Why a wrong physics explanation can feel just as convincing
One reason physics is prone to confident confusion is that everyday experience offers ready-made explanations that sound plausible. In a controlled experiment with 149 learners who on average had low prior knowledge, two explainer videos were made comparable in comprehensibility and length; the only difference was the explanatory approach. The group that watched a video introducing force through misconceptions came away with the same belief that they had understood the topic as the group that watched a scientifically correct video, but they held more misconceptions and fewer correct conceptions [4].
The researchers describe this as an 'illusion of understanding': the mistaken belief that a topic has been understood [4]. The study suggests that misconceptions close to everyday experience might appear more attractive than scientifically correct explanations, which would help explain why misleading physics content can still earn good ratings online [4]. The scope matters here: the finding comes from a sample of convenience with low prior knowledge on average, so it is evidence about how misleading explanations can fool learners, not proof that all physics confusion works this way.
Confusion is built into learning physics, not just a sign of failure
Physics education research treats confusion as something students actively manage during collaborative work, not simply as an error to be eliminated. A project at Western Washington University and Chico State examines how students negotiate episodes of confusion during small-group activities designed to trigger confusion, using written reflections, classroom videos, interviews, and in-the-moment surveys of affective experience [1]. The aim is to describe how students work through confusion to develop shared understanding [1].
That framing helps explain why confident confusion can flourish: if confusion is a normal stage of physics learning, a learner can feel confused and still feel engaged or even confident. The project is described as ongoing and was adapted in response to COVID, so its findings are not yet a finished account of how confusion and confidence interact [1].
Even physicists' own language can breed confusion
Confusion in physics is not only a learner's problem. A proposed taxonomy for interpretations of quantum mechanics and models that modify it aims to clarify terminology and reduce confusion in the literature [2]. The paper's abstract notes that confusion has been created in the literature and that it sometimes happens in physics that a model works [2]. This is a proposal about how to organize and name ideas, not a study of why laypeople feel confident about physics; it supports the narrower point that unclear terminology is one source of confusion inside physics itself.
Attitudes and prior coursework shape how students engage
How students feel about physics is not fixed. In a large introductory physics course at a midsize Canadian university, students showed an atypical positive shift in attitudes about science over the semester, and the change appeared to be moderated by whether they had taken grade 12 physics [5]. The correlation between attitudes and conceptual knowledge also appeared to be influenced by educational background [5]. This does not directly measure confident confusion, but it shows that a student's confidence and engagement with physics can move with prior preparation, which is relevant to why some learners may feel sure of themselves while missing key concepts.
Sources used in this answer
The Social Negotiation of Confusion for Physics Learning
The paper examines how students negotiate confusion during collaborative physics activities designed to trigger confusion, using reflections, videos, interviews, and in-the-moment surveys to study emotions and engagement.
Taxonomy for physics beyond quantum mechanics
The paper proposes a taxonomy for interpretations of quantum mechanics and modified models to clarify terminology and reduce confusion in the literature.
From Confidence to Confusion: Structure and Meaning in Psalm 27
The paper analyzes Psalm 27's shifts between confidence and distress, arguing that its sections echo and foreshadow one another rather than being unrelated psalms.
Misconceptions in Physics Explainer Videos and the Illusion of Understanding: an Experimental Study
In an experiment with 149 low-prior-knowledge learners, a physics video built on misconceptions produced equal belief of understanding but more misconceptions and fewer correct conceptions than a scientifically correct video.
Attitudes about science and conceptual physics learning in university introductory physics courses
In a large introductory Canadian physics course, students showed an atypical positive shift in science attitudes over the semester, moderated by whether they had taken grade 12 physics, with educational background also influencing the correlation between attitudes and conceptual knowledge.