Unraveling Coherence: The Impact of Image-Relatedness in Concept Learning

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Unraveling Coherence: The Impact of Image-Relatedness in Concept Learning
Language: English
Authors: Tristan H. S. de Jonge (ORCID 0009-0003-9983-4223), Anna Berti (ORCID 0009-0007-2837-6770), Sanne van Schijndel, Margot van Wermeskerken (ORCID 0000-0003-3883-9875), Ellen Kok (ORCID 0000-0001-9752-2531)
Source: Applied Cognitive Psychology. 2025 39(3).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Concept Teaching, Concept Formation, Learning Processes, Schemata (Cognition), Imagery, Sentences, Semantics, Priming, Recall (Psychology), Familiarity, Difficulty Level, Instructional Design, Instructional Materials
DOI: 10.1002/acp.70054
ISSN: 0888-4080
1099-0720
Abstract: The coherence principle suggests removing unnecessary--or seductive--content from educational texts to reduce cognitive load. However, the binary proposition that all seductive details should be excluded neglects images' potential to prime semantically related concepts, which makes texts easier to process. It was hypothesized that this priming would cause at least tangentially related images to enhance processing and recall of concepts. Participants learned 24 concepts under four conditions: direct depictions, tangentially related and unrelated images, and no image. Participants' fixation durations on concepts, their complementing sentences and images, and recall performance were measured. Multilevel models revealed that coherence effects were only present for unrelated images and that images that are at least tangentially related facilitated learning. These effects were unaffected by participants' familiarity with concepts. The study concludes that semantically related images may outweigh their cognitive load, suggesting that educators should consider their priming potential when designing instructional materials.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/evzsw/?view_only=527ead2d91c0414192f25131199fa519
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1474588
Database: ERIC
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Description
Abstract:The coherence principle suggests removing unnecessary--or seductive--content from educational texts to reduce cognitive load. However, the binary proposition that all seductive details should be excluded neglects images' potential to prime semantically related concepts, which makes texts easier to process. It was hypothesized that this priming would cause at least tangentially related images to enhance processing and recall of concepts. Participants learned 24 concepts under four conditions: direct depictions, tangentially related and unrelated images, and no image. Participants' fixation durations on concepts, their complementing sentences and images, and recall performance were measured. Multilevel models revealed that coherence effects were only present for unrelated images and that images that are at least tangentially related facilitated learning. These effects were unaffected by participants' familiarity with concepts. The study concludes that semantically related images may outweigh their cognitive load, suggesting that educators should consider their priming potential when designing instructional materials.
ISSN:0888-4080
1099-0720
DOI:10.1002/acp.70054