Contiguity effects show no statistically reliable difference between static and dynamic presentation of visual information¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2006 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Moderation of the contiguity effect by static versus dynamic presentation was not statistically reliable, suggesting split-attention costs occur across media. → Ginns 2006

Evidence¶

Ginns 2006¶

Ginns, P. (2006). Integrating information: A meta-analysis of the spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity effects. Learning and Instruction, 16(6), 511-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2006.10.001

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Moderator analysis within the meta-analysis comparing effects from static (e.g. textbook page) versus dynamic (e.g. computer animation) presentations. The article reports "no statistically reliable difference was found", supporting the claim that cognitive load factors matter regardless of medium.

"For the “static versus dynamic presentation” moderator, there was one study that was coded as using both static and dynamic presentation (Bodemer et al., 2004), and this study was excluded from this moderation test; no statistically reliable difference was found between effects from static versus dynamic presentation studies."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The learning benefit of increasing integration is substantially larger for high element interactivity (complex) materials than for low element interactivity materials — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Spatial and temporal contiguity effects do not differ significantly in mean magnitude — related
• Split Attention Effect Degrades Learning — related
• Cognitive Load Reduction Improves Learning — related
• A narrative review cites one study in which simultaneous notes, worked example and explanation aided understanding, and another in which temporally contiguous instruction lowered perceived cognitive load — related
• Presenting related material contiguously in space and time yields large learning benefits — a broader claim this one bears on
• Contiguity effects are larger under one-on-one testing (d = .89) than under group testing (d = .65), but remain educationally significant in both — related
• Integrating spatially or temporally separated but related elements of instructional information produces a large average learning benefit for novices — a broader claim this one bears on
• In the mental integration task, low-span and high-span groups showed no significant static-vs-dynamic differences (d = 0.09 and d = 0.03) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Animations often do not produce more effective learning than static visualizations, partly because their transience creates high working memory load — related