Embodiment Principle

Overview

The Embodiment Principle in Multimedia Learning suggests that learning is more effective when concepts are linked to relevant actions, such as hand gestures or object manipulations. This principle is based on the idea that thinking is grounded in our experiences interacting with the world, and that our motor system is involved in a range of cognitive tasks. The idea is that by connecting concepts to physical actions, through embodied cognition it can help reduce cognitive load and increase generative processing, which is the process of selecting, organizing, and integrating information.

The instructional message for keeping the embodied principle in mind is giving onscreen characters human-like gestures ^[1]

Types of embodied cognition

Evidence

Example

Implications

'Reference

↑ Fiorella, L. (2021). The Embodiment Principle in Multimedia Learning. In R. Mayer & L. Fiorella (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 286-295). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108894333.030

[1] Fiorella, L. (2021). The Embodiment Principle in Multimedia Learning. In R. Mayer & L. Fiorella (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 286-295). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108894333.030

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