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    The impact of language and response format on student endorsement of psychological misconceptions


    Hughes, Sean and Lyddy, Fiona and Kaplan, Robin (2013) The impact of language and response format on student endorsement of psychological misconceptions. Teaching of Psychology, 40 (1). pp. 31-37. ISSN 0098-6283

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    Abstract

    The present study examined the possibility that the language and response format used in self-report questionnaires influences how readily people endorse misconceptions. Four versions of a 40-item misconception test were administered to European (n = 281) and North American (n = 123) psychology and nonpsychology undergraduates. Response format and ambiguity of phrasing were manipulated. Results indicate that misconception endorsement was strongly influenced by both question phrasing and response format, with students showing more agreement and less disagreement when misconceptions were ambiguously phrased or a 7-point rating scale used. These procedure-related effects were observed for European and North American psychology and nonpsychology students alike irrespective of the amount of time they had spent studying the subject. Implications for designing pedagogical procedures to assess student’s disciplinary knowledge and beliefs are discussed.

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is the preprint version of the published article, which is available at Hughes, S., Lyddy, F., & Kaplan, R. (2013) 'The impact of language and response format on student endorsement of psychological misconceptions.'. TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY, 40:31 - 37.
    Keywords: student misconceptions; psychology; questionnaire;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
    Item ID: 4855
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628312465861
    Depositing User: Fiona Lyddy
    Date Deposited: 01 Apr 2014 13:28
    Journal or Publication Title: Teaching of Psychology
    Publisher: SAGE Publications
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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