Validation of Cognitive Absorption Model Based Science Academic Flow Scale in the Indian Context: A Network Psychometrics Approach Analysis Syamala Pilla

Abstract

The present study was conducted to validate the Cognitive absorption model (El-Mawas and Heutte, 2019) based Science Academic Flow Scale in the Indian context. The sample of the study comprised of 342 (213 Girls and 129 Boys) secondary school students belonging to grades 9th and 10th of a school in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. Considering the ordinal level of the data obtained in this cross-sectional survey design study, the novel approach of Network Psychometrics was chosen to validate the four factors structure of the construct flow particularly in science academic context. RStudio/R Ver 4.2.3 was used for conducting the statistical analysis. Exploratory graph analysis (EGA) performed at the item/node level, using the function bootnet, revealed the nine nodes of Cognitive absorption form a cluster and the remaining three nodes of autotelic experience form another cluster. The network existing between the four dimensions/clusters of science academic flow was explored. The ordinal confirmatory factor analysis results displayed excellent estimates of robust goodness of fit indices. Structural consistency exercise revealed all four clusters being part of a single network of science academic flow. The regularized network of the model was obtained using the function bootnet. It was followed by obtaining of the centrality indices, edge weight confidence interval and correlation stability of the network using qgraph function. Implications of the study with respect to school education and psychometric practices are discussed.