Teleological reasoning, not acceptance of evolution, impacts students’ ability to learn natural selection

Table 5 Results from a multiple linear regression of student incoming understanding of natural selection on all pre-test variables

	B	SE B	β
Intercept	16.21	2.27	N/A
Demographic and cultural/attitudinal measures
1. Parental educational level	.14	.29	.03
2. Parental attitude towards evolution	.45	.31	.13
3. Student religiosity	−.63	.27	−.18*
4. Student acceptance of evolution	−.30	.43	−.07
Cognitive variables
5. Prior educational exposure	1.01	.27	.27***
6. Teleological reasoning	−1.31	.29	−.30***
Adjusted R²	.21

ISSN: 1936-6434