Taking a new look at seductive details

What is the effect of seductive details on learning outcomes? What are the boundary conditions of seductive detail effects? How do seductive details affect learning? These are the kinds of questions addressed in this special issue on seductive details. This special issue contains 11 articles presenting original results that take a new look at seductive details.     

The art (and science) of seduction: Why,when, and for whom seductive details matter

In this commentary, the two critical attributes of seductive details are described through a historical lens: relevance and interest. For each of these attributes, various forms that have populated the seductive detail literature are distinguished, and the specific manner in which each is interpreted by contributors to the Special Issue is considered. The forms of relevance overviewed are personal, structural, instructional, and task relevance. For interest, distinctions between individual and situational interest are noted, and the concept of interestingness is delineated. With this historical backdrop, the studies in this Special Issue are analyzed, and four provocative questions are posed: When are “seductive details” not seductive? What contextual factors contribute to seduction? For whom is seduction a problem? When is the solution worse than the problem?     

The testing effect and analogical problem-solving

Researchers generally agree that retrieval practice of previously learned material facilitates subsequent recall of same material, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. There is debate, however, about when such benefits transfer to related (though not identical) material. The current study examines the phenomenon of transfer in the domain of analogical problem-solving. In Experiments 1 and 2, learners were presented a source text describing a problem and solution to read which was subsequently either restudied or recalled. Following a short (Experiment 1) or long (Experiment 2) delay, learners were given a new target text and asked to solve a problem. The two texts shared a common structure such that the provided solution for the source text could be applied to solve the problem in the target text. In a combined analysis of both experiments, learners in the retrieval practice condition were more successful at solving the problem than those in the restudy condition. Experiment 3 explored the degree to which retrieval practice promotes cued versus spontaneous transfer by manipulating whether participants were provided with an explicit hint that the source and target texts were related. Results revealed no effect of retrieval practice.     

影响图式归纳和类比迁移的三因素实验研究

该研究探讨被试的认知风格、源问题结构的清晰度及两个源问题间内容的相似性三者对图式归纳和类比迁移的影响。实验采用2×2×2的三因素完全随机设计。结果显示:(1)源问题图式表征的质量受到被试认知风格和源问题结构的清晰度两个变量的影响;(2)类比迁移的成绩只受到源问题结构清晰度的影响;(3)结构清晰的条件下,两类被试图式表征的质量无明显差异;结构不清晰的条件下,两类被试图式表征的质量出现明显差异。     

Static and dynamic seductive illustration effects on text‐and‐graphic learning processes,perceptions, and outcomes: Evidence from eye tracking

This study aimed to examine how different forms (still pictures vs. animations) of seductive illustrations impact text‐and‐graphic learning processes, perceptions, and outcomes. An eye‐tracking experiment of three groups (static, dynamic, and control) was conducted with 60 college and graduate students while learning with PowerPoint slides about infant motor development milestones. Prior knowledge, learning performance, learning perception, and visual attention were assessed by achievement tests, self‐rated scales, and eye‐tracking measures. Analysis of variance and t test results showed that, under a low task‐load condition, no seductive details effect was found for learning achievement but was found for learning process and perception. Decreased attention was found in the relevant pictures in both experimental groups. With more deeply and intensively processing on the seductive animations, the dynamic group perceived more distractions than the static group. Lag sequential analysis results revealed different visual transitional patterns for the groups, providing deep understandings about the process of seductive details effects.     

基于问题解决式的类比推理的老化：表面相似性和结构相似性的作用

采用2年龄(老年/年轻)×2表面相似性(高/低)×2结构相似性(高/低)三因素混合设计, 考察表面信息和结构信息在基于问题解决范式的类比推理老化中的作用。结果发现, 老年人的类比推理成绩显著差于年轻人。源问题和靶问题的表面相似性和结构相似性的提高, 会促进个体检索源问题, 并提高推理质量。对于老年人而言, 表面相似性更重要; 对于年轻人而言, 结构相似性更重要。     

The moderating role of arousal on the seductive detail effect in a multimedia learning setting

Arousal has been found to increase learners' attentional resources. In contrast, seductive details (interesting but learning‐irrelevant information) are considered to distract attention away from relevant information and, thus, hinder learning. However, a possibly moderating role of arousal on the seductive detail effect has not been examined yet. In this study, arousal variations were induced via audio files of false heartbeats. In consequence, 100 participants were randomly assigned to a 2 (with or without seductive details) × 2 (lower vs. higher false heart rates) between‐subjects design. Data on learning performance, cognitive load, motivation, heartbeat frequency, and electro‐dermal activity were collected. Results show learning‐inhibiting effects for seductive details and learning‐enhancing effects for higher false heart rates. Cognitive processes mediate both effects. However, the detrimental effect of seductive details was not present when heart rate was higher. Results indicate that the seductive detail effect is moderated by a learner's state of arousal.     

The effect of task relevance instructions on memory for text with seductive details

Seductive details in text are interesting but unimportant text segments. Although seductive details can make expository text more interesting, they do not necessarily promote learning of main ideas. This study investigated whether task relevance instructions that targeted main ideas would promote memory for main ideas when students read a text with seductive details. Undergraduates (n = 102) read a text with seductive detail sentences and then did a free recall task. Before reading, participants received pre‐reading questions that either targeted main ideas or seductive details, or they read for understanding. The main finding was that students in the main idea relevance instruction condition recalled main ideas better than students in the control or seductive detail relevance instruction conditions. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.     

The impact of anxiety on analogical reasoning

The effect of state anxiety on analogical reasoning was investigated by examining qualitative differences in mapping performance between anxious and non-anxious individuals reasoning about pictorial analogies. The working-memory restriction theory of anxiety, coupled with theories of analogy that link complexity of mapping with working-memory capacity, predicts that high anxiety will impair the ability to find correspondences based on relations between multiple objects relative to correspondences based on overlap of attributes between individual objects. Anxiety was induced in one condition by a stressful speeded subtraction task administered prior to the analogy task. Anxious participants produced fewer relational responses and more attribute responses than did non-anxious participants, both in the absence of explicit instructions to find relational mappings (Experiment 1) and after receiving such instructions (Experiment 2). The findings support the postulated links among anxiety, working memory, and the ability to perform complex analogical mapping.     

The role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning: From general to specific

This study examined the role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning using inter-task priming paradigms. In Experiment 1, 25 seven-year-olds, 27 nine-year-olds, and 27 adults completed Stroop tasks, which activated general inhibitory control ability, before analogical reasoning tasks. Children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when they were primed by Stroop tasks. This priming effect was found to be stronger in children than in adults. In Experiment 2, 25 seven-year-olds, 28 nine-year-olds, and 28 adults completed relative number matching tasks, a more task-relevant inhibitory control task, before analogical reasoning tasks. The children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when primed by relative number matching tasks. The priming effect was greater in seven-year-olds than in nine-year-olds and was greater in nine-year-olds than in adults. Thus, inhibitory control, whether assessed with general or specific tasks, played a priming role in analogical reasoning.     

几何图形类比推理的ERP研究

该研究以几何图形作为实验材料,测定14名硕士研究生在完成两种类比推理任务（大小变化和颜色变化）和其基线任务时的事件相关电位（ERP）,探讨类比推理过程的脑内时程动态变化。研究发现,两种推理任务所诱发的波形基本一致,而推理任务与其基线任务之间的ERP波形存在显著差异,两种基线任务之间的ERP波形也存在显著差异;类比推理的加工过程是有阶段性的,即编码潍断、映射、得出结论,研究结果进一步支持了Sternberg的成分理论;推断和映射这两个类比推理所特有的加工阶段都有其对应的脑机制,图式推断阶段主要激活的是前额皮层和双侧的顶叶皮层,类比映射和调整阶段主要激活的是左半球的颞叶、额叶和中央顶。     

规则形式及其呈现问题情境对高二学生类比迁移影响研究

本研究以396名高中二年级学生为被试,采用4×4组间设计探讨规则形式及其呈现问题情境对类比迁移的影响。主要得到以下结论:1.在类比迁移中起关键作用的是规则,但是规则只有与样例结合才能发挥它对样例的促进作用;2.在有问题情境时,直接呈现规则与需要归纳才能得到规则相比,更有利于促进类比迁移;3.在有规则的情况下,样例间的关系为不同领域的相似关系与其他样例间关系相比,对类比迁移的促进作用更大。     

材料模式与认知负荷对小学生类比学习的影响

探讨学习材料不同模式和学习过程不同的认知负荷对小学生类比推理学习迁移的影响.包括两个分实验.实验1探讨学习材料的不同组织模式对小学生类比推理学习迁移的影响,两组小学生分别学习模式化与非模式化的材料,然后完成迁移程度远近不同的四类测题.结果表明,非模式化条件下完成远迁移题目的成绩显著优于模式化条件下的成绩.实验2探讨小学生在不同认知负荷条件下类比推理学习的迁移效果,两组小学生分别在高认知负荷与低认知负荷情况下学习类比推理的材料,然后完成上述四类测题.结果表明,高认知负荷条件下完成远迁移题目的成绩显著优于低认知负荷条件下的成绩.本实验结果表明,对于小学生类比推理的学习来说,非模式化、高负荷的学习更有利于促进迁移,支持了积极反应理论.     

The impact of semantic distance and induced stress on analogical reasoning: A neurocomputational account

In a study of reasoning with four-term verbal analogy problems, we explored the relationship between the effects of an acute, mild stressor and the complexity of the reasoning process. Participants judged whether analogy problems in the form A:B :: C:D were valid or invalid, on the basis of whether the relation in the A:B term matched that in the C:D term. Half of the problems contained a C:D pair semantically near the A:B pair (e.g., NOSE:SCENT :: TONGUE:TASTE), and the other half contained ones semantically far from A:B (e.g., NOSE:SCENT :: ANTENNA:SIGNAL). After an initial block without stress, participants were randomly assigned to count backward by 13?s from 1,000 while being told to go faster, or to count forward by 1?s from 0. The stress-induced participants reported a significant increase in state anxiety as compared to controls immediately after the mental arithmetic task. Stressed participants performed less accurately (as measured by d') on both near and far analogy problems, mainly due to an increase in false alarms. We were able to model the influence of semantic distance using the ??learning and inference with schemas and analogies?? (LISA) model. Our findings indicated that even mild increases in stress impair analogical reasoning. However, the decrement does not seem to directly involve the integration of relations, but rather is due to a shift in decision strategy: Under stress, people show an increased tendency to endorse analogies as valid when the terms in the individual pairs are semantically related to each other, even if the overall analogical relationship is not valid.     

代数图式相似性对样例迁移中原理通达的影响

应用题深层抽象结构有几个不同层次,被试对概念图式的相似性更敏感,而不是方程结构,概念图式的相似性更容易引起原理的通达。学生掌握了代数图式对解题有很大的促进作用,较少受表面内容等因素的影响。该研究对代数应用题教学模式的改革提供了理论支持。     

装饰图片影响多媒体学习的眼动研究

为探讨装饰图片对多媒体学习效果和认知加工过程的影响,本研究采用眼动仪追踪30名低知识经验大学生在有装饰图片和无装饰图片条件下学习多媒体课件的视觉注意过程.结果发现:(1)有装饰图片组的保持和迁移成绩显著低于无装饰图片组;(2)有装饰图片组被试在认知兴趣图的注视次数、文本与认知兴趣图之间的注意转换次数显著少于无装饰图片组;(3)在装饰图片组内,80% 学习者报告被装饰图片吸引,并回忆出与装饰图片有关的先前知识经验.这些结果表明,装饰图片干扰学习者对主要学习内容的记忆与理解;装饰图片可能主要通过干扰学习者对主要学习内容的一致性理解以及激发不恰当的先前知识经验而阻碍学习.     

工作记忆对类比推理的影响

该实验采用2(类比推理类型)×6(组别)双因素实验设计来探讨工作记忆与类比推理之间的关系,尤其关注工作记忆的各个子成分对类比推理的影响。控制组的被试只需完成类比推理测验,而实验组的被试是在双任务的条件下进行实验。结果表明,工作记忆是影响类比推理的一个重要因素。在图形类比推理中,主要有视空间模板中的空间成分,语音回路中的发音成分以及中央执行器的参与;在言语类比推理中,则是视空间模板中的空间成分起主要作用。     

The effects of relational structure on analogical learning

Relational structure is important for various cognitive tasks, such as analogical transfer, but its role in learning of new relational concepts is poorly understood. This article reports two experiments testing people’s ability to learn new relational categories as a function of their relational structure. In Experiment 1, each stimulus consisted of 4 objects varying on 2 dimensions. Each category was defined by two binary relations between pairs of objects. The manner in which the relations were linked (i.e., by operating on shared objects) varied between subjects, producing 3 logically different conditions. In Experiment 2, each stimulus consisted of 4 objects varying on 3 dimensions. Categories were defined by three binary relations, leading to six logically different conditions. Various learning models were compared to the behavioral data, based on the theory of schema refinement. The results highlight several shortcomings of schema refinement as a model of relational learning: (1) it can make unreasonable demands on working memory, (2) it does not allow schemas to grow in complexity, and (3) it incorrectly predicts learning is insensitive to relational structure. We propose schema elaboration as an additional mechanism that provides a more complete account, and we relate this mechanism to previous proposals regarding interactions between analogy and representation construction. The current findings may advance understanding of the cognitive mechanisms involved in learning and representing relational concepts.     

Protagonist,theme, and goal object: Effects of surface features on analogical transfer

This study examined the effects of the similarity of protagonist, thematic context, and goal object on choice of solution principles in analogical transfer. Kindergartners and second-graders listened to five stories before solving a problem. In the experimental condition, four stories included workable solution principles, and one of each of these included the same protagonist, the same goal object, and the same thematic context as the target problem. Children in the experimental condition at both ages produced more solutions than children in a control group. Kindergartners, but not second-graders, were particularly likely to transfer a solution associated with the same goal object, and to a lesser extent, same protagonist and story theme, compared to a solution in a source story sharing no surface feature with the target problem. The results indicate that younger children are more likely to rely on salient surface features whereas older children flexibly map underlying structure independently of these features.     

任务图式对文章修改的影响研究

本研究探讨任务图式对文章修改的影响。高低水平的作者先完成一个写作任务,再修改文章的初稿。修改时,实验组学生先接受关于正确修改的任务图式指导,控制组学生则直接进行修改。实验结果表明,任务图式指导有明显的主效应,高低水平作者均提高了对字面错误与意义错误的正确修改,而水平间的差异主要表现在意义错误的修改上。本研究还分析了任务图式指导对修改的字数(包括改变意义与保留意义的字数)、修改的句法水平(包括字、词和句子)以及修改的方式(包括插入、替换、删除和移动句子)的影响。