ICI Academic║Associate Professor Wang Zhe and PhD Student Cheng Chao Publish High-Impact Research in Top International Journal

Recently, Associate Professor Wang Zhe and 2023 doctoral candidate Cheng Chao from the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction (ICI) at East China Normal University published a high-impact study in Educational Psychology Review, a premier international academic journal. The research evaluates the overall effect of "seductive details" on learning outcomes and provides new insights into the underlying cognitive mechanisms.

Author Profiles

CHENG Chao

First Author

A 2023 doctoral candidate at ICI under the supervision of Professor Liu Lianghua. His research focuses on the sociology of music education, teacher education, and meta-analysis. Over the past three years, he has published extensively as a first author in top-tier journals, including Educational Research Review (SSCI Q1 Top), Educational Psychology Review (SSCI Q1 Top), and Teaching and Teacher Education (SSCI Q1 Top). He currently serves as the Student President of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) for the 2024–2026 term and was previously a recipient of a China Scholarship Council (CSC) grant for his Master’s studies in Hungary.

WANG Zhe

Corresponding Author

An Associate Professor at ICI with a PhD in Educational Psychology from Washington State University. His research interests include generative learning strategies, cognitive and motivational processes in multimedia learning, and quantitative experimental design. He has published nearly 20 papers in leading SSCI journals such as Contemporary Educational Psychology and the British Journal of Educational Technology. With over 1,000 Google Scholar citations, he frequently serves as a reviewer for prestigious international journals and a presenter at the AERA Annual Meeting.

Research Overview: The "Seductive Detail" Debate

In the field of multimedia learning, the inclusion of "seductive details"—interesting but educationally irrelevant elements—has long been a subject of scholarly debate. While some argue these elements boost interest and emotional engagement, others contend they distract learners and hinder performance.

To resolve this controversy, the research team conducted a comprehensive systematic review following PRISMA guidelines. They employed a sophisticated methodology combining three-level meta-analysis with Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling (MASEM) to evaluate the overall impact and explore the causal pathways.

Key Findings:

Overall Impact: Based on 50 experimental studies involving 20,683 students, the meta-analysis revealed that seductive details have a significant, albeit small, negative effect on academic performance ($g = -0.16$), particularly impacting memory and comprehension.

Moderating Factors: The size of this effect varies depending on the language of the learning materials, the learning environment, and the sample size.

The Cognitive Mechanism: Using MASEM, the study provides the first cross-study evidence that seductive details impair learning primarily by increasing extraneous cognitive load, thus offering robust empirical support for Cognitive Load Theory.

This research represents a methodological breakthrough by simultaneously handling multiple effect sizes and testing complex mechanisms. It provides a more stable empirical basis for multimedia instructional design and offers critical guidance for the development of digital educational resources.

About the Journal

Educational Psychology Review is a top-tier international journal in education and psychology. In 2025, it reported an Impact Factor of 8.8, with a 5-year Impact Factor of 14.2. It is ranked in the JCR Q1 and categorized as a "Top Journal" by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The journal is globally renowned for leading the discourse in educational psychology.