Redundant and decorative elements, including emotional design embellishments, can enhance learning despite constituting potential extraneous load¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A meta-analysis found emotional design choices increase retention, transfer, comprehension, and motivation while lowering perceived difficulty. → Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu 2022 q2 i? Subtle on-screen keyword redundancy accompanying narration increased learning compared with no keywords. → Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu 2022 (2)

Evidence¶

Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu 2022¶

Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu. (2022). Understanding Cognitive Load in Digital and Online Learning: a New Perspective on Extraneous Cognitive Load. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09624-7

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports a meta-analysis by Brom et al. (2018) confirming emotional design elements such as warm colors and baby-like faces "can increase retention, transfer, comprehension, and motivation while at the same time lowering the perceived difficulty of learning materials". In Plass et al. (2014, Exp. 2), colors increased comprehension.

"A meta-analysis confirmed that such design choices can increase retention, transfer, comprehension, and motivation while at the same time lowering the perceived difficulty of learning materials (Brom et al., 2018)."

Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu 2022 (2)¶

Alexander Skulmowski & Kate Man Xu. (2022). Understanding Cognitive Load in Digital and Online Learning: a New Perspective on Extraneous Cognitive Load. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09624-7

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing Mayer and Johnson (2008), that "this very subtle form of redundancy can increase learning compared with learning without the presentation of the keywords", explained as too minor to cause extraneous load; Bateman et al. (2010) found better long-term recall for embellished charts.

"when a narration is accompanied by a few keywords of that narrated text being presented on-screen, this very subtle form of redundancy can increase learning compared with learning without the presentation of the keywords."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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• Cognitive Overload Degrades Learning — related
• Immersion in virtual reality adds extraneous load yet can boost transfer, enjoyment, and motivation while leaving retention unaffected — related
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