Using Persuasive Refutation Texts to Prompt Attitudinal and Conceptual Change

We investigated knowledge and attitudes before and after reading refutation texts augmented by different kinds of persuasive information and how emotions mediated the process of knowledge and attitude change. Undergraduates (N = 424) enrolled in 4 universities from 3 countries read a refutation text on genetically modified foods (GMFs) and were then randomly assigned to receive additional information about advantages of GMFs, disadvantages of GMFs, or both. After studying, students reading about advantages of GMFs had significantly more positive attitudes than students who read about disadvantages. There was also a significant reduction in misconceptions; participants in the positive-oriented text condition showed the largest learning gains, particularly those who held more positive initial attitudes. Epistemic emotions of curiosity, frustration, hope, and enjoyment mediated attitude change while confusion mediated relations between prereading attitudes and postreading knowledge. In addition, the direct relationship between prior attitudes and surprise was moderated by type of text. When reading about both advantages and disadvantages of GMFs, participants reported significantly less surprise when compared with those who read about either advantages or disadvantages of GMFs. To foster conceptual change when learning about complex topics, refutation texts may be paired with persuasive information that is aligned with accurate conceptions. Educational Impact and Implications Statement This study advances the idea that learning processes involve attitudes and emotions. We presented text to undergraduate students intended to correct misconceptions about genetically modified foods (GMFs) and paired it with information about the advantages of GMFs, the disadvantages, or both advantages and disadvantages. We found that participants who read text paired with information about the advantages of GMFs had fewer misconceptions and more positive attitudes toward the topic compared with those who read about the disadvantages. We also found that some emotions (i.e., hope, enjoyment, confusion, and frustration) elicited through reading the text mediated relations between pre- and postreading attitudes and knowledge, while others did not (i.e., surprise, boredom, hopelessness, anger, anxiety, and curiosity). These findings suggest that the greatest learning occurs when text is crafted to shift both knowledge and attitudes and it may be the case that refutation texts can be