The double curse of misconceptions: misconceptions impair not only text comprehension but also metacomprehension in the domain of statistics

Research shows that misconceptions are usually detrimental to text comprehension. However, whether misconceptions also impair metacomprehension accuracy, that is, the accuracy with which one self-assesses one’s text comprehension, has received far less attention. We conducted a study in which we examined students’ (N = 47) comprehension and metacomprehension accuracy (prediction accuracy and postdiction accuracy) of a statistics text as a function of their statistical misconceptions. Text comprehension and metacomprehension accuracy referred to both conceptual and procedural aspects of statistics. The results showed that students who had more misconceptions achieved poorer conceptual text comprehension and, at the same time, provided more overconfident predictions of their conceptual and procedural text comprehension than students who had fewer misconceptions. In contrast, postdiction accuracy of conceptual and procedural text comprehension was not affected by misconceptions.     

Estimating the value of national sporting success

The sporting success of athletes and national teams is associated with a feel-good-factor among the population. These positive social effects can be regarded as public goods that entail a certain value for the population. The value of public or non-market goods can be estimated using the contingent valuation method (CVM). A theoretical model is developed based on the consumption capital theory. This model explains the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for winning the 2010 Football World Cup as a function of sport-related and football-specific consumption capital as well as intangible and socio-economic factors. Within a survey of German citizens (n = 3049), the value of winning the 2010 Football World Cup is assessed using CVM. The model is tested using regression analyses to identify the significant determinants of WTP. The results reveal half of the respondents stated a WTP that amounted to €26 on average. The findings of a mixed-effects logistic as well as an alternative Tobit regression model show that intangible factors such as identification with the country and with the national team as well as individual and national importance of a good result significantly influence individuals’ WTP. Based on the findings of this study, it can be recommended that policy makers invest in national teams and athletes as national sporting success can generate a feel-good-factor among the population and make people happier. Additionally, it can impact on peoples’ perceptions and expectations about current and future economic situations which in turn determine macro-economic outcomes. Moreover, such estimations could be integrated into cost-benefit terms that are carried out for sport events.     

Counteracting detrimental effects of misconceptions on learning and metacomprehension accuracy: The utility of refutation texts and think sheets

Instructional Science - Previous research has shown that misconceptions impair not only learners’ text comprehension and knowledge transfer but also the accuracy with which they predict their...