Can Anthropomorphic Animals Bolster Children’s Science Learning From Media?

• In Event: Exploring Science in the Preschool Years: Identity Development and Learning Through Educational Narratives

Abstract

1. Objectives. Unrealistic elements like anthropomorphism are ubiquitous in children’s educational media, including media designed to teach science. It is thus crucial to determine how these unrealistic depictions affect children’s learning. The current study makes a novel contribution to this issue by challenging the consensus that anthropomorphism interferes with children’s learning. Instead, we aim to show that anthropomorphism can be a powerful way to help children learn new scientific concepts.

2. Theoretical framework. Nearly 70% of children’s books, television shows, and movies contain some form of anthropomorphism (Goldstein & Alperson, 2020). This is also the case for educational media, with anthropomorphic depictions present in 40% of books and 75% videos designed to teach scientific topics (Chlebuch et al., 2022; Nguyentran & Weisberg, 2023).

How might such depictions affect children’s learning? On the one hand, previous studies have found that children were less likely to learn new information about animals when those animals were depicted anthropomorphically (e.g., Bonus, 2019; Ganea et al., 2014; Larsen et al., 2018). Further, children who see such depictions tend to mistakenly infer that real animals share the anthropomorphic qualities of the story animals (e.g., Conrad et al., 2021; Ganea et al., 2014).
But other studies have found that unrealistic content may be helpful to children’s learning (see review in Weisberg & Richert, 2022). Indeed, anthropomorphic content sometimes bolsters children’s learning about animals relative to fully realistic depictions (Bonus & Mares, 2018; Geerdts et al., 2016). Theories about children’s learning from fictional stories predict that fantastical content that is well-integrated with educational content will be maximally helpful for learning, because this kind of integration attracts children’s attention and stimulates their curiosity (Fisch, 2000; Weisberg & Gopnik, 2013).

3 & 4. Methods and Data Sources. The current study presents preschoolers with an educational story designed to teach about biological inheritance: Offspring resemble their mothers with respect to inborn traits, like fur color, but not with respect to acquired traits, like injuries (based on Hopkins & Weisberg, 2021). Children hear one of four versions of the story, which vary in (1) the depictions of the animals used to illustrate the target biological principle (anthropomorphic or realistic) and (2) the depictions of the story’s narrators, who present the educational information (anthropomorphic or human). Children’s understanding of biological inheritance is measured before and after they hear the story.
We predict that children’s learning will be best in the two conditions with intermediate levels of fantasy, which keep these stories engaging without interfering with children’s abilities to extract the target educational lessons.

5. Results. Data collection is ongoing (target N=120). Pilot results do not show differences in learning about inheritance across conditions, though children’s performance generally improved from pre- to post-test.

6. Significance. Educational narratives are often recommended as teaching tools for children in preschool and early elementary school. By uncovering which kinds of stories teach science optimally, we can both develop recommendations for educators and gain insight into how children navigate the boundary between reality and fiction.

Authors

• Deena Weisberg, Villanova University

• James Alex Bonus, The Ohio State University