Meaning of Dr. Fox effect | Babel Free

Definitions

The tendency for students to rate a teacher highly if lectures are presented in a very expressive, humorous, and warm manner, even when the content of the lecture is meaningless and incomprehensible.

Examples

“Studies have also been done on the psychological aspects of credibility, like the "Dr. Fox effect" research of the early 1970s, in which an actor was programmed to teach material he knew nothing about.”

“The focus of this research was not the Dr. Fox effect nor even SETS, but how instructor expressiveness interacted with perceived control to influence achievement test scores.”

“One of the most interesting phenomena associated with teaching delivery is the Dr Fox Effect. This relates to the skill of the lecturer in seducing favourable evaluations from students.”

CEFR level