All about Humans?: Anthropocentrism, but Not Essentialism or Teleology, Related to Misconceptions and Expertise across Biological Concepts in Undergraduate Students and Faculty

Research shows that certain intuitive frameworks–essentialism, teleology, and anthropocentrism–have downstream consequences for applied learning as in biological understanding and expertise. We found that only anthropocentric language, not essentialism or teleology, showed a significant relationship with biological expertise and misconceptions. This suggests that addressing anthropocentrism could improve scientific understanding.