Instructional Humour and Cognitive Affective Learning with Multimedia (IHCALM)

Abstract

While background music and interesting yet irrelevant to the topic adjuncts were found to harm learning (and were classified as seductive detail) in the Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media model (CATLM), emotionally appealing shapes and color were found to foster learning (and were classified as multimedia with emotional design). However, although humour is used in education during class and has both psychological and physiological benefits, there is no published research about instructional humour (IH) in CATLM to date. The purpose of the current research was to clarify whether IH in CATLM fosters learning, or if it is yet another type of seductive detail. Total of 96 young undergraduate student participants were randomly assigned to watch a stimuli depicting 3D animations of brain cells either with IH (named as IHCALM) or without it (named as NH). All student data regarding mirth duration were measured with cameras, while how funny they found the stimuli, as well as their cognitive load, emotions, motivation, knowledge, and metacognition were all measured with Open Sesame. To test if the IHCALM harms learning, similarity between conditions was analyzed with both Bayesian Factor analysis and null hypothesis testing, which jointly reveal 3 outcomes. Outcome results show that IHCALM does not harms learning, due to being similar with the non-humorous condition. Implications of these findings for education are considered.