The multimedia effect and its stability over time

A central finding in learning with text and pictures is a benefit from learning with combined representations as compared to text only - the multimedia effect. Two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 110; Experiment 2: N = 147) test for whether this advantage is restricted to short-term learning or whether it remains stable when learning is tested after a delay. Subjects learned about a pulley system at their own pace, either with only a written text or with text and a picture of the described pulley system presented simultaneously. We varied whether comprehension and retention were tested immediately after the learning phase or after a delay (1 week later in Experiment 1; 1 week or 2 weeks later in Experiment 2). In both experiments there was a multimedia effect (Experiment 1: ηp2 = .11; Experiment 2: ηp2 = .15) that was independent of the time of testing. These findings suggest that the lack of a pictorial display hindered comprehension of the pulley system's structure substantially and persistently.