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The chapters in this book provide an extensive survey of the viewpoints and methodologies that have been and can be used to study order effects in learning. Either implicitly or explicitly, each chapter includes assumptions about the structures and function of human cognition. This chapter similarly takes as its departure point a particular view of human cognition and the consequent instructional recommendations. That view derives from cognitive load theory, which is primarily an instructional theory. However, the instructional principles generated by its assumptions have provided further insights into human cognitive processes, which in turn have led to further instructional recommendations. The chapters of this book are discussed in light of cognitive load theory.

This chapter focuses on the development of autonomous or independent learners through IT-mediated support. It provides a critical review of the research literature regarding learners' use of digital learning strategies. The authors examine how such strategies interact with more traditional learning strategies, while at the same time focusing on the effects such digital learning strategies can have on the process of learning to read in a second language.

Chapter 4 considers whether stable party identification is contingent on the ability to justify one’s party identity in the face of disagreement. Findings show that this is indeed the case. Experimentally induced cognitive load, political inexperience, and lack of political sophistication all increase susceptibility to identity change in the face of disagreement. Interestingly, given that the study was conducted during a tumultuous time for the Republican Party (spring 2008), Republicans also appear more susceptible to party identification change. And, when cognitive load inhibits Democrats ability to engage in identity justification, they join Republicans in updating their identities to reflect disagreement.

Given the immense physiological effect of being at war, and the unique effect this has on the physiology and psychology of the soldier, this chapter examines decisions implemented at the tactical level. It presents a dynamic, slow-burn operation to show the complicated process of implementing a least-worst decision on the ground and, importantly, how soldiers react when a plan does not work. The chapter also presents the decision-making in this case and other cases of operations on the ground to examine the psychological factors associated with successfully (and unsuccessfully) making military decisions in extremis. In many cases we examine the psychology of decision-making without referencing, or considering, the physiology of decision-making. These two are in fact intertwined and we attempt to bridge the two in this chapter.

The role of sound in gaming has evolved since the early 1970s, heavily influenced by developing technologies associated with audio, video, and data storage. This chapter traces these developments and relates them to important milestones in game sound design. Theoretical concepts are introduced and exemplified, particularly those that identify and explain aspects of the relationship between player and game sound; the chapter then examines empirical evidence elucidating that relationship. The body of evidence is sparse but growing and includes studies investigating the role of game sound on cognitive load and performance, as well as studies investigating the effects of game sound on the player’s physiological responses. The chapter concludes with some thoughts about the future development of game sound technology and the directions that will allow future empirical studies to test and validate the effects of that technology on the gaming experience.

The final chapter explores future research directions in a world where multimedia is increasingly pervasive, technology is rapidly advancing, and team scholarship is becoming the order of the day. In light of theoretical perspectives presented early in the book, the possibility of a complete theoretical explanation of the role of music in multimedia is considered. This leads to a discussion of cross-modal relations with respect to both structure or syntax and meaning or semantics. Issues of sensory dominance are revisited, acknowledging the need for more studies involving more than just auditory and visual senses, and real-world as well as laboratory phenomena. Current trends and avenues for future research in a variety of multimedia are explored, including children’s media, computer games, and television and online advertising. The authors conclude that a deeper understanding of music in the multimedia context can be achieved by expanding research endeavors to a multisensory, multidisciplinary, and multicultural scope.

Clark’s philosophy brings body, brain, and world together again, offering a new conception of both human and nonhuman cognition. This chapter agrees that the predictive processing framework provides our best bet for a species-neutral cognitive science. However, the use of cognitivist, representational language often seems unnecessary, especially when J. J. Gibson introduced a “resonance” metaphor to replace notions of representation, hypothesis, and inference. This chapter is therefore interested to know why Clark resists embracing Gibson, when this seems one of the best ways to embrace evolutionary continuity. The chapter also raises the apparent tension between the predictive processing position and that of the extended mind: Is the brain the principal seat of information-processing activity? Or is it userless tools all the way down? Finally, the chapter raises the issue of epistemic artefacts, and whether these increase or decrease cognitive load.

The time-based resource-sharing model considers working memory as the workspace in which mental representations are built, maintained, and transformed for completing goal-oriented tasks. Its main component is made of an episodic buffer and a procedural system that form an executive loop in which processing and storage share domain-general attentional resources on a temporal basis. Because working memory representations decay with time when attention is diverted, the cognitive load of a given activity is the proportion of time during which it occupies attention and prevents it from counteracting this decay through attentional refreshing. Consequently, recall in working memory tasks is an inverse function of the cognitive load of concurrent processing. Besides this system, an independent domain-specific maintenance system exists for verbal, but not visuospatial, information. Within this framework, working memory development mainly results from increasing processing speed that affects both the duration of the distraction of attention by concurrent tasks and refreshing efficiency.

This chapter discusses the interplay between instruction modeling and applied learning science in developing blended learning programs. Far from being two alternative methods, these two approaches complement one another. We discuss in depth the Edifice program; this program systematically applies Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), which is perhaps the most developed and empirically supported theory guiding the design of blended learning interfaces.