About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 8. Education, Schooling

Abstract

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The illusion of explanatory depth (IOED) is a phenomenon in which people overestimate the degree of knowledge they have in a certain domain (Mills & Keil, 2004; Rozenblit & Kiel, 2002). For example, if you ask someone how a microwave works, they will likely overestimate how much they know about how it functions. Research has shown that IOED often occurs in mechanical systems like elevators and scientific phenomena from earthquakes to tornadoes (Mills & Keil, 2004; Rozenblit & Kiel, 2002). What is not known are the ways IOED might influence learning behaviour, such as people's willingness to seek out information (but see for economic behaviour, Meyers et al., 2020). In the present study, we investigate IOED in a real-world learning setting and whether it influences how children and adults seek information. Indeed, understanding how people learn in museums is essential as they are one of the few publicly accessible spaces that provide evidence-based learning opportunities for children and their families (e.g., Attisano et al., 2022).

The present study is an ongoing investigation to explore the effect of IOED on children ages 10- to 12-years-old and adults’ (so far, N = 48) motivation to learn about an exhibit in an informal learning environment (i.e., a pulley exhibit at a science museum). To test for an IOED, participants were asked to rate how much they know about how the parts of the exhibit work using a 10-point Likert scale, both before and after one of two open-ended prompts, which either asked them to write down everything they know about how the parts of the exhibit work or how the parts of the exhibit look. The prompt served as the manipulation to expose the participants’ IOED to themselves. Afterwards, we investigated information-seeking behaviours by asking participants whether they wanted information sheets about the pulley exhibit. There were six information sheets in total, with higher scores representing greater motivation to learn.

The sample showed an IOED with mean knowledge scores being lower after both prompts than before (M_difference = -0.76), t(47) = -3.35, p = .002, d = -0.48. Next, we split the sample between those who recognized their IOED (i.e., decrease in knowledge ratings), and those who did not recognize their IOED labeled as “No IOED” (i.e., increase in knowledge ratings or no difference). We found that there was a relationship between IOED status and information-seeking behaviour. Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, participants in the IOED group showed a higher degree of information-seeking behaviour (M = 5.29) than the “No IOED” group (M = 4.30) as they requested a greater number of information sheets, t(46) = 2.04, p = .047, d = 0.59. Notably, no differences have been found so far when comparing the two kinds of prompts, despite predicting them.

In sum, IOED affects children’s and adults’ information-seeking behaviours in informal learning environments by becoming a barrier to seeking information. Findings highlight the utility of training educators to provide simple interventions, like our prompts, to reveal IOED to their visitors.

Author information

Author	Role
Breanna Amoyaw, University of Manitoba	Presenting author
Addison Barkman, University of Manitoba	Non-presenting author
Kazuki Nishikiori, University of Manitoba	Non-presenting author
Shaylene E. Nancekivell, University of Manitoba	Non-presenting author

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