Research suggests that explanatory pictures support learning, whereas pictures that distract processing resources from the main ideas of a text may impair learning and are considered as seductive illustrations. However, non-explanatory pictures that are related to the text and that do not tempt readers to focus illustrations more than the text's…

Although retrieval practice is a more effective learning strategy than restudy, students oftentimes prefer the latter. Previous studies have investigated this suboptimal decision at strategy level. The present study, however, focused on the learning task level: How perceived mental effort and perceived learning during task performance influence…

How to improve our episodic memory is an important issue in the field of memory. In the present study, we used a discriminative learning paradigm that was similar to a paradigm used in animal studies. In Experiment 1, a picture (e.g., a dog) was either paired with an identical picture, with a similar picture of the same concept (e.g., another…

Skill acquisition theorists conceptualize second language (L2) learning as the acquisition of a set of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. The dominant view in skill acquisition theory is to regard L2 skill acquisition as a three-stage process "from initial representation of knowledge through initial changes in behavior to eventual…

This study aimed to examine how different forms (still pictures vs. animations) of seductive illustrations impact text-and-graphic learning processes, perceptions, and outcomes. An eye-tracking experiment of three groups (static, dynamic, and control) was conducted with 60 college and graduate students while learning with PowerPoint slides about…

This study investigates secondary-task interference on eye movements through learning with multimedia. We focus on the relationship between the influence of the secondary task on the eye movements of learners, and the learning outcomes as measured by retention, matching, and transfer. Half of the participants performed a spatial tapping task while…

The studies regarding using a cross sectional view of speech organs enriched with attention cueing and written text to probe learners' learning efficiency and behavior through mobile phones is scant. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the presence of attention cueing can benefit learners with different amounts of prior knowledge in…

Naming a picture of a dog primes the subsequent naming of a picture of a dog (repetition priming) and interferes with the subsequent naming of a picture of a cat (semantic interference). Behavioral studies suggest that these effects derive from persistent changes in the way that words are activated and selected for production, and some have…

In the split-attention effect spatial proximity is frequently considered to be pivotal. The transition from a spatially separated to a spatially integrated format not only involves changes in spatial proximity, but commonly necessitates text segmentation and picture labelling as well. In an experimental study, we investigated the influence of…

From an information processing perspective, humans have a limited attentional capacity for processing information. Thus, second language (L2) researchers have investigated the role of pretask planning in task performance, finding that planning results in greater fluency and complexity but has mixed effects on accuracy. However, most planning…

This report uses mental model theory to create a taxonomy of picture functions in order to relate these functions to learning theories. A rough outline of picture functions is presented, consisting of a retrieval function, a focus function, a construction function, and a supplantation function. It is suggested that this taxonomy could be helpful…

Focuses on the development of the executive monitoring function and addresses the question of whether a rehearsal strategy is used on two different tasks where such use is appropriate. Subjects were elementary and secondary school children and adults. (MP)

An internal cognitive variable--mental imagery representation--was studied using a set of three information-processing strategies under external stimulus visual display conditions for various learning levels. The copy strategy provided verbal and visual dual-coding and required formation of a vivid mental image. The relational strategy combined…

Ninety-nine preoperational stage children learned 24 pictorial paired-associates at one of three levels of concreteness: low detail line drawings, high detail line drawings, high detail line drawings with a verbal prompt. Within each of these groups, one-third of the subjects received either visual attentional training, no training, or were…