Punchline With(Out) Purpose: Integrating Research on Instructional Humour and Seductive Details
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| Title: | Punchline With(Out) Purpose: Integrating Research on Instructional Humour and Seductive Details |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Lisa Bender (ORCID |
| Source: | British Journal of Educational Psychology. 2026 96(3):1272-1296. |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 25 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Humor, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Adults, High School Students, Visual Aids, Foreign Countries, Relevance (Education), Difficulty Level, Cognitive Processes, Student Motivation, Affective Behavior |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| DOI: | 10.1111/bjep.70080 |
| ISSN: | 0007-0998 2044-8279 |
| Abstract: | Introduction: We integrated research on instructional humour and seductive details to investigate when affiliative course-related humour is effective or rather ineffective for learning. We assumed that instructional humour without a cognitive function (irrelevant humour) would have detrimental effects on learning performance resembling the seductive details effect, whereas humour with a cognitive function (e.g., humorous analogies illustrating the learning content) would foster performance. Methods: Our hypotheses were tested in two between-subjects studies. Study 1 was conducted in the laboratory with 115 adults (M[subscript age] = 24.71); Study 2 was conducted in a German high school with 151 youths (M[subscript age] = 12.21). In both studies, participants learned from a narrated slideshow in one of four conditions: the slideshow either contained irrelevant humour, relevant humour, relevant (non-humorous) examples or no additional elements (control). We then assessed learning performance, cognitive load and affective-motivational aspects. Results: In study 1, the relevant-humour group indeed outperformed the irrelevant-humour group in terms of transfer. We replicated this effect in study 2 for recall performance. Our comparison to the control group without additional elements was less conclusive: The irrelevant-humour group scored worse than the control group in study 1 (i.e., seductive details effect), but not in study 2. Moreover, the relevant-humour group did not clearly outperform the control group in either of the studies. Conclusion: It may be safer to avoid irrelevant instructional humour (even when course-related) because of the risk of a detrimental seductive details effect. Further research is needed with respect to the cognitive and affective-motivational effectiveness of relevant instructional humour. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/gnkf9 |
| Entry Date: | 20260101 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1513882 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Introduction: We integrated research on instructional humour and seductive details to investigate when affiliative course-related humour is effective or rather ineffective for learning. We assumed that instructional humour without a cognitive function (irrelevant humour) would have detrimental effects on learning performance resembling the seductive details effect, whereas humour with a cognitive function (e.g., humorous analogies illustrating the learning content) would foster performance. Methods: Our hypotheses were tested in two between-subjects studies. Study 1 was conducted in the laboratory with 115 adults (M[subscript age] = 24.71); Study 2 was conducted in a German high school with 151 youths (M[subscript age] = 12.21). In both studies, participants learned from a narrated slideshow in one of four conditions: the slideshow either contained irrelevant humour, relevant humour, relevant (non-humorous) examples or no additional elements (control). We then assessed learning performance, cognitive load and affective-motivational aspects. Results: In study 1, the relevant-humour group indeed outperformed the irrelevant-humour group in terms of transfer. We replicated this effect in study 2 for recall performance. Our comparison to the control group without additional elements was less conclusive: The irrelevant-humour group scored worse than the control group in study 1 (i.e., seductive details effect), but not in study 2. Moreover, the relevant-humour group did not clearly outperform the control group in either of the studies. Conclusion: It may be safer to avoid irrelevant instructional humour (even when course-related) because of the risk of a detrimental seductive details effect. Further research is needed with respect to the cognitive and affective-motivational effectiveness of relevant instructional humour. |
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| ISSN: | 0007-0998 2044-8279 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/bjep.70080 |
