How essentialist reasoning about language acquisition relates to educational myths and policy endorsements

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dc.contributor.authorSun, Xin
dc.contributor.authorNancekivell, Shaylene E.
dc.contributor.authorShah, Priti
dc.contributor.authorGelman, Susan A.
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-01T17:14:07Z
dc.date.available2023-06-01T17:14:07Z
dc.date.issued2023-05-05
dc.date.updated2023-06-01T03:28:00Z
dc.description.abstractAbstract How people conceptualize learning is related to real-world educational consequences across many domains of education. Despite its centrality to the educational system, we know little about how the public reasons about language acquisition, and the potential consequences for their thinking about real-world issues (e.g., policy endorsements). The current studies examined people’s essentialist beliefs about language acquisition (e.g., that language is innate and biologically based), then investigated how individual differences in these beliefs related to the endorsement of educational myths and policies. We probed several dimensions of essentialist beliefs, including that language acquisition is innate, genetically based, and wired in the brain. In two studies, we tested specific hypotheses regarding the extent to which people use essentialist thinking when reasoning about: learning a specific language (e.g., Korean), learning a first language more generally, and learning two or more languages. Across studies, participants were more likely to essentialize the ability to learn multiple languages than one’s first language, and more likely to essentialize the learning of multiple languages and one’s first language than the learning of a particular language. We also found substantial individual differences in the degree to which participants essentialized language acquisition. In both studies, these individual differences correlated with an endorsement of language-related educational neuromyths (Study 1 and pre-registered Study 2), and rejection of educational policies that promote multilingual education (Study 2). Together, these studies reveal the complexity of how people reason about language acquisition and its corresponding educational consequences.en_US
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.citationCognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2023 May 05;8(1):27
dc.identifier.doidoi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00481-2
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/37361
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.language.rfc3066en
dc.publisherSpringerOpenen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.rights.holderThe Author(s)
dc.subjectLanguage acquisitionen_US
dc.subjectpsychological essentialismen_US
dc.subjectbilingualismen_US
dc.subjectmultilingualismen_US
dc.subjecteducational policyen_US
dc.subjectneuromythsen_US
dc.titleHow essentialist reasoning about language acquisition relates to educational myths and policy endorsementsen_US
dc.typejournal articleen_US
local.author.affiliationFaculty of Arts::Department of Psychologyen_US
oaire.citation.issue1en_US
oaire.citation.startPage27en_US
oaire.citation.titleCognitive Research: Principles and implicationsen_US
oaire.citation.volume8en_US
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