Teaching further education students the effects of naive realism, to support social development and mitigate classroom conflict

Abstract

Aim(s) Naive realism is the false conviction that one perceives and responds to the world objectively or ‘as it is’ rather than subjectively through the lens of personal motives, experiences and expectations. The teaching of naïve realism to adults has evidenced increased perspective taking. The current research aimed to evaluate if this approach would be effective in supporting adolescents experiencing classroom conflict. Method A critical realist approach was employed. Participants were a class of fifteen 16–19-year-old further education (FE) students and related academic staff. Students attended two one-hour lessons on naïve realism. Thematic analysis was conducted on pre- and post-teaching focus group data. Findings Pre-intervention, students identified feeling that others were acting belligerently and presenting inaccurate narratives, yet defended their own similar behaviour as routine. Unexpectedly, students also reported a conscious and purposeful use of naïve realism. Post-intervention, students and staff reported: substantial conflict resolution; improved abilities to perspective take, empathise and self-regulate; reduced fear of negative peer evaluation and anxiety; improved learning atmosphere and applications to the wider world. Novel findings include: the benefits of teaching as a whole-class approach; and how bias removal was insufficient to facilitate perspective taking in certain circumstances. Limitations The subjective and interpretative nature of the resear…