of Reflective Judgment and suggests strategies for employee development. 

            Stage One:  Knowledge is assumed to exist absolutely and exclusively.  Beliefs need no justification because no alternatives are thought to exist.

Characteristics And Assumptions of Stage One Reasoners.  

1.  Knowledge is certain. 
2.  They have absolute knowledge
3.  What they believe is the complete information.

This level of reasoning exists primarily in young children.

            Stage Two:  There is an absolutely correct answer but it is not yet known by everyone.  People in authority know the truth.  Anyone who disagrees with the authority figure must be wrong. 

Stage Two reasoners make great filters.  Even if they cannot explain why, they are convinced the person sending them with the message is correct.  The authority has all knowledge. “It must be OK to do it that way  or they would not tell you to do it.”

Characteristic Assumptions of Stage 2 Reasoners.

1.  Knowledge I certain but some people do not have access to it.
2.  Authorities such as scientists, teachers, or religious leaders know the truth.
3.  When individuals are uncertain about the truth, they justify their beliefs by accepting the view of an authority.

Difficult Tasks for Stage 2 Reasoners

1.  Recognizing that there are legitimate differences in opinion about issues.
2.  Giving reasons for a belief beyond the use of authority.
3.  Believing that right or wrong answers may not exist for some issues.

Learning Objectives

1.  To learn that there may be several opinions about a controversial issue and that no one may know which of these is correct.
2.  To recognize that authorities sometimes disagree with each other.
3.  To give reasons for beliefs beyond relying on authorities.

Developmental Suggestions

1.  Have the person consider two interpretations of an historical event or different perspectives on an existing problem.
2.  Provide arguments on two sides of an issue, giving reasons for the arguments.
3.  Identify the evidence for different views of the same issue.
4.  Consider the views of different experts on a particular event.

Developmental support for Stage 2 Reasoners

1.  Legitimize employees feelings of anxiety when confronted with multiple perspectives on an issue.
2.  Confirm for employees that many issues do not have absolute right or wrong answers.

Job Assignments

1.  Provide clear unambiguous instructions about what is required in their work.
2.  Assign them to work that has less ambiguity and requires fewer judgments.
3.  Avoid positions of authority over matters affecting those who will resent their lack of perspective.
4.  Avoid positions where they will have to explain company policy to others who are likely to ask why, such as customers.

            Stage Three:  Knowledge is still considered to be absolute, but it is conceded that even authorities may not know all truths.  It is assumed that this is a temporary condition, however.  At some future point, the absolutely correct answer will become known.

This stage is most typical of an entry level worker. Unfortunately people at this stage still require training or highly structured jobs.  After they learn the job, they assume it is just a matter of  time until the boss will listen to them about what should really be done.  “They will learn how to make these things eventually and we will not have to put up with this.  Until you can convince the authorities, it won’t be corrected”

 Characteristic Assumptions of Stage 3 Reasoners

1.  Knowledge is absolutely certain in some areas, and temporarily uncertain in others.
2.  Beliefs are justified via authorities in areas of certainty, and via intuition in areas of uncertainty.
3.  Evidence can neither be evaluated nor used to reason to conclusions.
4.  Opinions and beliefs cannot be distinguished from factual evidence.

Difficult Tasks for Stage 3 Reasoners

1.  Recognizing legitimate sources of authority as better qualified than themselves in making a judgment about a controversial issue.
2.  Understanding the distinction between fact and opinion.
3.  Using evidence, rather than intuition, to justify a point of view.
4.  Appreciating multiple, evidence-based perspectives on a single issue.

Learning Objectives

1.  Learn how to use evidence, not intuitions, in reasoning to a point of view.
2.  View one’s experience as one potential source of information, but not the only valid source.
3.  Learn that uncertainty is real in some domains.

Developmental Suggestions

1.  Evaluate an inadequate argument that uses Stage 2 thinking in terms of:
            (a) its use of evidence,
            (b) dependence upon authority, and
            (c) understanding the other side of the argument.
2.  Give the best evidence you can find for a specific point of view.  Bear in mind what counts as evidence and what makes one source of evidence more credible than another.
3.  Identify the evidence and arguments for a specified point of view.  Discuss what makes the evidence or argument strong or weak.
4.  Present one point of view on an issue.  Ask about other possible perspectives.  Require the employee to cite evidence for each perspective.
5.  Examine the blocks to ever knowing with certainty about a particular issue.  For instance, conflicting and mutually exclusive possible outcomes of choices.

Developmental Support for Stage 3 Reasoners

1.  Attempt to legitimize the employee’s struggle with feelings of being confused and overwhelmed by what counts as evidence and with uncertainty.
2.  Model good use of evidence by explicitly presenting justification for both sides of an argument.  Distinguish inapplicable evidence from relevant evidence.  Explain the rationale behind one’s choice of appropriate authorities.

Job Assignments

1.  Provide detail in your assignments and a clear explanation of expectations whenever possible.
2.  When making assignments, allow them roles that require judgment, but do not put them in a position where a single poor judgment can significantly harm them or the company.
3.  Be prepared to guide them past difficult situations and give them explanations about what they should do in these unusual circumstances.
4.  Give positive reinforcement when they make good judgments.

            Stage Four:  No one can know with absolute certainty.  Some knowledge will remain uncertain.  Truth is an abstraction, therefore beliefs are abstractions. Differences in opinions exist because knowledge is uncertain.  One opinion is as valid as another.

            This stage is more typical of supervisors who recently came up through the ranks.  They recall when they were a line worker.  They thought certain things were different from how they  found them to be in their new position.  In trying to reconcile their previous opinions with new information, they  form new beliefs.  They forgive their previous ignorance by allowing that there may be other points of view.  Without conceding their previous belief was in error, they accommodate this new belief by giving it equal status.  They begin to recognize that there may be other instances where this new insight about opinions may apply.

Characteristic Assumptions of Stage 4 Reasoners

1.  Knowledge is uncertain because of limitations of the person claiming the knowledge.
2.  Beliefs are justified via idiosyncratic uses of evidence and opinion.
3.  Difference in points of view exist because people deliberately bias information.
4.  Evidence is used in support of a point of view along with unsubstantiated opinion.           

Difficult Tasks for Stage 4 Reasoners

1.  Understanding that the nature of knowing itself leads to uncertainty of knowledge.
2.  Understanding that all points of view are not equally valid.
3.  Understanding that opinions should be based on evidence.
4.  Understanding that different perspectives may lead to different legitimate interpretations of evidence, but that this is not the same as bias.

Learning Objectives.

1.  To learn that interpretation is inherent in all understanding and that the uncertainty of knowledge is a consequence of the inability to know directly.
2.  To learn that, nevertheless, some arguments can be evaluated as better within a domain on the basis of adequacy of evidence.

Developmental Suggestions

1.  Consider the extent to which knowledge is certain in different disciplines and the reasons why it is uncertain, focusing on the role of interpretation.
2.  Compare good and bad arguments on an issue.  Draw a conclusion about which is a better argument based on evidence and interpretation of evidence.  Discuss what makes an argument better.
3.  Provide employees with two conflicting points of view on an issue.  Ask employees to explain how each author arrived at his/her conclusions.  Pay careful attention to the academic discipline from which the issue was approached.
4.  Distinguish between evaluating the adequacy of arguments and making judgments about people.

Developmental Support for Stage 4 Reasoners

1.  Model evaluating arguments without being intolerant.
2.  Model and explain how different interpretations may legitimately arise.
3.  Legitimize employees’ discomfort with evaluation.

Job Assignments

1.  These employees are the first suitable for supervisory positions.
2.  Guide them during early stages of their new job to help them resolve potential disputes with others who previously were considered equal peers.
3.  Help them understand the policies and work they are required to implement.

            Stage Five:  While you may not know with certainty, you may make conclusions within a context based on evaluation of evidence.  Since knowledge is filtered through the perceptions of the person evaluating the evidence, what is known is limited by the perspective of that person.

            This Stage is more typical of a department head who hears conflicting opinions from all sides.  Opinions require evidence to justify. Since various arguments may be equally correct, a person reasoning at Stage Five is more likely to shade their reasoning to accommodate an unspoken agenda.  The agenda may be self-interest.  The manager justifies the choice on the basis that one good sounding argument is as likely to be correct as another.  They met the obligation to make an informed decision.  “I listened to all the arguments and decided to let Jim have his way.  Joe was getting a little too pushy.”

Characteristic Assumptions of Stage 5 Reasoners

1.  Interpretation itself is inherent in all understanding.  Therefore, no knowledge is certain.
2.  Beliefs may be justified only within a given context.
3.  Evidence can be evaluated qualitatively.  Some evidence is stronger or more relevant than other evidence.

Difficult Tasks for Stage 5 Reasoners

1.  Choosing among competing evidence-based interpretations.
2.  Explaining relationships between alternative perspectives on an issue.
3.  Recognizing that choosing one alternative does not deny the potential legitimacy of other alternatives and is not the same as intolerance for the people who hold different points of view.

Learning Objectives

1.  To relate alternative perspectives on an issue to each other.
2.  To choose one view as best, or to arrive at an appropriate integration of the competing alternatives.

Developmental Suggestions

1.  Compare and contrast two competing (and unequal) points of view.  Cite and evaluate evidence and arguments used by proponents of each.  Determine which author makes the better interpretation of the given evidence, and which conclusion is most appropriate.
2.  Select and analyze one controversial issue from among those relevant to your work.  Your analysis should consist of:

            a.  a summary of the issue, including an explanation of its significance to your work.
            b.  a description of at least two points of view from which this issue has been addressed by the ‘Authority’.
            c.  some indication of which point of view you believe to be most appropriate from those selected and the grounds upon which you base this decision.

Developmental Support for Stage 5 Reasoners

1.  Model and explain appropriate inquiry, explicitly approaching issues from several inter- or intra- disciplinary perspectives.
2.  Give relevant interpretations of evidence from each perspective and explain the reasoning behind choosing one interpretation over another.
3.  Legitimize the employees’ struggle to adjudicate between competing interpretations and perspectives.

Job Assignments

1.  Guide them through competing objectives.
2.  Give them relevant information supporting the directions chosen
3.  Give them the policy statements concerning elements of their choices.

            Stage Six:  Conclusions are still based on context and influenced by the person who is reaching the conclusion.  It is recognized that one conclusion can be more correct than another based on the plausibility of the arguments in its support and the use of the conclusion.

            Stage Six reasoners are likely to select the most compelling argument regardless of its initial popularity or support.  They are less likely to start with a conclusion and chose the information to support what they want to believe.  They recognize the need for support, and work to gain support through a wide understanding about why the choice is the most compelling one.  This stage is the first stage where quality leadership begins to emerge.   “I have listened to each of you and recognize that there is merit in each of your ideas.  However, the evidence supporting the second idea is the most consistent with our company's goals and rules for setting priorities.”               

Characteristic Assumptions of Stage 6 Reasoners

1.  Knowledge is uncertain and must be understood in relationship to context and evidence.
2.  Some points of view may be tentatively judged as better than others.
3.  Evidence on different points of view can be compared and evaluated as a basis for justification.

Difficult Tasks for Stage 6 Reasoners

1.  Understanding that even though knowledge may change at some future point, some conjectures are currently generalized beyond the immediate situation.
2.  Constructing one’s own point of view and defending it based on evidence or argument as having greater truth value than other points of view.

Learning Objectives

1.  To learn to construct one’s own point of view and to see that point of view as open to re-evaluation and revision in light of new evidence.
2.  To learn that even though knowledge must be constructed, strong conclusions are justifiable.

Developments Suggestions

1.  Develop and defend firm arguments for a particular point of view, usually in conjunction with one’s own research.

Developmental Support for Stage 6 Reasoners

1.  Model holding and defending firm points of view without exhibiting intolerance for other points of view.
2.  Provide examples of increasingly better points of view (e.g., more comprehensive, more elegant) developed over time as more and better evidence, arguments, and techniques become available.

Job Assignment

1.  Make sure that they have all relevant information available to them.
2.  Be careful not to position them under the authority of someone with substantially less reflective judgment skills than themselves.
3.  Give them the resources and autonomy to perform at their pace within the stated generalized corporate guidelines.

            Stage Seven:  Knowledge is constructed by using skills of critical inquiry and by combining evidence and opinion into cohesive and coherent explanations for beliefs about problems.  Solutions are probabilistic and are reevaluated when relevant new evidence, perspectives or tools of inquiry become available. 

            These are quality and independent thinking employees.  Whether in the leadership role or not, they can provide valuable analysis and reasoned arguments to guide the direction the company takes. They are more likely to foster a sense of community as leaders because they involve their employees in an honest and open search for the best choices based on a universally understood criteria.  Employees are likely to cooperate. Opinions are fairly considered.  They give the information necessary to understand the choice made.  Stage Seven Leaders assure their employees that they recognize the probabilistic nature of the choice.  “The various arguments will not be forgotten, and will be considered should new information suggest there are adjustments to be made.”