How to correct misperceptions of delays: an interactive learning environment to reduce binge drinking

Abstract

Background: People misperceive accumulation processes. Take for example the case of people becoming more drunk than intended. Such misperceptions can lead to high costs that in some cases may be fatal. We ask: Could interactive learning environments (ILE) using water analogies help people understand accumulation processes. In particular can ILE's help juveniles understand the process of alcohol intoxication? Method: High school students participated in a laboratory experiment. Some of them interacted with a funnel simulator in order to learn about accumulation processes. In a two by two full factorial design where some subjects could see the level of water in the funnel (Transparent); others could not (Opaque). Some got explicit information about water analogies and others did not. Afterwards, all subjects including a group that did not interact with the funnel simulator were tested in an alcohol simulator similar to one developed by Moxnes & Jensen (2009). Thus we tested the effectiveness of using water analogies for knowledge transfer. A questionnaire complemented the experiment. Results: Subjects that did not use the funnel simulator (water analogies) produced larger overshoots in BAC than those using it (with borderline significant level for two of the treatments). The combination of transparency and information about the analogy seems to have an effect on subjects' performance. A bigger proportion of subjects that did not use the funnel simulator used strategies that did not take in account accumulation processes. Conclusion: Our ILE might improve the performance of the subjects using the BAC simulator proposed by Moxnes & Jensen. It might also improve the understanding of accumulation processes. Further studies may enhance the ILE by taking in account the U-shape phenomenon during learning processes.