Washington, Aug 6 (Inditop.com) Errors in historical blockbuster films set back classroom learning, especially when it comes to helping students learn and retain factual information in textbooks, a new study has found.
“We found that when information in the film was consistent with information in the text, watching the film clips increased correct recall by about 50 percent,” explained Andrew Butler, Washington University, St. Louis (WUSL).
Conversely, “when information in the film directly contradicted the text, people often falsely recalled the misinformation portrayed in the film, sometimes as much as 50 percent of the time,” said Butler.
Popular films increase interest in history and do contain accurate information for the most part, but producers of these films often take liberties with facts to tell a more entertaining story.
Take for example, “Amadeus”, a historical drama about the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Released in 1984, the film delighted movie goers and critics alike, eventually winning eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Although the film is credited with increasing the popularity of Mozart’s music, it may also have created a misleading impression of Mozart.
Butler, whose research focuses on how cognitive psychology can be applied to enhance educational practice, notes that teachers can guard against the adverse impact of movies that play fast and loose with historical facts, although a general admonition may not be sufficient.
“The misleading effect occurred even when people were reminded of the potentially inaccurate nature of popular films right before viewing the film.
“However, the effect was completely negated when a specific warning about the particular inaccuracy was provided before the film,” Butler said.
“Although films may increase learning and interest in the classroom, educators should be aware that students might learn inaccurate information, too, even if the correct information has been presented in a text,” he concluded.
The study will be published in Psychological Science.
