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Student preconceptions and learning economic reasoning

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Busom Piquer

    (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)

  • Cristina López-Mayán Navarrete

    (Department of Economics, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)

Abstract
Economic views held by the general public tend to differ significantly from those of economic experts. To what extent would these differences fade away if people were exposed to economic instruction? In this paper we identify first-year college students’ initial preconceptions about economic issues, explore some cognitive biases behind them, verify their persistence, and test whether beliefs are correlated to course performance. We conduct a survey at the beginning and the end of the semester on a sample of students taking an economic principles course. We find evidence of preconception persistence, inconsistencies and self-serving bias. Most students do not incorporate the newly learned tools into their thinking process, even if they perform well. Many economics senior students have some beliefs that are contradicted in a principles course. Instruction in economics could be more efficient if it explicitly addressed students’ preconceptions and biases, a path already taken in other disciplines.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Busom Piquer & Cristina López-Mayán Navarrete, 2015. "Student preconceptions and learning economic reasoning," Working Papers wpdea1508, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    • Handle: RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1508
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    File URL: https://ecap.uab.cat/RePEc/doc/wpdea1508.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cipriani, Giam Pietro & Lubian, Diego & Zago, Angelo, 2009. "Natural born economists?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 455-468, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic education; student beliefs; cognitive bias; psychology; teaching of economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • Y8 - Miscellaneous Categories - - Related Disciplines

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