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The Use of Concrete Examples Enhances the Learning of Abstract Concepts; A Replication Study

Alexia Micallef, Phil Newton Orcid Logo

Teaching of Psychology, Start page: 009862832110580

Swansea University Author: Phil Newton Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1177/00986283211058069

Abstract

Background: Prior research suggests that the teaching of abstract concepts can be enhanced by the use of concrete examples, but there are few controlled studies. Objective: To replicate key findings from experiment one from Rawson et al. (2015). Method: Experiment participants studied definitions of...

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Published in: Teaching of Psychology
ISSN: 0098-6283 1532-8023
Published: SAGE Publications 2022
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59139
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Abstract: Background: Prior research suggests that the teaching of abstract concepts can be enhanced by the use of concrete examples, but there are few controlled studies. Objective: To replicate key findings from experiment one from Rawson et al. (2015). Method: Experiment participants studied definitions of abstract concepts from psychology, either with or without concrete examples. The replication differed from Rawson et al. by using a paid online participant pool, of non-psychology students, and a trimmed methodology focused on the key outcome. Results: Concrete examples enhanced learning of abstract concepts. The critical finding was enhanced recognition of previously unseen examples matched to learned definitions, thus replicating the results of Rawson et al., with an effect size d = 0.30. Conclusion: The use of concrete examples was found to enhance learning of abstract concepts when teaching concepts from psychology to non-psychology students using an online paid participant pool. Teaching Implications: The teaching of abstract concepts in psychology could be helped by frequent use of concrete, real-world examples.
Keywords: Learning science, teaching effectiveness, instructional methods, replication
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Start Page: 009862832110580

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