SummaryWe investigated whether seductive details (i.e., interesting but irrelevant adjuncts) are harmful to learning only when students (mistakenly) think that they are relevant. We therefore conducted a study in which participants (N = 86) learned either without seductive details (control condition) or with seductive details—in the latter case with or without being informed about the seductive details' irrelevance. In line with our hypotheses, only participants who were not informed about the irrelevance of seductive details revealed worse learning outcomes than those in the control condition, thereby revealing a seductive details effect. Extraneous cognitive load, but not perceived time pressure, mediated the negative effects of being uninformed about the irrelevance of seductive details on learning outcomes. Taken together, our results suggest that the perceived relevance of seductive details is a boundary condition of the seductive details effect.

No abstract

We investigated the processes that make seductive details (i.e., interesting but irrelevant pictures and text passages in learning materials) harmful for learning scientific concepts and principles. In our experiment, students (N = 113) learned without seductive details (control condition) or with seductive details, and afterwards worked on a knowledge test. They then retrospectively verbalized their thoughts during learning while watching a replay of their eye-movements during the learning session (cued retrospective reporting). Our findings showed that seductive details hampered the transfer of knowledge in students with lower final school grades (d = −0.60). The verbal reports from the seductive details group, which were rated according to three detrimental cognitive processes, indicated that several students constructed mental models around the seductive details (i.e., diversion). This diversion led to worse recall of the relevant learning contents. The detrimental effects of seductive details therefore seem to be mainly caused by diversion.

Background Past research has shown that seductive details (i.e., interesting, but irrelevant adjuncts in learning materials) hamper learning in short, instructor‐paced learning sessions through impaired cognitive processing. Objectives We integrate theory and research on multimedia learning and self‐control to test whether detrimental effects of seductive details also apply to longer and strenuous learning sessions (e.g., online lectures), in which there is greater need for self‐control. Methods A total of N = 194 students studied five chapters in a digital learning unit about chemistry either (1) without seductive details, or (2) with seductive details but without being informed about their irrelevance for the learning goal, or (3) with seductive details while being informed about their irrelevance. To assess learning outcomes, all students completed the same posttests for recall and transfer of knowledge. Results and conclusions For students who were uninformed about the details' irrelevance, the seductive details impeded learning outcomes not just overall, but also in the final phase of prolonged studying (i.e., when the willingness to self‐control is reduced). The latter effect was mediated through a reduced positive affect. Implications The seductive details effect seems to generalize to prolonged learning sessions, where students may start to dislike the seductive details.

No abstract