Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-m9kch Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-11T17:35:16.830Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

from Part II - Theoretical Foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Richard E. Mayer
Edited by
Richard E. Mayer  and
Logan Fiorella
Richard E. Mayer
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Logan Fiorella
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Get access

Summary

A fundamental hypothesis underlying research on multimedia learning is that multimedia instructional messages that are designed in light of how the human mind works are more likely to lead to meaningful learning than those that are not. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning is based on three cognitive science principles of learning: the human information processing system includes dual channels for visual/pictorial and auditory/verbal processing (i.e., dual channels assumption), each channel has limited capacity for processing (i.e., limited capacity assumption), and active learning entails carrying out a coordinated set of cognitive processes during learning (i.e., active processing assumption).

Keywords

human information processing systemdual channels assumptionlimited capacity assumptionactive processing assumptioncognitive theory of multimedia learning
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning , pp. 57 - 72
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Azevedo, R., & Aleven, V. (2013). International Handbook of Metacognition and Learning Technologies (Vol. 26). New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baddeley, A. D. (1999). Human Memory. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. D., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2009). Memory. Hove: Psychology Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Chambliss, M. J., & Calfee, R. C. (1998). Textbooks for Learning. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Clark, J. M., & Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory and education. Educational Psychology Review, 3(3), 149–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway, A. R. A., & Kovacs, K. (2020). Working memory and intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence (2nd ed.; pp. 504–527). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cook, L. K., & Mayer, R. E. (1988). Teaching readers about the structure of scientific text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 448–456.Google Scholar
Cowan, N. (2010). The magical mystery four: How is working memory capacity limited and why? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 51–57.Google Scholar
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2015). Learning as a Generative Activity. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hacker, D. J., Dunlosky, J., & Graesser, A. C. (eds.). (2009). Handbook of Metacognition in Education. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, X., & Mayer, R. E. (2016). Benefits of adding anxiety-reducing features to a computer-based multimedia lesson. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 293–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, X., & Mayer, R. E. (2019). Adding self-efficacy features to an online statistics lesson. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57, 1003–1037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Shah, P. (2011). Short-and long-term benefits of cognitive training. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(25), 10081–10086.Google Scholar
Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Makransky, G., Wismer, P., & Mayer, R. E. (2019). A gender matching effect in learning with pedagogical agents in an immersive virtual reality science simulation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35(3), 349–358.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (1989). Systematic thinking fostered by illustrations in scientific text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 240–246.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (1992). Cognition and instruction: Their historic meeting within educational psychology. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 405–412.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (1997). Multimedia learning: Are we asking the tight questions? Educational Psychologist, 32, 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2002). Multimedia learning. In Ross, B. H. (ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Volume 41 (pp. 85–139). San Diego: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of multimedia learning: Using the same instructional design methods across different media. Learning and Instruction, 12, 125–141.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2005). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In Mayer, R. E. (ed.), Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (pp. 31–48). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2008). Applying the science of learning: Evidence-based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. American Psychologist, 63(8), 760–769.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the Science of Learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2014a). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In Mayer, R. E. (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.; pp. 43–71). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2014b). Incorporating motivation into multimedia learning. Learning and Instruction, 29, 171–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2019a). Computer games in education. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 531–549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, R. E. (2019b). Cognitive foundations of game-based learning. In Plass, J., Homer, B., & Mayer, R. E. (eds.), Handbook of Game-based Learning (pp. 83–110). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2021). Multimedia Learning (3rd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (in press). Searching for the role of emotions in e-learning. Learning and Instruction.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1991). Animations need narrations: An experimental test of the dual-coding hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 484–490.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1992). The instructive animation: Helping students build connections between words and pictures in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 444–452.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Bove, W., Bryman, A., Mars, R., & Tapangco, L. (1996). When less is more: Meaningful learning from visual and verbal summaries of science textbook lessons. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 64–73.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & DaPra, S. (2012). An embodiment effect in computer-based learning with animated pedagogical agents. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 18, 239–252.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Estrella, G. (2014). Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction. Learning and Instruction, 33, 12–18.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Gallini, J. K. (1990). When is an illustration worth ten thousand words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 715–726.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Heiser, J., & Lonn, S. (2001). Cognitive constraints on multimedia learning: When presenting more material results in less understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 187–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (1998). A split-attention effect in multimedia learning: Evidence for dual processing systems in working memory. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 312–320.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist, 38, 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Moreno, R., Boire, M., & Vagge, S. (1999). Maximizing constructivist learning from multimedia communications by minimizing cognitive load. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 638–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Sims, V. K. (1994). For whom is a picture worth a thousand words? Extensions of a dual-coding theory of multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 389–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Steinhoff, K., Bower, G., & Mars, R. (1995). A generative theory of textbook design: Using annotated illustrations to foster meaningful learning of science text. Educational Technology Research & Development, 43, 31–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, G. (1956). The magic number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97.Google Scholar
Moreno, R. (2007). Optimising learning from animations by minimizing cognitive load: Cognitive and affective consequences of signaling and segmentation methods. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 765–781.Google Scholar
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A coherence effect in multimedia learning: The case for minimizing irrelevant sounds in the design of multimedia instructional messages. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 117–125.Google Scholar
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2007). Interactive multimodal learning environments. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 309–326.Google Scholar
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How People Learn II. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Paivio, A. (1986). Mental Representations: A Dual Coding Approach. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Paivio, A. (2006). Mind and its Evolution: A Dual Coding Approach. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Parong, J., Wells, A., & Mayer, R. E. (2020). Replicated evidence towards a cognitive theory of game-based training. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 922–937.Google Scholar
Plass, J. L., Chun, D. M., Mayer, R. E., & Leutner, D. (1998). Supporting visual and verbal learning preferences in a second-language multimedia learning environment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. E. (2016). The Power of Interest for Motivation and Engagement. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017). Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and working memory training. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(6), 515–520.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schnotz, W., & Bannert, M. (2003). Construction and interference in learning from multiple representation. Learning and Instruction, 13, 141–156.Google Scholar
Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2016). Self-efficacy theory in education. In Wentzel, K. R. & Miele, D. B. (eds.), Handbook of Motivation at School (2nd ed.; pp. 34–54). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sweller, J. (1999). Instructional Design in Technical Areas. Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Wittrock, M. C. (1989). Generative processes of comprehension. Educational Psychologist, 24, 345–376.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×