Article

The speaker/gender effect: Does the speaker's gender matter when presenting auditory text in multimedia messages?

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Abstract

Current cognitive multimedia design theories provide several guidelines on how to integrate verbal and pictorial information. However, the recommendations for the design of auditory texts (narrations) are still fragmentary, especially with regard to the characteristics of the voices used. In the current paper, a fundamental question is addressed, namely, whether to use a male or a female speaker. In two experiments, learners studied dynamic visualizations on probability theory that were accompanied by narrations. The learner’s gender and the speaker’s gender served as between-subjects variables. In the first study, learners were randomly assigned to speakers of different gender. In the second study, learners could choose among different speakers. The results show that learners achieved better learning outcomes when the narration was presented by a female speaker rather than a male speaker irrespective of the learner’s gender (speaker/gender effect). Being given the choice, learners preferred female speakers, but this individual preference had no impact on learning outcomes. The results suggest augmenting purely cognitive approaches to multimedia design by social-motivational assumptions. KeywordsSpeaker/gender effect-Multimedia design-Narration-Parasocial interaction-Media equation

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... Pesquisas demonstram que, por um lado, os ouvintes recordam melhor o conteúdo de discurso dado pelo homem do que pela mulher (Markham, 1988). Por outro lado, os alunos, independentemente do seu sexo, alcançam melhores resultados de aprendizado quando o texto auditivo foi apresentado pelo falante feminino do que pelo masculino (Linek;Gerjets;Scheiter, 2010). Tendo em conta o impacto do gênero do orador relativa à compreensão da língua, induzimos que, o intérprete apresenta um grau de fluência inconsistente com oradores de diferentes gêneros. ...
... Pesquisas demonstram que, por um lado, os ouvintes recordam melhor o conteúdo de discurso dado pelo homem do que pela mulher (Markham, 1988). Por outro lado, os alunos, independentemente do seu sexo, alcançam melhores resultados de aprendizado quando o texto auditivo foi apresentado pelo falante feminino do que pelo masculino (Linek;Gerjets;Scheiter, 2010). Tendo em conta o impacto do gênero do orador relativa à compreensão da língua, induzimos que, o intérprete apresenta um grau de fluência inconsistente com oradores de diferentes gêneros. ...
... Pesquisas demonstram que, por um lado, os ouvintes recordam melhor o conteúdo de discurso dado pelo homem do que pela mulher (Markham, 1988). Por outro lado, os alunos, independentemente do seu sexo, alcançam melhores resultados de aprendizado quando o texto auditivo foi apresentado pelo falante feminino do que pelo masculino (Linek;Gerjets;Scheiter, 2010). Tendo em conta o impacto do gênero do orador relativa à compreensão da língua, induzimos que, o intérprete apresenta um grau de fluência inconsistente com oradores de diferentes gêneros. ...
Article
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Os estudos na interpretação consecutiva chinês-português (Lopes, 2018; Zhou; Sun, 2020) têm ganhado atenção crescente nos últimos anos. O presente estudo visa explorar em que medida as características do ambiente e da tarefa (Chen, 2017) podem influenciar a carga cognitiva da interpretação consecutiva. Baseado numa adaptação das dimensões de avaliação propostas por Skehan (2003), o estudo avalia a carga cognitiva através do fenômeno de disfluência, assim aplica a correlação estatística entre a fluência e os fatores influentes. Entre as características examinadas, destacam-se a ordem e duração de turno de interpretação, a direção de interpretação, a localidade e o gênero do orador de discurso-fonte, sendo elas em ordem decrescente de importância, enquanto a velocidade do discurso-fonte não mostra correlação significativa com a fluência. O estudo evidencia os indicadores estatisticamente significativos para a fluência da interpretação e analisa as causas possíveis, contribuindo para conhecer a carga cognitiva da interpretação consecutiva chinês-português e incentiva estudos futuros da área na adoção de disfluências como instrumento na avaliação da carga cognitiva.
... Studies on the so-called voice principle demonstrate that learners prefer learning from a human voice over machine-synthesized voices, which leads to more mental effort investment and to higher learning success (e.g., Atkinson et al., 2005). This has been explained by the theoretical assumptions outlined in the social agency theory (Bandura, 1989) and media equation theory (Reeves and Nass, 1996), arguing that social cues, such as a human voice, lead to the perception of being in some kind of social communication (Linek et al., 2010). ...
... Despite investigating whether human voices generally affect learning in a multimedia setting, a few studies (e.g., Arroyo et al., 2009;Linek et al., 2010;Rodicio, 2012;Hoogerheide et al., 2016Hoogerheide et al., , 2018 have examined whether one can learn more effectively from either a female or a male instructor or speaker. This question is highly relevant as gender is argued to be also one of the first and strongest social cues that others notice in a learning environment (Contreras et al., 2013). ...
... Empirical studies in which only the instructor's voice can be heard partly demonstrate that the learning impact of a male or female speaker depends on perceived attributes such as the speakers' attractiveness or gender stereotypes such as the assumed appropriateness of a speaker concerning the learning topic. For example, the finding of the study of Linek et al. (2010) revealed that, due to a higher perception of a female speakers' voice attractiveness, learners invested higher mental effort in terms of the overall number of cognitive resources when learning mathematics with auditory explanations and reached better learning outcomes. In contrast, in the study of Rodicio (2012), learners perceived male speakers as more competent in contrast to female speakers when learning about more typically male-based topics such as geology or mathematics, which resulted in higher learning outcomes. ...
Article
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One crucial design characteristic of auditory texts embedded in instructional videos is the speaker gender, which has received some attention from empirical researcher in the recent years. Contrary to the theoretical assumption that similarity between the speaker’s and the learner’s gender might positively affect learning outcomes, the findings have often been mixed, showing null to contrary effects. Notwithstanding the effect on the outcomes, a closer look at how the speaker’s gender and speaker–learner similarities further determine cognitive variables, such as different cognitive load types, is overdue. Moreover, on the part of the learner, the role of situational interest in the learning topic that might be gender related has been neglected so far. Therefore, this study explored the role of speaker and learner gender and their interaction regarding learning outcomes. We broaden our perspective by investigating the effects of gender-related differences concerning situational interest in the topic being taught and by determining different types of cognitive load. In a 2 (female/male speaker) × 2 (female/male learner) within- and between-subject design, 95 students learned about female and male human sexual maturity with an instructional video containing auditory explanations. Analysis results indicate that speaker gender and speaker–learner gender similarity had no impact on learning gains, situational interest, and cognitive load types. However, the results demonstrate that learner’s gender, especially for the topic of female sexual maturity, matters the most in line with the assessed variables. Compared with males, females had higher learning gains, reported higher interest in the topic, and invested more germane cognitive resources. Thus, instructional designers may want to consider learner gender-dependent interest and how it can be triggered when creating videos with auditory explanations.
... 2. Literature review 2.1 Social agency theory According to the social agency theory, imbuing multimedia presentation with verbal and nonverbal stimuli that convey social cues, can lead learners to interpret the multimedia message as a social communication process, which, in turn, encourages learners to put more effort in ILS 121,3/4 understanding the materials (Mayer et al., 2003;Atkinson et al., 2005). Specifically, the social agency theory defines five steps that explain the effects of social cues in a multimedia presentation (Linek et al., 2010). First, it is postulated that stimuli such as voice and image of speakers embedded in a multimedia presentation can act as social cues. ...
... The effects of voice gender of a speaker in the context of multimedia learning was investigated by Linek et al. (2010). Their findings indicated that learners who listened to the narration by a female speaker outperformed learners who listened to the narration by a male speaker in terms of problem-solving test scores. ...
... However, only a few studies have included the measures of cognitive load when examining the effects of voice characteristics. Further, most of the studies that assessed cognitive load impacts of voice focused on voice mechanization and voice gender (Atkinson et al., 2005;Mayer et al., 2003;Craig and Schroeder, 2017;Linek et al., 2010). One study showed that the learners who listened to the human-voice narration assigned lower perceived difficulty when learning about the subject (cognitive load) than did the learners who listened to the machine-synthesized narration (Mayer et al., 2003). ...
Article
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Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of voice enthusiasm (enthusiastic voice vs calm voice) on social ratings of the speaker, cognitive load and transfer performance in multimedia learning. Design/methodology/approach Two laboratory experiments were conducted in which learners learned from a multimedia presentation about computer algorithm that was narrated by either an enthusiastic human voice or a calm human voice. Findings Results from Experiment 1 revealed that the enthusiastic voice narration led to higher social ratings of the speaker and transfer performance when compared to the calm voice narration. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the enthusiastic voice led to higher affective social ratings (human-like and engaging) and transfer performance as compared to the calm voice. Moreover, it was shown that a calm voice prompted a higher germane load than an enthusiastic voice, which conforms to the argument that prosodic cues in voice can influence processing in multimedia learning among non-native speakers. Originality/value This study extends from prior studies that examined voice effects related to mechanization, accent, dialect, and slang in multimedia learning to examining the effects of voice enthusiasm in multimedia learning.
... The model-observer similarity (MOS) hypothesis has inspired researchers to examine whether the effectiveness of modeling examples depends on how similar learners perceive themselves to be relative to the model in terms of factors such as age (e.g., Hicks, 1965;Rodriguez Buritica, Eppinger, Schuck, Heekeren, & Shu-Chen Li, 2015;Weeks et al., 2005;Zmyj, Aschersleben, Prinz, & Daum, 2012), expertise (e.g., Braaksma et al., 2002;Sonnenschein & Whitehurst, 1980;Schunk & Hanson, 1985), gender (e.g., Linek, Gerjets, & Scheiter, 2010;Schunk, Hanson, & Cox, 1987), and to a lesser extent also background (e.g., Rosekrans, 1967). Overall, however, research investigating MOS effects has led to mixed results. ...
... More recent studies also suggest mixed findings, however. Surprisingly in light of the above, a study with university students learning probability calculation with dynamic visualizations accompanied by a male or female model's narration showed that a female model was preferred and led to better learning outcomes than a male model (Linek, Gerjets, & Scheiter, 2010). However, findings of Rodicio (2012) and Lee, Liao, and Ryu (2007) suggest the opposite, namely that male narrations should be preferred. ...
... Several recent studies compared learning from dynamic visualizations (i.e., video, animation) accompanied by a male or female voice over. Surprisingly, in view of the idea that the gender- appropriateness of the behavior may be important for perceived similarity, Linek, Gerjets, and Scheiter (2010) found that for university students who learned about probability calculation, a female voice was more preferred and more conducive to learning outcomes. ...
Thesis
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My dissertation for obtaining my doctorate that I will defend October 20th. Comprises research on the effects of observing demonstration videos (should the person be visible in the video or not? Does it matter who the person in the video is?) and of creating video modeling examples (effects of explaining in front of a camera).
... Social agency theory is a collection of ideas that explain how social factors influence multimedia learning (Linek et al., 2010). Firstly, cues including voice or image of presenters integrated into a multimedia lesson might act as a social stimuli. ...
... Concerning gender issue in voice, Linek et al. (2010) demonstrated that the female voice was more successful at gathering learners' attention and retention socres compared to the male voice. The social ratings of the female voice, additionally, was found to be more assertive and appealing. ...
Article
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The voice effect or principle assumes that people learn better when they are exposed to multimedia instruction that includes a human voice rather than a machine voice. This investigation reconsiders the voice principle by investigating the relationship between learning outcomes and mental effort of the learners. Text-to-speech (TTS) engines have improved dramatically since the early 2000s, thanks to technological advancements. The researchers employed sophisticated TTS engines in a pretest-posttest design to analyze the various voice types (human voice, traditional machine voice, and modern machine voice). The results indicated that the progress in TTS technology enabled to generate real-life-like voices, and therefore no significant difference was observed between the modern and human voice. Furthermore, the participants’ cognitive load was consistent with the findings of the learning outcomes.
... The tablet-based story game application was developed in Unity 3D [62] and programmed entirely using the C# scripting language. For an overview of the rationale, developmental design-related decisions, stories, and programming details of the game, refer to the technical story game development guide (Multimedia Appendix 2 [5,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53]58,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]). The story game provided 72 gaming sessions, each of which mainly comprised listening to 1 long (eg, approximately 10 minutes) or 2 short (eg, twice approximately 5 minutes) stories accompanied by story illustrations. ...
... Of the 91 children who were asked to play the story game, 7 (8%) were excluded from the data set because of technical game problems during the intervention period (bugs; explained in (Multimedia Appendix 2 [5,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53]58,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]). Approximately 2% (2/91) of children were excluded as they never started the general digital gaming intervention properly (ie, they played <10% of the GG-FL or AC and the story game). ...
Article
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Background: Enjoyment plays a key role in the success and feasibility of serious gaming interventions. Unenjoyable games will not be played, and in the case of serious gaming, learning will not occur. Therefore, a so-called GameFlow model has been developed, which intends to guide (serious) game developers in the process of creating and evaluating enjoyment in digital (serious) games. Regarding language learning, a variety of serious games targeting specific language components exist in the market, albeit often without available assessments of enjoyment or feasibility. Objective: This study evaluates the enjoyment and feasibility of a tablet-based, serious story-listening game for kindergarteners, developed based on the principles of the GameFlow model. This study also preliminarily explores the possibility of using the game to foster language comprehension. Methods: Within the framework of a broader preventive reading intervention, 91 kindergarteners aged 5 years with a cognitive risk for dyslexia were asked to play the story game for 12 weeks, 6 days per week, either combined with a tablet-based phonics intervention or control games. The story game involved listening to and rating stories and responding to content-related questions. Game enjoyment was assessed through postintervention questionnaires, a GameFlow-based evaluation, and in-game story rating data. Feasibility was determined based on in-game general question response accuracy (QRA), reflecting the difficulty level, attrition rate, and final game exposure and training duration. Moreover, to investigate whether game enjoyment and difficulty influenced feasibility, final game exposure and training duration were predicted based on the in-game initial story ratings and initial QRA. Possible growth in language comprehension was explored by analyzing in-game QRA as a function of the game phase and baseline language skills. Results: Eventually, data from 82 participants were analyzed. The questionnaire and in-game data suggested an overall enjoyable game experience. However, the GameFlow-based evaluation implied room for game design improvement. The general QRA confirmed a well-adapted level of difficulty for the target sample. Moreover, despite the overall attrition rate of 39% (32/82), 90% (74/82) of the participants still completed 80% of the game, albeit with a large variation in training days. Higher initial QRA significantly increased game exposure (β=.35; P<.001), and lower initial story ratings significantly slackened the training duration (β=-0.16; P=.003). In-game QRA was positively predicted by game phase (β=1.44; P=.004), baseline listening comprehension (β=1.56; P=.002), and vocabulary (β=.16; P=.01), with larger QRA growth over game phases in children with lower baseline listening comprehension skills (β=-0.08; P=.04). Conclusions: Generally, the story game seemed enjoyable and feasible. However, the GameFlow model evaluation and predictive relationships imply room for further game design improvements. Furthermore, our results cautiously suggest the potential of the game to foster language comprehension; however, future randomized controlled trials should further elucidate the impact on language comprehension.
... The tablet-based story game application was developed in Unity 3D [62] and programmed entirely using the C# scripting language. For an overview of the rationale, developmental design-related decisions, stories, and programming details of the game, refer to the technical story game development guide (Multimedia Appendix 2 [5,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53]58,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]). The story game provided 72 gaming sessions, each of which mainly comprised listening to 1 long (eg, approximately 10 minutes) or 2 short (eg, twice approximately 5 minutes) stories accompanied by story illustrations. ...
... Of the 91 children who were asked to play the story game, 7 (8%) were excluded from the data set because of technical game problems during the intervention period (bugs; explained in (Multimedia Appendix 2 [5,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53]58,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]). Approximately 2% (2/91) of children were excluded as they never started the general digital gaming intervention properly (ie, they played <10% of the GG-FL or AC and the story game). ...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Game enjoyment plays a key role in the success and feasibility of digital serious gaming interventions. Unenjoyable games will not be played and in the case of serious gaming, learning will not occur. Given this importance, a so-called GameFlow model has been developed, intending to guide (serious) game developers in the process of creating and evaluating enjoyment in digital (serious) games. Regarding language learning, a variety of serious games, targeting specific language components, exist on the market, albeit often without available assessments of enjoyment or feasibility. OBJECTIVE The current study evaluates enjoyment and feasibility of a tablet-based serious story listening game for kindergarteners, developed based on the principles of the GameFlow model. Given the focus on story listening, this study additionally aims at preliminary exploring the possibility of the game to foster language comprehension. METHODS Within the framework of a broader preventive reading intervention, 91 five-year old kindergarteners at cognitive risk for dyslexia were asked to play the story game for 12 weeks, six days per week, either combined with a tablet-based phonics intervention or tablet-based active control games. The story game mainly involved story listening and rating, and responding to content-related questions. Game enjoyment was assessed through post-intervention questionnaire outcomes, a GameFlow-based evaluation, and in-game story rating data. Feasibility was determined based on in-game general question response accuracy (QRA), reflecting the difficulty level, attrition rate, and final game exposure and training duration. Additionally, in order to investigate whether game enjoyment and difficulty could influence feasibility, final game exposure and training duration were predicted based on in-game initial story ratings and initial QRA. The possible growth in language comprehension was explored by analyzing in-game QRA as a function of game phase and baseline language skills. RESULTS Questionnaire and in-game data suggested an overall enjoyable game experience. The GameFlow-based evaluation however, implied room for improvement concerning the game design. General QRA confirmed a well-adapted difficulty level for the target sample. Moreover, despite an overall attrition rate of 39%, 80% of the participants still completed 90% of the game, albeit with a large variation in training days. Higher initial QRA resulted in a significantly higher game exposure (P<.001) and lower initial story ratings significantly slackened the training duration (P=.003). In-game QRA was positively predicted by game phase (P=.004), baseline listening comprehension (P=.002), and vocabulary (P=.010), with larger QRA growths over game phases in children with lower baseline listening comprehension skills (P=.044). CONCLUSIONS Generally, participants experienced the story game as enjoyable and feasible. Yet, the GameFlow-model evaluation and predictive relationships imply room for further game design improvement. Additionally, our results cautiously suggest a potential of the story game to foster language comprehension. Yet, future randomized controlled trials need to elucidate the actual gaming impact on language comprehension. CLINICALTRIAL S60962
... Does voice affect one's perception of other human beings' identity and behavior? When presenting auditory text in multimedia messages, learners performed better when the narration was presented by a female speaker (Linek, 2010). Smith, Jones, Feinberg and Allan (2012) investigated the modulatory effect of male voice pitch on long-term memory in women. ...
... The other is that users resonate more to the gendered voices that match their own (Nass & Brave, 2005). However, various contexts affect the participants' perception of an interface (Linek, 2010;Nass et al., 1997;Nass & Brave, 2005;Lee et al., 2008). ...
Article
The study investigated whether apologetic synthetic gendered voices affect users' perception of an error-prone VUI. In a TV viewing task, participants interacted with the conversational TV, and executed eight menus in a 2 (apologetic error message: yes vs. no) by 2 (voice gender) by 2 (subject gender) gender balanced, between participants experiment. When participants encountered errors, the TV provided verbal error messages, with or without an apology. The results revealed significant two-way interaction effects of apology (yes) and voice gender (male) on perception of the TV, and the voice. Irrespective of gender, participants responded to a male voice more, when it offered apologies for errors. It is interpreted that the context in which genuineness of apology was regarded as important made participants perceive a male voice as being more trustworthy than a female voice. The participants seem to have applied gender stereotypical perceptions to gendered VUI, as they do to other humans.
... Support. According to the Limited Capacity Model of mediated message processing, the ongoing stream of information in a video constantly challenges the user to decide which information to encode, process and store (Catrambone & Yuasa, 2006;Linek, Gerjets, & Scheiter, 2010;Palmiter, 1993). New video information must continuously be attended to, brought into working memory, and eventually stored into long-term memory. ...
... A slow demonstration can be boring, which can make the user inattentive. A fast demonstration can overload the user who may react with an automatic response, or stop viewing altogether (compare Bovair & Kieras, 1991;Linek et al., 2010). ...
Article
Purpose: Video has become a popular means for delivering "how to" information about a wide variety of software tasks. With video rapidly becoming a major instructional method, the question arises of their effectiveness for software training. This paper provides a set of eight guidelines for the construction of instructional videos for software training.Method: The guidelines present a concise view on how to design an instructional video for software training. They are based on a considerable body of research on how people process visual and verbal information and how to support these processes. Each guideline is described, illustrated, and supported with research findings from various disciplines.Results: The guidelines were tested in three consecutive empirical studies. In these studies a set of instructional videos for Word's formatting options were designed. The effects of the video instructions were compared with a paper tutorial (Van der Meij & Van der Meij, in preparation). We found that the video instructions yielded more favorable appraisals for motivation, higher skills proficiency immediately after training, and better skills retention after a one-week delay.Conclusions: The guidelines offer patterns that could further advance the theory and practice of the design of instructional videos for software training. A limitation of the study is that we concentrated on instructional video that serve a tutorial function. For video that function as a reference guide not all the guidelines are equally important, and also some new guidelines may be called for.
... It should be mentioned that the speaker was female with a standard accent of a similar age to the subjects. It must be checked whether comparable results can be reproduced in conjunction with variations of gender (Linek et al., 2010), pronunciation, and age (Skoog Waller et al., 2015). Further, although our analyses were conducted aiming for a medium-large effect size, replications with a larger sample size could try to detect smaller between group differences. ...
... It is important to point out that these discrepancies cannot readily be explained by differences in instructor quality or students' investment of study time. Although students rate women instructors lower, they do not learn less if they are taught by women (as observed by Mengel et al., 2019, andLinek et al., 2009). (Other studies, including meta-analyses, e.g., Uttl et al., 2017, also found that learning did not depend on instructor gender.) ...
Article
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We synthesized the vast, contradictory scholarly literature on gender bias in academic science from 2000 to 2020. In the most prestigious journals and media outlets, which influence many people's opinions about sexism, bias is frequently portrayed as an omnipresent factor limiting women's progress in the tenure-track academy. Claims and counterclaims regarding the presence or absence of sexism span a range of evaluation contexts. Our approach relied on a combination of meta-analysis and analytic dissection. We evaluated the empirical evidence for gender bias in six key contexts in the tenure-track academy: (a) tenure-track hiring, (b) grant funding, (c) teaching ratings, (d) journal acceptances, (e) salaries, and (f) recommendation letters. We also explored the gender gap in a seventh area, journal productivity, because it can moderate bias in other contexts. We focused on these specific domains, in which sexism has most often been alleged to be pervasive, because they represent important types of evaluation, and the extensive research corpus within these domains provides sufficient quantitative data for comprehensive analysis. Contrary to the omnipresent claims of sexism in these domains appearing in top journals and the media, our findings show that tenure-track women are at parity with tenure-track men in three domains (grant funding, journal acceptances, and recommendation letters) and are advantaged over men in a fourth domain (hiring). For teaching ratings and salaries, we found evidence of bias against women; although gender gaps in salary were much smaller than often claimed, they were nevertheless concerning. Even in the four domains in which we failed to find evidence of sexism disadvantaging women, we nevertheless acknowledge that broad societal structural factors may still impede women's advancement in academic science. Given the substantial resources directed toward reducing gender bias in academic science, it is imperative to develop a clear understanding of when and where such efforts are justified and of how resources can best be directed to mitigate sexism when and where it exists.
... When learners had the opportunity to select a PA for the learning task, both male and female students tended to select a same-gender (Ozogul et al., 2013). Furthermore, Moreno and Flowerday (2006), as well as Linek et al. (2010) could not found evidence for the similarity-attraction hypothesis. Kim et al.'s study design (2007) resembles the design of the current experiment and thus, has to be discussed in detail. ...
Article
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Pedagogical agents were found to enhance learning but studies on the emotional effects of such agents are still missing. While first results show that pedagogical agents with an emotionally positive design might especially foster learning, these findings might depend on the gender of the agent and the learner. This study investigated whether emotional expressions performed by an on-screen instructor were able to increase learning outcomes while considering differences the gender of the agent and the learner. In a 2 (neutral vs. enthusiastic expressions) × 2 (female vs. male agent) between-subject design with additional consideration of the gender of the learner, data of 129 participants was collected. Results revealed that the manipulation of enthusiasm lead to higher perceptions of positive emotions. In addition, a pedagogical agent who performed enthusiastic expressions led to a higher retention but not transfer performance. In terms of the gender of the agent and the learner, male learners retained knowledge better when they watched the agent performing enthusiastic expression irrespective of the persona gender. Female learners, however, retained knowledge only better when a female agent performed enthusiastic expressions. Results are discussed in the light of the positivity principle, model-observer similarity hypotheses and current theories on social cues in multimedia learning.
... All auditory stimuli were presented by a female native Japanese-speaking haiku poet in her 20s, because narration is generally more understandable when presented by female speakers than male speakers, irrespective of the listener's sex (Linek et al., 2010). The recitation of each piece required less than 4 s and was recorded in WAV format at a sampling frequency of 12000 Hz using Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2021). ...
Article
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We investigated pupillary responses to the world's shortest fixed verses, Japanese haiku as aesthetic poetry (AP) and senryu as comic poetry (CP), in comparison with non-poetry control stimuli (NP) comprised of slogans that had the same rhythm patterns. Native Japanese speakers without literary training listened to these stimuli while we recorded their pupil diameters. We found that participants' pupils were significantly dilated for CP compared to NP in an early time window. While AP also evoked larger dilations than NP, the latency for AP-related pupil dilation was relatively long. Thus, lay people experience quick and intense arousal in response to funny and humorous words, while aesthetic properties of words may also elicit intense but slower changes in listeners' arousal levels, presumably because they evoke more implicit and subtle emotional effects. This study is the first to provide evidence that poetic language elicits human pupillary dilation. A better understanding of the cognitive and neural substrates for the sensitive awareness of pleasures expressed via poetic language will provide insights for improving mental and physical health. Hence, pupillometry can act as a useful convenient measurement to delineate the sympathetic activation of emotional contexts via language.
... Fiorella et al., 2019), but has also been addressed in the context of adding people or animated human-like characters (also known as avatars or agents, see Castro-Alonso, Wong, et al., 2021) to other forms of technology-enhanced learning such as animations (e.g. Linek et al., 2011) and computer-based learning environments (e.g. Kim & Wei, 2011). . ...
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Background As a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic, many teachers found themselves making a rapid and often challenging shift from in‐person classroom teaching to teaching in an online environment. As teachers continue to learn about working in this new environment, research in cognitive and learning sciences, specifically findings from cognitive load theory and related areas, can provide meaningful strategies for teaching in this ‘new normal’. Objectives This paper describes 12 tips derived from contemporary research in educational psychology, focusing particularly on empirically supported strategies that teachers may apply in their online classroom to ensure that learning is optimized. Implications for Practice These strategies are generalizable across age groups and learning areas, and are categorized into one of two themes: approaches to optimize the design of online learning materials, and instructional strategies to support student learning. A discussion follows, outlining how teachers may apply these strategies in different contexts, with a brief overview of emerging efforts that aim to bridge cognitive load theory and self‐regulated learning research.
... In addition, explicit information about the background of interlocutors, particularly speakers' sex, may impact communication outcomes. For instance, Linek et al. (2010) found that, irrespective of their gender, learners achieved better learning outcomes when narration was presented by a female rather than a male speaker. In the same vein, Callan and Gallois (1983) reported that female speakers were rated as friendly compared to male speakers. ...
Article
This study examined the evaluation of standard-accented English (SAE) and nonstandard accented English (non-SAE) speakers in the United States. Results of an experiment (N = 670) manipulating accent, nationality/L1 introduction, and speaker sex revealed main effects for accent on the evaluation of status, solidarity, and dynamism, and a main effect of speaker sex on solidarity. Additionally, an interaction effect between accent and nationality/L1 introduction on status and dynamism was found, as was an interaction effect of accent and speaker sex on dynamism. These results suggest complexity in the evaluation of non-SAE speakers and are discussed in relation to language attitudes and intergroup communication.
... Previous work found that the characteristics of a speaker's voice that can affect learning (i.e., transfer and social perception) in multimedia settings are (amongst others) mechanization (human vs machinesynthesized voice) (Atkinson et al., 2005;Mayer et al., 2003), accent (native vs. foreign accent) (Mayer et al., 2003), gender (male vs. female voice) (Linek et al., 2010), dialect (regional dialect vs. standard speech) (Rey & Steib, 2013) and slang (youth slang vs. standard speech) (Schneider et al., 2015). However, there is limited evidence on whether and, more importantly, how artificial teachers' vocal nonverbal cues can influence multimedia learning outcomes. ...
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Background Though pedagogical artificial agents are expected to play a crucial role in the years to come, earlier studies provide inconsistent results regarding their effect on learning. This might be because their potential for exhibiting subtle nonverbal behaviours we know from human teachers has been untapped. What is more, there is little evidence of the processes underlying the effect of nonverbal behaviours of teachers (either human or artificial) on learning, so as to better guide their practical application. Objectives The aims of the current research were threefold: firstly, to examine the effect of an artificial agent's vocal expressiveness on non‐verbal immediacy (teachers' ability to increase psychological closeness through nonverbal communication). Secondly, to test whether an artificial agent showing strong vocal expressiveness will enhance affective and cognitive learning (perceived and actual), as compared to an artificial agent that shows weak vocal expressiveness. Thirdly, to examine whether the underlying mechanisms of motivation and attention explain the effect of immediacy (and thereby also of vocal expressiveness) on the two learning outcomes. Methods The study used a between‐participants design, with the participants being randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: artificial modelling with strong expressiveness and artificial modelling with weak vocal expressiveness. Results and conclusions Results showed that an artificial agent with strong vocal expressiveness increased affective and perceived cognitive learning. Partial support was found for actual cognitive learning. What is more, our findings revealed that vocal expressiveness is related to affective and perceived cognitive learning because it promotes nonverbal immediacy. Finally, results provided evidence of motivation as a mediator of the path from immediacy to affective learning. Major takeaways The current findings verify the important role of nonverbal immediacy found in traditional educational settings. However, showing that these results also apply to artificial teachers is essential, given that the educational landscape is changing and reshaping by artificial intelligence. Thus, taking into consideration the role of vocal expressiveness in the development of artificial teachers or voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google assistant, as a way to enhance immediacy and affective experience of learners is of imperative value, since they will be found more and more in our societies.
... Ferner gibt es Befunde zur Verwendung von weiblichen und männlichen Stimmen (z.B. Hartley et al. 1989;Karayianni und Gardiner 2003;Linek 2007aLinek , 2007bLinek, Gerjets und Scheiter 2010), wobei auch hier ein Bündel von paraverbalen Eigenschaften gleichzeitig miteinander verglichen werden. Allerdings wurden hier weitgehend nur Effekte auf das Lernen untersucht (z.B. kognitive Belastung, Lernerfolg), u.a. in Abhängigkeit vom Geschlecht der Lernenden und Attraktivitätseinschätzungen der Stimme, welche insgesamt eine heterogene Befundlage widerspiegelt. ...
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Social cues are an essential component of all types of learning material. They comprise verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal stimuli as well as mutually related sequences of stimuli. Although the investigation of social cues in learning materials has had a long history, systematic research on this topic is limited. The research has primarily included cognitive, motivational, affective and social processes that are triggered or influenced by the use of social cues in learning material. One prominent focus of the empirical research on social cues has been on social processes. Social cues are assumed to have a positive influence on the learning process, for example, by stimulating the impression of a person’s (teacher) social presence, which leads to increased motivation to learn, more learning to understand, and finally to better performance in learning tests. In this paper, we outline the variety of social cues in learning materials, outline their impact on learning via social processes, summarize the relevant empirical evidence, and discuss neglected aspects of social cues.
... Previous work found that the characteristics of a speaker's voice that can affect learning (i.e., transfer and social perception) in multimedia settings are (amongst others) mechanization (human vs machinesynthesized voice) (Atkinson et al., 2005;Mayer et al., 2003), accent (native vs. foreign accent) (Mayer et al., 2003), gender (male vs. female voice) (Linek et al., 2010), dialect (regional dialect vs. standard speech) (Rey & Steib, 2013) and slang (youth slang vs. standard speech) (Schneider et al., 2015). However, there is limited evidence on whether and, more importantly, how artificial teachers' vocal nonverbal cues can influence multimedia learning outcomes. ...
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Various nonverbal behaviors – often referred to as nonverbal immediacy - of both human and virtual teachers have been shown to play a crucial role in student learning. However, past literature provides limited evidence of the effect of a virtual agent’s vocalization, as a nonverbal immediacy cue, on learning outcomes. Even less is known about the effect of nonverbal immediacy on learning when used in conjunction with virtual behavioral modeling. Earlier research provides evidence that virtual behavioral modeling could be an effective instructional method to facilitate learning in multimedia learning environments. The current work investigated the effects of a virtual model that used stronger vs. weaker vocal nonverbal immediacy on affective learning and cognitive learning (both perceived and objective). The operationalization of the virtual model’s vocal nonverbal immediacy has been realized by manipulating the agent’s vocal parameters of pitch and speech rate. We predicted, that a virtual model with stronger vocal nonverbal immediacy (i.e., higher pitch and faster speech rate) would be more effective in influencing individuals’ learning outcomes, as compared to a virtual model with weaker vocal nonverbal immediacy (i.e., lower pitch and slower speech rate). In accordance with our hypotheses, results revealed that participants who received instructions from a virtual model that used stronger vocal nonverbal immediacy showed greater affective learning, and increased perceptions of learning. Support was also found for an effect on participants’ recall. Results and implications of the study’s findings are discussed.
... The model was a 23-year old Dutch female speaking in a standard-accented voice. Although earlier research suggests a speaker/gender effect, stating that learning outcomes from video modelling examples are higher when narration is presented by a female speaker rather than a male speaker (e.g., Linek, Gerjets, & Scheiter, 2010), more recent research finds gender has no beneficial effects on learning outcomes, though it may influence affective aspects of learning (Hoogerheide, Loyens, & van Gog, 2015). The model in this example was not visible to the viewer, but narrated the actions on-screen by thinking aloud and explaining her reasoning behind each decision. ...
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Although students often appear to be skilled in retrieving and making use of information from the internet, research shows that their information problem solving skills are overestimated. They show deficiencies in many of the necessary skills, such as generation of search terms, selection of sources, and critical processing of information. It is therefore necessary to design and develop effective instruction to foster information problem solving skills. Research shows that learning from examples can be an effective approach for teaching complex cognitive skills in ill‐structured domains, such as writing or communicating. To explore whether this also holds for information problem solving, this study investigates the effects of presenting a modelling example in an online information problem solving training. Results of two experiments show that viewing a modelling example, presented as a screencast of an expert thinking out loud and interspersed with cognitive prompts, leads to a higher posttest performance than performing a practice task. The effect persisted on a delayed posttest 1 week later. The results imply that information problem solving instruction in an online setting can benefit from employing video‐based modelling examples. Example‐based learning is effective for initial skill acquisition. Information problem solving (IPS) is a complex cognitive skill often underdeveloped. No research was found investigating effects of example‐based learning on IPS. Two experiments investigate effects of a video‐based modelling example on IPS performance. The modelling example was compared with a practice task in a short online training. Results show a modelling example leads to higher IPS performance than the practice task. Findings corroborate the effectiveness of example‐based learning on an ill‐structured domain, specifically IPS. Teachers and researchers should consider using modelling examples in IPS instruction.
... In the mid-90s, Clifford Nass proposed a way of seeing computers that would have a significant impact on the research of human-computer interaction (Brahnam and de Angeli 2012;Eyssel and Hegel 2012;Linek et al. 2010;von der Pütten et al. 2010). Instead of conceiving human interaction with technology as being functionalistic and utilitarian, or being a form of mediated communication with some third (human) party, Nass attempted to demonstrate that humans treat a surprisingly wide array of technological artefacts as interactants. ...
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Nass’ and Reeves’ media equation paradigm within human–computer interaction (HCI) challenges long-held assumptions about how users approach computers. Given a rudimentary set of cues present in the system’s design, users are said to unconsciously treat computers as genuine interactants—extending rules of politeness, biases and human interactive conventions to machines. Since the results have wide-ranging implications for HCI research methods, interface design and user experiences, researchers are hard-pressed to experimentally verify the paradigm. This paper focuses on the methodology of attributing the necessary social cues to the agent, a core aspect of the experimental design of studies dealing with the media equation. A typology of experimental anthropomorphisms is developed, allowing an assessment of how the differing axiomatic assumptions affect the relevance of the results for an evaluation of the paradigm. The paper concludes with a series of arguments in favour of one particular anthropomorphism type for researching the media equation.
... Іншою є ситуація із застосуванням динамічних візуалізацій. Багато дослідників вважають неоднозначними дані щодо ефектів від їх використання, і намагаються з'ясувати умови, за яких застосування динамічних візуалізацій допомагає вивченню дисциплін[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. ефективного застосування ЕР необхідно розвивати в контексті предметних галузей. ...
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У статті узагальнені дані щодо аналізу наукової літератури, які стосуються можливостей запобігання когнітивного перенавантаження студентів під час навчання з використанням електронних ресурсів. На їх основі сформульовані загальні принципи, яких треба дотримуватися під час проектування і застосування динамічних візуалізацій. Описані окремі прийоми, що дозволяють коригувати когнітивне навантаження студентів. Розглянуті принципи можуть слугувати орієнтиром для розроблення і перевірки ефективності методик викладання. Їх дотримання дозволить викладачам свідомо й ефективно використовувати можливості інформаційних технологій і адаптувати електронні ресурси до різних груп студентів з урахуванням педагогічних, фізіологічних та психологічних факторів.
... video, animation) accompanied by a male or female voice-over. Surprisingly, in view of the idea that the gender appropriateness of the behaviour may be important for perceived similarity, Linek, Gerjets, and Scheiter (2010) found that for university students who learned about probability calculation, a female voice was more preferred and more conducive to learning outcomes. Rodicio (2012), however, did find effects in favour of male narration over female narration in terms of learning outcomes for university students learning about geography and Lee, Liao, and Ryu (2007) found that a male computer-generated voice relative to a female one led to a more positive evaluation and higher trust and confidence levels when learning about male topics such as football and knights. ...
Article
Example-based learning is a very effective and efficient instructional strategy for novices. It can be implemented using text-based worked examples that provide a written demonstration of how to perform a task, or (video) modelling examples in which an instructor (the ‘model’) provides a demonstration. The model-observer similarity (MOS) hypothesis predicts that the effectiveness of modelling examples partly depends on the degree to which learners perceive the models to be similar to them. It is an open question, however, whether perceived similarity with the person who created the example, would also affect learning from text-based worked examples. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to investigate whether MOS would also play a role in learning from worked examples. In Experiment 1 (N = 147), students were led to believe via pictures and a short story that the worked examples were created by a male or female peer student. Males showed higher performance and confidence, but no effects of MOS on learning were found. In Experiment 2 (N = 130), students were led to believe that a peer student or a teacher created the examples. Again, no effects of MOS were found. These findings suggest that the perceived origin of text-based worked examples is not important for learning.
... More recent studies also suggest mixed findings, however. Surprisingly in light of the above, a study with university students learning probability calculation with dynamic visualizations accompanied by a male or female model's narration showed that a female model was preferred and led to better learning outcomes than a male model (Linek et al. 2010). However, findings of Rodicio (2012) and Lee et al. (2007) suggest the opposite, namely that male narrations should be preferred. ...
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Online learning from video modeling examples, in which a human model demonstrates and explains how to perform a learning task, is an effective instructional method that is increasingly used nowadays. However, model characteristics such as gender tend to differ across videos, and the model-observer similarity hypothesis suggests that such characteristics may affect learning. Therefore, this study investigated whether the effectiveness of learning how to solve a probability calculation problem from video modeling examples would vary as a function of the model’s and observer’s gender. In a 2 (Model: Female/Male) x 2 (Observer: Female/Male) between-subject design, 167 secondary education students learned how to solve probability calculation problems by observing video modeling examples. Results showed no effects of Model or Observer gender on learning and near transfer. Male students reported higher self-efficacy than female students. Compared to a female model, observing a male model enhanced perceived competence more from pretest to posttest, irrespective of observers’ gender. Furthermore, learning from a male model was less effortful and more enjoyable for male students than for female students. These results suggest that gender of both model and observer can matter in terms of affective variables experienced during learning, and that instructional designers may want to consider this when creating (online) learning environments with video modeling examples.
... The negative effect of transient information has been observed in experiments that show poorer learning outcomes after receiving long verbal passages in auditory rather than in textual forms (e.g., Leahy & Sweller, 2011;Singh, Marcus, & Ayres, 2012). As discussed by Leahy and Sweller Study Discipline Content S T E A M Dorethy, 1973 x Visual analysis of space Shipley, Butt, Horwitz, & Farbry, 1978 x Patient getting an endoscopy Rieber, 1990 x Newton's laws of motion Mayer & Sims, 1994 x Human respiratory apparatus Harris & Fenner, 1995 x Choreographic dancing Williamson & Abraham, 1995 x Chemistry reactions Lowe, 2003 x Weather map sequences Yang, Andre, Greenbowe, & Tibell, 2003 x Electrochemistry in a flashlight Stith, 2004 x Cell apoptosis Mayer, Hegarty, Mayer, & Campbell, 2005 x Brakes and flushing systems Cooley, 2007 x Audiovisual poetry Boucheix, 2008 x Gear systems Kalyuga, 2008 x Linear and quadratic functions Fischer, Lowe, & Schwan, 2008 x Mechanism of pendulum clock Marbach-Ad, Rotbain, & Stavy, 2008 x Protein synthesis Nadaner, 2008 x Perception of movement Boucheix & Lowe, 2010 x Piano elements kinematics Huk, Steinke, & Floto, 2010 x Enzyme ATP-synthase Linek, Gerjets, & Scheiter, 2010 x Probability calculations Meyer, Rasch, & Schnotz, 2010 x Internal combustion engine Scheiter, Gerjets, & Schuh, 2010 x Algebraic worked-out examples Yarden & Yarden, 2010 x PCR method in biotechnology Höffler & Schwartz, 2011 x Surfactants and washing Lin & Atkinson, 2011 x The rock cycle Ryoo & Linn, 2012 x Energy flow in photosynthesis Brucker, Scheiter, & Gerjets, 2014 x Fish swimming patterns Sánchez & Wiley, 2014 x Plate tectonics ...
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An embodied cognition perspective recognizes that the evolution of the human mind has been shaped by the evolution of the species’ whole body in its interaction with the environment. For example, hand actions—such as object manipulations and gestures—have been fundamental for human survival, and thus they continue to trigger different areas of the evolved mind. One of these areas is the mirror neuron system, a major processor of bodily movement, which allows humans to learn manipulations and gestures with relative ease. A clear implication for instruction, across many Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) topics, is to profit from the effortlessness of hand actions in order to enhance the learning of difficult concepts or challenging educational materials. One example of demanding instructional materials is dynamic visualizations (e.g., animation, video), which can be too transient to follow, understand and learn from. However, we argue that dynamic visualizations may overcome the transiency problem by including embodied activity. In this chapter, we will review a diverse number of studies that show the instructional benefits of embodied cognition, manipulations, and gestures. Specifically, we will address how these evolved skills can be employed to effectively learn from STEAM dynamic visualizations.
... The audio material was created with a mobile recorder from SQuadriga and edited with ArtemiS Suite software. Each segment of the text was recorded by the same female speaker, who was quite close to the age of the students to ensure that the youth slang was not adversely affected by the age of the voice and to follow the results of Mayer et al. (2003) and Linek et al. (2010) by using a female and human-accented voice. All segments were combined to create one audio file. ...
... The winner -a female voice from a TTS-Vendor from Germany -has been implemented. According to Linked et al. (2009) there is no speaker/gender effect in multimedia messages. ...
... This problem is particularly damaging for low-capacity learners, as has been shown in [14]. (6) Personalization: use on-screen coaches and personal polite language to stimulate an effective learning atmosphere and involve the learner in the learning process as has been shown in recent studies ([17], [18]); it is a type of design pattern that can be used most effectively with multimedia elements but should also take into account coherence (principle (5), see above). (7) Segmenting: break a greater lesson into smaller parts that can easily be received or memorized one at a time by inexperienced learners, who need greater instructional control. ...
Article
This paper reports on a study on practical design principles for Web sites aiming at the support of personal Web-based health literacy among the general population, especially adults. The principles cover the construction, presentation and management of content relating such health literacy topics as healthy food intake and the value of exercising for different groups of population. The key proposition of this study is that the design of eHealth literacy information on the Web is a special case of e-learning with respect to content delivery and focus groups. We also see adults as the members of eHealth focus groups for which we need a learner-centered approach to delivering materials. Therefore, we study seven principles in some detail with the help of a user story and following published evidence gathered by experiments relating e-learning of adults: (1) multimedia enhanced content delivery of textual information, (2) contiguity or immediate vicinity, (3) modality, (4) redundancy, (5) coherence or lean presentation, (6) personalization, and (7) segmenting.
... This problem is particularly damaging for low-capacity learners, as has been shown in [14]. (6) Personalization: use on-screen coaches and personal polite language to stimulate an effective learning atmosphere and involve the learner in the learning process as has been shown in recent studies ( [17], [18]); it is a type of design pattern that can be used most effectively with multimedia elements but should also take into account coherence (principle (5), see above). (7) Segmenting: break a greater lesson into smaller parts that can easily be received or memorized one at a time by inexperienced learners, who need greater instructional control. ...
Article
Full-text available
This paper reports on a study on practical design principles for Web sites aiming at the support of personal Web-based health literacy among the general population, especially adults. The principles cover the construction, presentation and management of content relating such health literacy topics as healthy food intake and the value of exercising for different groups of population. The key proposition of this study is that the design of eHealth literacy information on the Web is a special case of e-learning with respect to content delivery and focus groups. We also see adults as the members of eHealth focus groups for which we need a learner-centered approach to delivering materials. Therefore, we study seven principles in some detail with the help of a user story and following published evidence gathered by experiments relating e-learning of adults: (1) multimedia enhanced content delivery of textual information, (2) contiguity or immediate vicinity, (3) modality, (4) redundancy, (5) coherence or lean presentation, (6) personalization, and (7) segmenting.
... In addition, as the speaker/gender effect shows, female speakers are not only perceived as being more appealing than male speakers, but also when the feminine preference is presented there is a higher problem-solving performance. These results cannot be explained from a purely cognitive view because the processing of either a male or a female voice should require the same amount of mental resources [56]. In this way, the social-cue hypothesis, or other similar social-motivational perspectives, can be considered alternative or supplementary explanations for the modality effect. ...
Chapter
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Due to their popularity, dynamic visualisations (e.g. video, animation) seem attractive educational resources. However, in the design of any instructional material, not only must the appealing factor be acknowledged, but also the cognitive limitations. To consider the limitations of human cognitive architecture when designing instructional resources has been the leitmotif of cognitive load theory (CLT). CLT research has shown that the transitory nature of dynamic visualisations imposes such a high working memory load that, in many cases, these depictions are no more effective for learning than static visualisations. However, dynamic visualisations have been shown to be superior to static visualisations when the depiction involves human motor skills, a special case which might be explained by the mirror neuron system (MNS) aiding working memory to cope with transitory information. We will begin this chapter by presenting instructional properties of dynamic visualisations. Next, we will discuss the main differences between dynamic and static visualisations and how each can affect learning. Then, we will describe briefly CLT to give a more detailed account on instructional strategies to improve learning from dynamic visualisations. Next, we will summarise video modelling of motor skills. To end this chapter, we will focus on the MNS and how it aids humans to learn motor skills through observation.
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Over the past decades, focus has been on developing methods that allow tapping into aspects of cognition that are not directly observable. This includes linguistic knowledge and skills which develop largely without awareness and may therefore be difficult or impossible to articulate. Building on the relation between language cognition and the nervous system, we examine whether Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a cardiovascular measure that indexes Autonomic Nervous System activity, can be used to assess implicit language knowledge. We test the potential of HRV to detect whether individuals possess grammatical knowledge and explore how sensitive the cardiovascular response is. 41 healthy, British English-speaking adults listened to 40 English speech samples, half of which contained grammatical errors. Thought Technology's 5-channel ProComp 5 encoder tracked heart rate via a BVP-Flex/Pro sensor attached to the middle finger of the non-dominant hand, at a rate of 2048 samples per second. A Generalised Additive Mixed Effects Model confirmed a cardiovascular response to grammatical violations: there is a statistically significant reduction in HRV as indexed by NN50 in response to stimuli that contain errors. The cardiovascular response reflects the extent of the linguistic violations, and NN50 decreases linearly with an increase in the number of errors, up to a certain level, after which HRV remains constant. This observation brings into focus a new dimension of the intricate relationship between physiology and cognition. Being able to use a highly portable and non-intrusive technique with language stimuli also creates exciting possibilities for assessing the language knowledge of individuals from a range of populations in their natural environment and in authentic communicative situations.
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This study aims to explore the effects of the segmentation of video tutorials on the implicit and explicit experience of the users in the hands-on training tasks. A laboratory experiment was conducted in the context of user training. Participants (n = 20) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: with segmented or non-segmented versions of the same video tutorials. The participants had to watch an instructional video and recreate afterward the steps presented. Self-reported and psychophysiological measures of user experience were collected. The results suggest that while the implicit experience appears to be similar across condition, the explicit experience is significantly different: segmented tutorials lead to a better self-perceived experience and a better perceived usability of the software. This study makes several contributions to the user training and multimedia learning literature, such as the effect that the segmentation of tutorials generates on the user experience, as well as reinforcing the need to use concomitantly complementary methods to assess the experience of the users, such as implicit and explicit measures.
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In video modeling examples, a human model demonstrates and explains how to perform a task. The model-observer similarity (MOS) hypothesis predicts that learners who perceive themselves to be more similar to the model will learn more from the examples and show greater self-efficacy gains. Findings have been mixed, however; possibly because perceptions of task-appropriateness might affect learning and self-efficacy independently of similarity views. Therefore, we examined whether the effectiveness of modeling examples on troubleshooting electrical circuits, a task typically perceived as more appropriate for males than females, would differ as a function of the gender of the model and the observer. Secondary education students (N = 159) watched two video modeling examples, either by a male or a female model. The example content was kept equal. A manipulation check confirmed that students perceived same-gender models as more similar to them than opposite-gender models. They also perceived the task as more appropriate for males than females. Males performed somewhat better than females and showed higher confidence gains; however, model gender did not affect students’ test performance, self-efficacy and perceived competence gains, effort investment, learning enjoyment, or perceived explanation quality. Our findings suggest that there is no need to take the model’s gender into account when designing video modeling examples.
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Most current digital learning materials are hypermedia environments that have been postulated to stimulate active, individualized and multi-perspective learning because they force learners to explore hyperlinks in an interactive and self-directed way. At the same time, however, it was demonstrated repeatedly that learners easily experience cognitive overload and disorientation when navigating hypermedia environments. Additionally, successful hypermedia learning requires strong learning prerequisites in terms of domain-specific prior knowledge and self-regulated learning skills. This chapter reviews the research on learning from hypermedia with a strong focus on research conducted in our own lab. Additionally, two novel developments in hypermedia research are discussed that received increasing attention recently. First, evaluating the quality of multiple sources of information during hypermedia navigation has become an increasingly important aspect of hypermedia learning. For instance, the World Wide Web (WWW) and particularly the Web 2.0 reflect a global network of information nodes of very diverse origin and quality that require novel skills of source evaluation. Second, interactive displays such as those used in smartphones, tablets, or multi-touch tables as well as other sensor-based interaction devices have led to a paradigm shift in how we navigate hypermedia environments, allowing for an intuitive selection and manipulation of information by means of touch and gestures and even for novel forms of implicit interaction. Accordingly, multimodal interaction with hypermedia environments is an important current research topic that focuses on how bodily interaction may be better used to connect cognition and technology.
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Extended findings that support cognitive evaluation theory to intrapersonal processes by exploring the effects of informational vs controlling feedback, when self-selected and administered vs other-administered, and in conditions of task-involvement (intended to create an informational orientation in relation to the activity) vs ego-involvement (intended to create a controlling orientation in relation to the activity). 128 undergraduates working on a hidden figures task received either an ego- or task-involving induction and then a series of 3 puzzle problems for which half of the Ss received informational feedback and the other half controlling feedback. Half the Ss had the feedback self-administered, and half had it administered by the experimenter. After puzzle-solving, Ss were left alone with additional puzzles and magazines and were observed to see if they worked on the puzzles. Finally, Ss completed a questionnaire assessing their interest and attitudes toward the target activity. Results confirm that controlling feedback, whether self- or other administered, undermined intrinsic motivation relative to task-involvement. Results are discussed in terms of the application of cognitive evaluation theory to intrapersonal processes and self-control theories. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This study was designed to provide a test of two models of gender-based schematic processing: gender schema theory (Bem, 1981b) and self-schema theory (Markus, Crane, Bernstein, & Saldi, 1982). The former position stipulates that only sex-typed individuals should provide strong evidence for schematic processing of gender-related information, whereas the latter contends that individuals may exhibit such processing with respect to masculine, feminine, neither, or both classes of stimuli. A total of 167 male and female introductory psychology students were classified into the four sex role categories and then participated in a standard "me/not me" attribute rating task, followed by either a free-recall or "yes/no" recognition procedure, which used an independent set of stimuli. Results indicated that although predictions from self-schema theory were best able to account for the findings emerging from the attribute rating task, neither model satisfactorily addressed the data from the memory tasks. The discussion focuses on implications for current conceptualizations of gender schematic processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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In 2 experiments, learners who were seated at a computer workstation received a narrated animation about lightning formation. Then, they took a retention test, took a transfer test, and rated the speaker. There was a voice effect, in which students performed better on the transfer test and rated the speaker more positively if the voice in the narration had a standard accent rather than a foreign accent (Experiment 1) and if the voice was human rather than machine synthesized (Experiment 2). The retention test results were mixed. The results are consistent with social agency theory, which posits that social cues in multimedia messages can encourage learners to interpret human-computer interactions as more similar to human-to-human conversation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Gender schema theory proposes that the phenomenon of sex typing derives, in part, from gender-based schematic processing— a generalized readiness to process information on the basis of the sex-linked associations that constitute the gender schema. In particular, the theory proposes that sex typing results from the fact that the self-concept itself is assimilated in the gender schema. Several studies are described, including 2 experiments with 96 male and 96 female undergraduates, that demonstrate that sex-typed individuals do, in fact, have a greater readiness to process information—including information about the self—in terms of the gender schema. It is speculated that such gender-based schematic processing derives, in part, from the society's ubiquitous insistence on the functional importance of the gender dichotomy. The political implications of gender schema theory and its relationship to the concept of androgyny are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Examined the information processing consequences of self-schemas about gender in 2 studies (467 undergraduates). Systematic differences in cognitive performance were observed among Ss identified as masculine schematics, feminine schematics, low androgynous, and high androgynous (Bem Sex-Role Inventory). Feminine schematics remembered more feminine than masculine attributes, endorsed more feminine qualities, required shorter processing times for "me" judgments to these attributes, were more confident of their judgments, and were able to supply relatively more examples of past feminine than masculine behavior. A parallel pattern of results was found for masculine stimuli in masculine schematics. Androgynous Ss recalled as many masculine as feminine attributes and did not differentiate between masculine and feminine attributes with respect to latency or confidence. Comparison of the 2 groups of androgynous Ss shows that only low androgynous Ss should be considered aschematic with respect to gender. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Questions S. L. Bem's (see record 1983-21087-001) definition of a gender schema and argues that male and female sex-typed individuals do not have equivalent gender schemata. The high-androgynous individuals are the only ones for whom both masculinity and femininity are equally available and who might be properly termed "gender schematic." (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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The authors tested the hypothesis that personalized messages in a multimedia science lesson can promote deep learning by actively engaging students in the elaboration of the materials and reducing processing load. Students received a multimedia explanation of lightning formation (Experiments 1 and 2) or played an agent-based computer game about environmental science (Experiments 3, 4, and 5). Instructional messages were presented in either a personalized style, where students received spoken or written explanations in the 1st- and 2nd-person points of view, or a neutral style, where students received spoken or written explanations in the 3rd-person point of view. Personalized rather than neutral messages produced better problem-solving transfer performance across all experiments and better retention performance on the computer game. The theoretical and educational implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Students viewed a computer animation depicting the process of lightning. In Experiment 1, they concurrently viewed on-screen text presented near the animation or far from the animation, or concurrently listened to a narration. In Experiment 2, they concurrently viewed on-screen text or listened to a narration, viewed on-screen text following or preceding the animation, or listened to a narration following or preceding the animation. Learning was measured by retention, transfer, and matching tests. Experiment 1 revealed a spatial-contiguity effect in which students learned better when visual and verbal materials were physically close. Both experiments revealed a modality effect in which students learned better when verbal input was presented auditorily as speech rather than visually as text. The results support 2 cognitive principles of multimedia learning. Technological advances have made possible the combina-tion and coordination of verbal presentation modes (such as narration and on-screen text) with nonverbal presentation modes (such as graphics, video, animations, and environmen-tal sounds) in just one device (the computer). These ad-vances include multimedia environments, where students can be introduced to causal models of complex systems by the use of computer-generated animations (Park & Hopkins, 1993). However, despite its power to facilitate learning, multimedia has been developed on the basis of its technologi-cal capacity, and rarely is it used according to research-based principles (Kozma, 1991; Mayer, in press; Moore, Burton, & Myers, 1996). Instructional design of multimedia is still mostly based on the intuitive beliefs of designers rather than on empirical evidence (Park & Hannafin, 1994). The purpose of the present study is to contribute to multi-media learning theory by clarifying and testing two cogni-tive principles: the contiguity principle and the modality principle.
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Abstract Cognitive load theory has been designed to provide guidelines intended to assist in the presentation of information in a manner that encourages learner activities that optimize intellectual performance. The theory assumes a limited capacity working memory that includes partially independent subcomponents to deal with auditory/verbal material and visual/2- or 3-dimensional information as well as an effectively unlimited long-term memory, holding schemas that vary in their degree of automation. These structures and functions of human cognitive architecture have been used to design a variety of novel instructional procedures based on the assumption that working memory load should be reduced and schema construction encouraged. This paper reviews the theory and the instructional designs generated by it.
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Describes the development of a new sex-role inventory that treats masculinity and femininity as 2 independent dimensions, thereby making it possible to characterize a person as masculine, feminine, or "androgynous" as a function of the difference between his or her endorsement of masculine and feminine personality characteristics. Normative data, provided by 561 male and 356 female college and junior college students, are presented, as well as the results of various psychometric analyses. Findings indicate that: (a) The dimensions of masculinity and femininity are empirically and logically independent. (b) The concept of psychological androgyny is a reliable one. (c) Highly sex-typed scores do not reflect a general tendency to respond in a socially desirable direction, but rather a specific tendency to describe oneself in accordance with sex-typed standards of desirable behavior for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Male (n = 95) and female (n = 221) college students were given 2 measures of gender-related personality traits, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, and 3 measures of sex role attitudes. Correlations between the personality and the attitude measures were traced to responses to the pair of negatively correlated BSRI items, masculine and feminine, thus confirming a multifactorial approach to gender, as opposed to a unifactorial gender schema theory.
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Would people exhibit similarity-attraction and consistency-attraction toward unambiguously computer-generated speech even when personality is clearly not relevant? In Experiment 1, participants (extrovert or introvert) heard a synthesized voice (extrovert or introvert) on a book-buying Web site. Participants accurately recognized personality cues in text to speech and showed similarity-attraction in their evaluation of the computer voice, the book reviews, and the reviewer. Experiment 2, in a Web auction context, added personality of the text to the previous design. The results replicated Experiment 1 and demonstrated consistency (voice and text personality)-attraction. To maximize liking and trust, designers should set parameters, for example, words per minute or frequency range, that create a personality that is consistent with the user and the content being presented.
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For hundreds of years verbal messages - such as lectures and printed lessons - have been the primary means of explaining ideas to learners. In Multimedia Learning Richard Mayer explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal by combining words and pictures for effective teaching. Multimedia encyclopedias have become the latest addition to students' reference tools, and the world wide web is full of messages that combine words and pictures. Do these forms of presentation help learners? If so, what is the best way to design multimedia messages for optimal learning? Drawing upon 10 years of research, the author provides seven principles for the design of multimedia messages and a cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In short, this book summarizes research aimed at realizing the promise of multimedia learning - that is, the potential of using words and pictures together to promote human understanding.
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Describes the development and validation of a German version of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) of S. L. Bem (1974). Results from various population samples totalling 580 West German men and women generally support the validity and reliability of the German instrument. Several weaknesses of the femininity scale are discussed in relation to similar findings with the original version of the BSRI and with other masculinity–femininity scales. (English abstract)
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Females and males show different average patterns of academic achievement and scores on cognitive ability tests. Females obtain higher grades in school, score much higher on tests of writing and content-area tests on which the questions are similar to material that was learned in school, attain a majority of college degrees, and are closing the gap in many careers that were traditionally male. By contrast, males score higher on standardized tests of mathematics and science that are not directly tied to their school curriculum, show a large advantage on visuospatial tests (especially those that involve judgments of velocity and navigation through three-dimensional space), and are much more knowledgeable about geography and politics. A cognitive-process taxonomy can shed light on these differences.
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Historically, mathematics has been stereotyped as a male domain, and there is considerable evidence to support this belief. In the last 30 years, mathematics education researchers have uncovered a range of factors contributing to the documented achievement and participation differences that favored males and sought to redress them. Mathematics as a male domain, one of the subscales of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (1976), has been used widely to assess the extent to which mathematics is stereotyped as a masculine sphere. It has been argued that some of the items comprising the subscale are anachronistic and that the subscale scores can no longer be interpreted reliably. In this article we outline the development of two new instruments-the mathematics as a gendered domain instrument and the who and mathematics instrument-that have been designed to overcome the limitations of the original Fennema-Sherman mathematics as a male domain subscale. We also present findings from the administration of the two instruments in Australia, where they were developed, and in the United States, the site of the trials of the original Fennema-Sherman scales. The results indicate that females feel more strongly than males about some aspects of gender stereotyping in mathematics although, in general, most students feel that mathematics is gender neutral.
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Two experiments extended the computers are social actors paradigm by examining when and why people are more likely to evince gender-typed responses to computers. In both experiments, participants played a trivia game with a computer, which they thought generated random answers. When the computer gender was manifested in cartoon characters, participants attributed greater competence and exhibited greater conformity to the male than female computers, but such differences emerged only when they were simultaneously engaged in multiple tasks (Experiment 1). To elucidate what accounts for gender stereotyping of computers, Experiment 2 tested 2 competing explanations, depletion of cognitive resources and reduced attention, by varying the modality of computer output (speech vs. text). The advantages of the male computer observed in Experiment 1 dissipated when the computer provided speech output, demanding greater processing attention.
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This study tested whether computers embedded with the most minimal gender cues will evoke gender-based stereotypic responses. Using an experimental paradigm (N = 40) that involved computers with voice output, the study tested 3 gender-based stereotypes under conditions in which all suggestions of gender were removed, with the sole exception of vocal cues. In all 3 cases, gender-stereotypic responses were obtained. Because the experimental manipulation involved no deception regarding the source of the voices. this study presents evidence that the tendency to gender stereotype is extremely powerful, extending even to stereotyping of machines.
Chapter
Little children love to play and to learn. They are active, curious, and eager to engage their environments, and when they do they learn. To some extent adults also love to play and to learn. When people are playing and learning in this eager and willing way, they are intrinsically motivated. Throughout life, when they are in their healthiest states, they are active and interested, and the intrinsically motivated behaviors that result help them acquire knowledge about themselves and their world.
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Against the background of an adaptation of Cognitive Load Theory to learner-controlled settings we investigated the impact of learner characteristics on information utilization strategies, cognitive load, and learning outcomes in a hypermedia environment. Based on the data of 79 students, five clusters of students were identified according to their learner characteristics by means of a cluster analysis. Further analyses showed that learners with more favorable characteristics (i.e., higher prior knowledge, more complex epistemological beliefs, more positive attitudes towards mathematics, better cognitive and metacognitive strategy use) tended to show a more adaptive example utilization behavior, reported less cognitive load, and solved more problems correctly than learners with less favorable characteristics.
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Consistent with social agency theory, we hypothesized that learners who studied a set of worked-out examples involving proportional reasoning narrated by an animated agent with a human voice would perform better on near and far transfer tests and rate the speaker more positively compared to learners who studied the same set of examples narrated by an agent with a machine synthesized voice. This hypothesis was supported across two experiments, including one conducted in a high school computer classroom. Overall, the results are consistent with social agency theory that posits that social cues in multimedia messages, including the type of voice, can affect how much students like the speaker and how hard students try to understand the presented material.
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This study examined whether people would interpret and respond to verbal (text) and non-verbal cues (posture) of personality in interactive characters just as they interpret cues from a person. In a balanced, between-subjects experiment (N=40), introverted and extroverted participants were randomly paired with one of two types of consistent computer characters: (1) matched participants' personality with both verbal and non-verbal cues or (2) completely mismatched the participant, or one of two types of inconsistent characters: (3) matched with verbal cues but not with non-verbal cues or (4) matched with non-verbal but not with verbal cues. Participants accurately identified the character's personality type in their assessment of its verbal and non-verbal cues. Preference was for consistent characters, regardless of participant personality. Consistent characters also had greater influence over peoples' behavior—interaction with consistent characters led to greater changes in people's answers than interaction with inconsistent characters. Finally, contrary to previous research, participants tended to prefer a character whose personality was complementary, rather than similar, with their own. This study demonstrates the importance of orchestrating the overall set of cues that an interactive computer character presents to the computer user, and emphasizes the need for consistency among these cues.
Chapter
The results of a multi-year research program to identify the factors associated with variations in subjective workload within and between different types of tasks are reviewed. Subjective evaluations of 10 workload-related factors were obtained from 16 different experiments. The experimental tasks included simple cognitive and manual control tasks, complex laboratory and supervisory control tasks, and aircraft simulation. Task-, behavior-, and subject-related correlates of subjective workload experiences varied as a function of difficulty manipulations within experiments, different sources of workload between experiments, and individual differences in workload definition. A multi-dimensional rating scale is proposed in which information about the magnitude and sources of six workload-related factors are combined to derive a sensitive and reliable estimate of workload.
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This paper reports on an experiment investigating the effects of different kinds of computer-based visualizations on the acquisition of problem-solving skills in the domain of probability theory. Learners received either purely text-based worked examples, text plus an instruction to mentally imagine the examples’ contents, or the possibility of retrieving either static pictures or concrete animations that depicted the problem statement and the problem states achieved by applying a specific solution-step. It could be shown that frequent use of both static pictures and imagining the examples’ contents improved performance on isomorphic problems. Frequent use of animations, in contrast, led to substantial increases in learning time and a decrease in performance. Thus, the use of concrete animations to visualize solution procedures was more harmful than helpful for conveying problem-solving skills. Reasons for these outcomes are discussed in the light of cognitive load theory.
Subject impression questionnaire
  • E L Deci
  • R M Ryan
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004b). Subject impression questionnaire. Retrieved May 17, 2004, from www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/measures/intrins_scl.html.