SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF VARIABLES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE FORMATION OF ANALOGICAL MISCONCEPTIONS

In 2 experiments, middle school students processed an analogy and resp onded to factual and inferential target-domain questions. In Experimen t 1, responses were analyzed to determine the effects of 1 instruction al variable (context specificity) and 3 learner variables (age, verbal aptitude, gender) on the mapping of extraneous base features. Fewer i nappropriate inferences were generated by students who had high verbal aptitude scores, were female, and processed the analogy with a specif ic context. Verbal aptitude interacted with both context specificity a nd age to influence target inferences. In Experiment 2, the number of incorrect inferences decreased when students either induced an appropr iate schema or processed the analogy containing information that confl icted with preexisting gender roles. Results of both experiments suppo rt a 6-variable model of analogical misconception formation.