Adults' understanding of electricity

Bibliographic Data

ID22947838
AuthorsMichel Caillot, Anh Nguyen-Xuan, Anh Nguyen‐Xuan
Year1995
Volume4
Issue2
Pages131-151
Publication date1995-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Understanding of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0963-6625 • E-ISSN: 1361-6609
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1088/0963-6625/4/2/003
OpenAlexW4235725923
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited9

We describe how unskilled manual workers and office staff perceive everyday situations involving static and domestic electricity. The data were gathered in interviews about situations relating to static electricity in cars or in an electronic assembly workshop, and the functioning of different devices (e.g. a lamp, a circuit-tester, a washing machine). Different phenomena were discussed (e.g. electric shocks, short circuits). The interviews were analysed within a framework of mental models. Despite having learnt about electricity in school or during their in-service training, the subjects made little reference to formalized electricity. The models they used were built up from their own experience. Electricity is often considered as a substance or a fluid easily transferable from one place to another. Conceptions about grounding show that the earth is assimilated to a vast reservoir into which electricity flows and is then lost. The human body is also thought of as a reservoir that can accept a limited amount of electricity.

Business · Economics · Electrical engineering · Electricity · Electricity generation · Electricity market · Environmental economics · Power (physics) · Service (business) · Cognitive Science and Education Research · Computer Science · Design Education and Practice · Engineering · Marketing · Science Education and Pedagogy