The Seductive Detail Effect and Why It Matters for College Textbook Reading
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21644918 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric J Paulson (0000-0003-4689-3353, College of Education at Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA, corresponding author), Nasrin Feizipour (0009-0005-4062-9289, Postsecondary Student Success in Learning, Literacy, and Mathematics Program College of Education at Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA), Mahdiyeh Mamizadeh Pakchin (Postsecondary Student Success in Learning, Literacy, and Mathematics Program College of Education at Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1081-3004 • E-ISSN: 1936-2706 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jaal.70059 |
| OpenAlex | W7164743425 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
In this article, we discuss the seductive detail effect and its potentially harmful presence in learning materials like college textbooks. Our goal is to consider how seductive details can be detrimental to learning from text, particularly for those readers who struggle the most with college‐level texts, and how to mitigate those negative effects. Seductive details are interesting, but irrelevant, portions of text that are only tangentially related to the topic of the text and are often of a controversial or sensational nature. When found in learning materials like textbooks, seductive details can have a negative impact on readers' ability to learn from that text. We discuss the seductive detail effect, how it can impact reading and learning from textbooks, and provide suggestions for how college reading instructors can help students mitigate adverse effects of seductive details while supporting their students' ability to independently learn from text
Critical reading · Electronic learning · Extensive reading · Teaching method · Reading and Literacy Development · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
Open educational resources and college textbook choices
How seductive details do their damage
A review of research and a meta-analysis of the seductive detail effect
Seductive details do their damage also in longer learning sessions – When the details are perceived as relevant
Seductive details hamper learning even when they do not disrupt
Ready or Not
The Continued Need for Strategy Investigations
Using college readers' eye movements to discuss textbook reading strategies
College Reading and Studying
Students' reading in higher education
Emotional Responses to Seductive Scientific Texts During Online and Offline Reading Tasks
Commentary
Mitigating the seductive details effect by topic and irrelevance signals
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |