Principles Based on Social Cues in Multimedia Learning
Logan Fiorella, Richard E. Mayer
Abstract
Social cues can create a sense of partnership between learners and the instructor, which then motivates learners to engage in generative processing. The personalization principle is that people learn better when multimedia lessons are presented in a conversational or polite style, rather than a formal or direct style. The voice principle is that people learn better when multimedia lessons are presented in a human voice rather than computer-generated voice. The image principle is that people do not necessarily learn better when the image of the instructor or a virtual agent is visible on the screen. Finally, the embodiment principle is that people learn better when onscreen pedagogical agents engage in human-like behaviors, such as gesture, eye-contact, or facial expressions.