Scope
Differential psychology researchers define general knowledge as "culturally valued knowledge communicated by a range of non-specialist media." The scope of this definition includes all areas of knowledge available to laypersons without requiring extensive training. The definition excludes "ephemera", or information confined to a single medium, such as television sitcoms. Researchers have identified 19 domains of knowledge that meet the above criteria:
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Researchers have acknowledged that other domains of general knowledge may exist. Factor analysis suggested that the 19 domains could be categorised into six factors: current affairs, fashion, family, physical health and recreation, arts, and science. All six of these factors were highly intercorrelated (i.e. people who scored high in a particular domain tended to score highly in most other domains) and were all related to a single higher-order general knowledge factor. The existence of a single general factor suggests that individual differences across a range of knowledge domains may have both common causes and specific influences; interest in a particular area and educational course content appear to be important contributors.
Read more about this topic: General Knowledge
Famous quotes containing the word scope:
“Revolutions are notorious for allowing even non- participants—even women!—new scope for telling the truth since they are themselves such massive moments of truth, moments of such massive participation.”
—Selma James (b. 1930)
“A country survives its legislation. That truth should not comfort the conservative nor depress the radical. For it means that public policy can enlarge its scope and increase its audacity, can try big experiments without trembling too much over the result. This nation could enter upon the most radical experiments and could afford to fail in them.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“For it is not the bare words but the scope of the writer that gives the true light, by which any writing is to be interpreted; and they that insist upon single texts, without considering the main design, can derive no thing from them clearly.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)