Anthropomorphism in decorative pictures: Benefit or harm for learning?

Autor/inn/en	Schneider, Sascha; Nebel, Steve; Beege, Maik; Rey, Günter Daniel
Titel	Anthropomorphism in decorative pictures: Benefit or harm for learning?
Quelle	In: Journal of educational psychology, 110 (2018) 2, S. 218-232Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0663; 1939-2176
DOI	10.1037/edu0000207
Schlagwörter	Labeling-Ansatz; Kognitiver Prozess; Anthropomorphismus; Kognitiver Prozess; Lerntempo; Lerntempo; Anthropomorphismus
Abstract	When people attribute human characteristics to nonhuman objects they are amenable to anthropomorphism. For example, human faces or the insertion of personalized labels are found to trigger anthropomorphism. Two studies examine the effects of these features when included in decorative pictures in multimedia learning materials. In a first experiment, 81 university students were randomly assigned to 1 cell of a 2 (human faces vs. no faces in pictures) x 2 (personalized vs. nonpersonalized labels of pictures) between-subjects, factorial design. In addition to learning performance, cognitive, motivational, and emotional impacts of anthropomorphism are examined. Results show that both human faces and anthropomorphic labels were able to increase the learning performance on cognitive assessments. However, only human faces were able to influence motivational and emotional ratings significantly. In a second experiment, 108 secondary school students were randomly assigned to 3 groups (anthropomorphized pictures, nonanthropomorphized pictures, and no pictures) in order to evaluate possible advantages of anthropomorphism in decorative pictures in learning materials. Results show again that anthropomorphized pictures are better for learning than nonanthropomorphized pictures and also better than a control group. Results are discussed in the light of a debate on the inclusion or exclusion of decorative pictures. (ZPID).
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie, Trier
Update	2019/3