Tracing truth through conceptual scaling

Abstract

Conceptions of truth have shifted considerably, adapting to the changing cultural and intellectual contexts of our time. In this paper we employ a conceptual scaling method (Study 1) to empirically capture laypeople’s understanding of truth as spatial relations within individualized conceptual maps. Results indicate that participants most dominantly align with a correspondence notion of truth, followed by authenticity and then coherence. A more fine-grained analysis reveals substantial variation in pluralism: while some participants exhibit a strongly monistic tendency, many others endorse a two-theory blend (most often correspondence and authenticity). In a follow-up study (Study 2) conducted three months later, we confirm the validity and robustness of these findings. Participants’ dominant alignment reliably predicts how they apply the concept of truth in a contextualized task.