Integrating information: A meta-analysis of the spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity effects

Integrating information from two pictorial animations: Complexity and cognitive prerequisites influence performance

“…On the other hand, learners with low prior knowledge did not benefit from separating information onto two screens, because the advantage of reduced visual complexity was nullified by the task of mentally (re)-integrating the relevant information. This is in line with meta-analytic results suggesting that for complex learning materials increasing spatial contiguity is beneficial for learning outcomes (Ginns, 2006). New digital display technology may offer a solution to this dilemma.…”

“…As inherent complexity of the learning material is related with cognitive load (Ginns, 2006;Sweller & Chandler, 1994) we further hypothesized that these findings should be more pronounced for high complex molecules than for low complex molecules.…”

“…Several of these principles, for example the spatial and temporal contiguity principles that describe the importance of an integrated presentation of learning materials, have been shown to be empirically well grounded (Ginns, 2005(Ginns, , 2006. To date, the models mentioned above have concentrated on the integrative processing of simultaneously presented text and pictorial information (Schnotz & Bannert, 2003).…”

“…However, on the other hand, the visual complexity of the display, defined as the absolute number of subcomponents of the image, is substantially increased (Donderi, 2006;Forsythe, Sheehy, & Sawey, 2003) thus resulting in high-complex displays. Cognitive load theory identified inherent complexity or element interactivity as one source for intrinsic cognitive load (Ginns, 2006;Sweller & Chandler, 1994). Lee, Plass, and Homer (2006) recently addressed the trade-off between presenting information on a single vs. two displays and high vs. low complexity.…”

“…Pairwise comparisons of the "vexing image" and the "split screen" conditions underline this finding by showing a significant effect, t (78)= -2.52, p < .014. proposed to predict knowledge acquisition from (multiple) external representations. According to the spatial and temporal contiguity principle, related information should be presented in an integrated manner (Ginns, 2006;Mayer, 2001). Prior research focused mainly on text-picture or audio-animation relationships and their impact on learning outcomes.…”