ERIC Number: EJ893417
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-4277
EISSN: N/A
The Speaker/Gender Effect: Does the Speaker's Gender Matter when Presenting Auditory Text in Multimedia Messages?
Linek, Stephanie B.; Gerjets, Peter; Scheiter, Katharina
Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, v38 n5 p503-521 Sep 2010
Current cognitive multimedia design theories provide several guidelines on how to integrate verbal and pictorial information. However, the recommendations for the design of auditory texts (narrations) are still fragmentary, especially with regard to the characteristics of the voices used. In the current paper, a fundamental question is addressed, namely, whether to use a male or a female speaker. In two experiments, learners studied dynamic visualizations on probability theory that were accompanied by narrations. The learner's gender and the speaker's gender served as between-subjects variables. In the first study, learners were randomly assigned to speakers of different gender. In the second study, learners could choose among different speakers. The results show that learners achieved better learning outcomes when the narration was presented by a female speaker rather than a male speaker irrespective of the learner's gender (speaker/gender effect). Being given the choice, learners preferred female speakers, but this individual preference had no impact on learning outcomes. The results suggest augmenting purely cognitive approaches to multimedia design by social-motivational assumptions.
Descriptors: Cognitive Processes, Probability, Mathematics Instruction, Gender Differences, Educational Technology, Animation, Multimedia Instruction, Instructional Design, Computer Assisted Instruction, Comparative Analysis, Instructional Effectiveness, Narration, Speech Communication, Educational Experiments, Predictor Variables, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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