Seductive details hamper learning even when they do not disrupt
Adults / lifelong learning Foundations of optimal learning Attention and memory
Links to claims
Supports (2)
| Claim | Basis |
|---|---|
| K50 (candidate) | Online experiment, N = 248, fixed 6.5-minute study time: seductive details lowered recall of the main content (2.56 vs 1.77 of 9; F(1,112) = 16.430, p < .001); a prompt saying they would not be tested removed the harm. Full text read. |
| K51 (candidate) | Online experiment (N = 248, fixed 6.5 minutes): with relevant material framed and the extras declared irrelevant, recall matched the lesson without extras (p = .901), while unmarked extras lowered it (p < .001); a separate-topic prompt alone did not significantly help (recall p = .106). Full text read. |
Limits (1)
| Claim | Basis |
|---|---|
| C8 | Online experiment (N = 248, mostly undergraduates): seductive details lowered recall (p < .001), removable by telling learners they are irrelevant; no significant harm to transfer (p = .14, low-reliability test). Another single-study transfer null: consistent with C8's existing consistency bound, not a new attack. |
Review state: first-pass draft, pending human review.
Source note
Syntes: Seductive details hamper learning even when they do not disrupt (2023)
Källa: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-023-09632-w (Instructional Science; open access)
Verified content
- Online experiment, N = 248 analysed (mostly German undergraduates, mean age 23.4), lightning text (537 words) with or without five seductive photos and captions (229 words), 6.5 minutes' study, four groups: no details (60), details + irrelevance prompt (66), details + separation prompt (64), details, no prompt (58).
- Recall: details without prompt lowered recall vs control (F(1,112) = 16.43, p < .001, ηp² = .074); an irrelevance prompt removed the harm (focal contrast p = .001), mediated by perceived relevance and time on the details.
- Transfer (multiple choice, ω = .56): no significant effect of details (F = 2.19, p = .142); authors attribute this to the test's low reliability. Separation prompt did not help.
- Read: full text (Springer, open access) 2026-10-15.
Metadata as recorded
- ID
- CLT-008
- Tier
- RCT
- Titel
- Seductive details hamper learning even when they do not disrupt
- År
- 2023
- Källa/DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-023-09632-w (Instructional Science; open access)
- Åldersgrupp
- vuxen-livslangt
- Teman
- optimalt-larande-grunder;uppmarksamhet-och-minne
- Hämtad
- 2026-10-15
- Full text (fetched 2026-10-16, legal open-access copy, private)
- fulltext.pdf + — via unpaywall: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11251-023-09632-w.pdf
The original files (PDF or abstract) are kept in the project archive and are not published here.