Several studies in multimedia learning have examined the effect of emotional design. Recent findings from cognitive psychology provide opportunities for educators to use more direct ways of manipulating emotion to enhance learning. These studies have shown that emotionally arousing words and pictures are remembered better than neutral ones.…

Recent findings from psychological studies have shown that emotional arousal improves human memory. However, more evidence is necessary if these results are generalisable to multimedia learning environments. Considering these needs, the study has the goal to examine the effect of emotional arousal on multimedia learning. Fifty-seven participants…

Anxiety is a common affective state, characterized by the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over an anticipated event. Anxiety is suspected to have important negative consequences on cognition, decision-making, and learning. Yet, despite a recent surge in studies investigating the specific effects of anxiety on reinforcement-learning, no…

Seductive details in general affect learning and cognitive load negatively. However, especially background music as a seductive detail may also influence the learner's arousal, whose optimal level depends on the learner's extraversion. Therefore, the effects of extraversion and background music on learning outcomes, cognitive load, and arousal…

Two experiments assessed the effects of extinguishing a conditioned cue on subsequent context conditioning. Each experiment used a different video-game method where sensors predicted attacking spaceships and participants responded to the sensor in a way that prepared them for the upcoming attack. In Experiment 1 extinction of a cue which signaled…

This study experimentally tested the knowledge gap from an information processing perspective. Specifically, knowledge acquisition was investigated under conditions of medium and low news message arousal, with time delay. Results show the persistence of a knowledge gap, particularly for low arousing messages. In fact, at low levels of message…

An extensive research literature in education and psychology demonstrates positive effects of perspective-taking on various forms of learning. Until recently, perspective-taking has been limited to the mental simulation of how someone with different beliefs, knowledge, physical location, etc., perceives an object or event. Over the last decade…

Literature is reviewed on biobehavioral state and orienting (the reflex alerting to a novel stimuli and resulting in physiological arousal) in an attempt to identify conditions that are prerequisite to or facilitate learning in the profoundly retarded. Several areas are identified where further research is needed. (Author)

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of different modes of supervision on a relatively low demanding activity such as a Mackworth-type vigilance task (1950). (Author)

This experiment tested the hypothesis that paired-associate learning accompanied by high arousal should lead to stronger permanent memory and weaker immediate memory than paired-associate learning accompanied by low arousal. During continuous recording of skin resistance and heart rate as measures of arousal, 32 Ss were given a one-trial,…

INDIVIDUALS LEARN AND RETAIN MATERIAL MORE EFFECTIVELY WHEN THEY ATTEND TO THOSE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENVIRONMENT ABOUT WHICH THEY ARE TO ACQUIRE INFORMATION. TRADITIONALLY GESTURAL AND SITUATIONAL ATTENTION DEVICES HAVE BEEN USED IN CLASSROOMS IN ORDER TO ATTRACT ATTENTION FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION. IT IS POSSIBLE HOWEVER THAT MUCH MORE SUBTLE…

This study examined the relationship between arousal and short- versus long-term memory of auditorally presented continuous information as would be experienced in a typical classroom lecture environment. (Author/RK)

Examined possibility that arousability as manifested in sensitization contributes to individual differences in infants' attentional profiles. Sensitization tended to occur more frequently with more complex than with less complex checkerboards. Infants showing sensitization looked longer and did not habituate as readily as infants who showed no…

The relation of arousal to retention in free learning was studied in a 3 x 2 design employing 48 undergraduates as Ss, three list conditions (high arousal, low arousal, mixed list) and two retention intervals (immediate and 3 days). Arousal value of the words was based on earlier studies. Contrary to previous paired-associate studies, no…