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Understanding abstract expository texts.

Jos Beishuizen¹, Evelien Stoutjesdijk, Sandra Spuijbroek

¹Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands. beishuiz@rulfsw.LeidenUniv.NL

The British Journal of Educational Psychology

|May 25, 2002

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Learning abstract concepts requires concrete examples for understanding. This study shows that while examples are crucial, individual learning styles also influence comprehension of abstract versus concrete texts.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Educational Psychology
Learning Sciences

Background:

Meno's Paradox questions whether abstract concepts can be taught directly or only through examples.
Understanding expository texts is central to this debate on knowledge acquisition.
This research investigates the role of examples in learning abstract concepts and rules.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the necessity of examples for acquiring knowledge of abstract concepts and rules.
To investigate if understanding abstract concepts is impossible without a concrete interpretive context.
To explore the interaction between text content (abstract vs. concrete) and individual learning styles.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted with secondary school and university students.

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Texts were manipulated to include or exclude examples, or use ambiguous concepts.

A questionnaire assessed students' tendency for concrete elaboration during text study.

Main Results:

Expository texts with ambiguous terms proved difficult to understand, supporting the need for concrete interpretation.
No significant difference in understanding was found between texts with many or few examples, suggesting students generated their own.
An interaction effect showed students with high concrete elaboration skills better understood abstract texts, while those low on this trait preferred concrete texts.

Conclusions:

Concrete examples are indispensable for learning abstract concepts and rules.
Examples can be provided within the text or drawn from the reader's existing knowledge.
Individual differences in concrete elaboration influence the effectiveness of abstract versus concrete learning materials.