Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Schneider, Sascha
• Nebel, Steve
• Beege, Maik
• Rey, Günter Daniel
• Graham, Steve

Titel

Anthropomorphism in Decorative Pictures: Benefit or Harm for Learning?

Ist Teil von

• Journal of educational psychology, 2018-02, Vol.110 (2), p.218-232

Ort / Verlag

Washington: American Psychological Association

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Quelle

ERIC

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• 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) × 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. Educational Impact and Implications Statement This research reveals that incorporating decorative pictures within multimedia materials is beneficial for learning when tendencies of attributing human characteristics are triggered through specific picture features. Both integrated human faces and personalized labels are found to enhance learning performance and improve learners' affect and motivation in contrast to pictures without these features or materials without decorative pictures in 2 experiments. In conclusion, decorative pictures may be used in order to make learning materials more appealing if boundary conditions like the degree of anthropomorphism were taken into account.