title: Semantic context produces overconfidence in one’s ability to perform highly specialised skills

authors: Jordan, Kayla Rewa

abstract: Some research suggests people are overconfident because of their personality characteristics, a lack of insight, or because overconfidence is beneficial in its own right (Dunning et al., 2003; Johnson & Fowler, 2011; Paulhus et al., 2003). But other research fits with the possibility that fluent experience in the moment can rapidly drive overconfidence (Alter and Oppenheimer, 2008). For example, fluency can push people to become overconfident in their ability to throw a dart, know how rainbows form or predict the future value of a commodity (Cardwell, Lindsay & Garry, 2017; Kardas and O’Brien, 2018; Newman et al., 2018). But surely there are limits to overconfidence. That is, even in the face of fluency manipulations known to increase feelings of confidence, reasonable people would reject the thought that they, for example, might be able to land a plane in an emergency or understand a foreign language. Across 11 experiments and 3529 subjects, we provide evidence supporting the idea that semantic context can rapidly increase people’s confidence in their ability to perform these highly specialised skills.
In Part 1, we asked some people (but not others) to watch a trivially informative video of a pilot landing a plane before they rated their confidence in their own ability to land a plane. We found watching the video inflated people's confidence that they could land a plane. Moreover, we found people who watched the video were more confident in their ability to land the plane when they found the scenario easier to imagine. These findings fit with the idea that the semantic context of the video enables subjects to develop more detailed imaginations of themselves landing the plane, that they misconstrue as evidence that they could actually land the plane themselves.
In Part 2, we found semantic context produced a similar illusion of ability when people were asked to evaluate their ability to apply foreign language abilities in new situations. We showed subjects a video clip of people speaking Danish either with, or without English subtitles. Then we asked subjects to rate how well they thought they would be able to understand Danish in new situations. Our results support the idea that semantic context boosts people’s confidence by making it easier to understand the situation at hand, but people then mistake that ease as evidence of their ability to comprehend Danish in novel situations. Our findings extend prior work by suggesting that increased semantic context creates illusions not just of prior experience or understanding—but also of the ability to actually do something implausible (Whittlesea, 1993; Cardwell, Lindsay & Garry, 2017).

text: Semantic context produces overconfidence in one’s ability to perform highly specialised skills Some research suggests people are overconfident because of their personality characteristics, a lack of insight, or because overconfidence is beneficial in its own right (Dunning et al., 2003; Johnson & Fowler, 2011; Paulhus et al., 2003). But other research fits with the possibility that fluent experience in the moment can rapidly drive overconfidence (Alter and Oppenheimer, 2008). For example, fluency can push people to become overconfident in their ability to throw a dart, know how rainbows form or predict the future value of a commodity (Cardwell, Lindsay & Garry, 2017; Kardas and O’Brien, 2018; Newman et al., 2018). But surely there are limits to overconfidence. That is, even in the face of fluency manipulations known to increase feelings of confidence, reasonable people would reject the thought that they, for example, might be able to land a plane in an emergency or understand a foreign language. Across 11 experiments and 3529 subjects, we provide evidence supporting the idea that semantic context can rapidly increase people’s confidence in their ability to perform these highly specialised skills.
In Part 1, we asked some people (but not others) to watch a trivially informative video of a pilot landing a plane before they rated their confidence in their own ability to land a plane. We found watching the video inflated people's confidence that they could land a plane. Moreover, we found people who watched the video were more confident in their ability to land the plane when they found the scenario easier to imagine. These findings fit with the idea that the semantic context of the video enables subjects to develop more detailed imaginations of themselves landing the plane, that they misconstrue as evidence that they could actually land the plane themselves.
In Part 2, we found semantic context produced a similar illusion of ability when people were asked to evaluate their ability to apply foreign language abilities in new situations. We showed subjects a video clip of people speaking Danish either with, or without English subtitles. Then we asked subjects to rate how well they thought they would be able to understand Danish in new situations. Our results support the idea that semantic context boosts people’s confidence by making it easier to understand the situation at hand, but people then mistake that ease as evidence of their ability to comprehend Danish in novel situations. Our findings extend prior work by suggesting that increased semantic context creates illusions not just of prior experience or understanding—but also of the ability to actually do something implausible (Whittlesea, 1993; Cardwell, Lindsay & Garry, 2017).

year: 2022

title: Staff perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities

authors: Campbell, Alison

subjects: higher education

abstract: This paper presents staff perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities derived from a cross-case analysis of four case studies across the New Zealand university and polytechnic sectors. First we report staff expectations and experiences in terms of infrastructure and resources, and their own careers. Staff perceptions of the diversity and differences in learning styles of their students are next, followed by the importance of practical skill development, pedagogies employed and their rationale, along with scaffolding and supporting of learning. The paper concludes by considering the nature of science (NoS) and engineering, and what messages about the NoS are presented by higher education staff. The research findings suggest that staff face conflicting demands on their time, with requirements for research and administration affecting their teaching roles. Lecturers report considerable diversity and students often ill-prepared for higher education study, and consider that students are required to learn a huge amount of information. While some staff attended courses in teaching, they feel unable to apply their learning in order to enhance student learning because of concerns that time spent doing so would reduce the amount of time available to deliver content. Class sizes were identified as having considerable impact on student learning and lectures offer little opportunity for active student engagement. Practical classes are highly valued, being seen as crucial for learning practical techniques and problem-solving. Small classes and practical classes provide opportunities to develop good working relationships with students. Lecturers felt that students need to become more independent and self-reliant in their learning, and that they needed to be supported in this process at the institutional level.

text: Staff perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities This paper presents staff perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities derived from a cross-case analysis of four case studies across the New Zealand university and polytechnic sectors. First we report staff expectations and experiences in terms of infrastructure and resources, and their own careers. Staff perceptions of the diversity and differences in learning styles of their students are next, followed by the importance of practical skill development, pedagogies employed and their rationale, along with scaffolding and supporting of learning. The paper concludes by considering the nature of science (NoS) and engineering, and what messages about the NoS are presented by higher education staff. The research findings suggest that staff face conflicting demands on their time, with requirements for research and administration affecting their teaching roles. Lecturers report considerable diversity and students often ill-prepared for higher education study, and consider that students are required to learn a huge amount of information. While some staff attended courses in teaching, they feel unable to apply their learning in order to enhance student learning because of concerns that time spent doing so would reduce the amount of time available to deliver content. Class sizes were identified as having considerable impact on student learning and lectures offer little opportunity for active student engagement. Practical classes are highly valued, being seen as crucial for learning practical techniques and problem-solving. Small classes and practical classes provide opportunities to develop good working relationships with students. Lecturers felt that students need to become more independent and self-reliant in their learning, and that they needed to be supported in this process at the institutional level.

year: 2008

title: Cultural vehicles and the Māori print media: What cultural concepts are used to communicate health messages to Māori?

authors: Groot, Shiloh Ann Maree

subjects: health

abstract: Existing research indicates that vaccination programmes to prevent Meningococcal disease have low response rates from Māori which contributes to a belief that Māori are apathetic and irresponsible. Our research question was: How do the Māori and community print media facilitate the promotion of Māori cultural concepts as generators of new meaning, particularly with regard to positive Māori health? This study focuses on the recent health
concern of Meningococcal disease. Twenty-four months of Māori and community print media was scanned to identify how Māori cultural concepts are being applied, modified, and operationalised in order to convey and promote positive health in Māori communities. Contrary to what was expected, the Western medical model with integrated Māori concepts was the main cultural frame employed.

text: Cultural vehicles and the Māori print media: What cultural concepts are used to communicate health messages to Māori? Existing research indicates that vaccination programmes to prevent Meningococcal disease have low response rates from Māori which contributes to a belief that Māori are apathetic and irresponsible. Our research question was: How do the Māori and community print media facilitate the promotion of Māori cultural concepts as generators of new meaning, particularly with regard to positive Māori health? This study focuses on the recent health
concern of Meningococcal disease. Twenty-four months of Māori and community print media was scanned to identify how Māori cultural concepts are being applied, modified, and operationalised in order to convey and promote positive health in Māori communities. Contrary to what was expected, the Western medical model with integrated Māori concepts was the main cultural frame employed.

year: 2006