People within the general public are likely to judge texts as more credible when the texts are supported by neuroscientific evidence, even if this evidence is incorrect of irrelevant (SANE effect)....Show morePeople within the general public are likely to judge texts as more credible when the texts are supported by neuroscientific evidence, even if this evidence is incorrect of irrelevant (SANE effect). The SANE effect has also been demonstrated for texts about educational topics and this can be worrisome because teachers must be able to make responsible choices about whether or not to implement new teaching practices. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the SANE effect extends to teachers within Dutch primary, secondary and higher education. In addition, it is investigated whether there are teacher characteristics that could predict how credibly teachers rate texts in general and specific texts that include neuroscientific evidence. To investigate this, 343 teachers completed an online survey in which teacher characteristics were requested and in which they had to read eight texts about educational topics, with or without neuroscientific evidence. After each text, the teachers had to answer five questions about its credibility. The research has shown that the teacher’s experience and level of education were significant predictors of their credibility ratings of texts about educational topics in general. Results also showed that the SANE effect extends to teachers within the Dutch primary, secondary and higher education when reading texts about educational topics. However, there were no specific teacher characteristics that could predict the extent to which teachers were sensitive to the SANE effect. Based on these results, it is recommended to make teachers (in training) aware about the SANE effect and to help them develop the skills necessary to guard themselves against this effect.Show less
