The More, the Better? Exploring the Effects of Modal and Codal Redundancy on Learning and Cognitive Load: An Experimental Study
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This study explores how receiving identical information from different sources affects learning and cognitive load, focusing on two types of redundancy: modal redundancy, where redundant information comes from two visual sources (images and written text), and codal redundancy, where redundant information comes from two sources of different modalities which utilize the same symbol system (spoken and written text). Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design involving modal (yes/no) and codal (yes/no) redundancy, 158 participants completed twenty learning tasks, consisting of ten construction and ten recall tasks. Additionally, they rated their cognitive load by indicating their perceived task difficulty and mental load. Overall, results indicate positive main effects of modal redundancy and negative effects of codal redundancy on learning and cognitive load. Furthermore, significant interaction effects suggest that modal redundancy may counterbalance the negative effects of codal redundancy, implying a compensatory mechanism in cognitive processing for construction tasks. These results highlight the importance of considering both modal and codal redundancy and their interaction in instructional design.
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Redundant cues are most effective when they are structured and complementary rather than overwhelming.
“these redundant cues are most effective when they are structured and complementary rather than overwhelming [22].”
From Get In Touch with Your Seat: Accessible Seat Localization for Blind and Low Vision Travelers in Autonomous Shuttles (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
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- Authors
- Trypke, M., Stebner, F., & Wirth, J.
- Affiliations
- Osnabrück University (DE)
- Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Trypke, Melanie
- Venue
- Education Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-08-09
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 872
- ISSN
- 2227-7102 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4401586054
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 4.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Education Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- osnaDocs (Osnabrück University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- osnaDocs (Osnabrück University) (cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
- Social Sciences › Education › Online and Blended Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Learning Styles and Cognitive Differences
- Keywords
- cognitive load, learning, instructional design, construction tasks, recall task, mental workload, multimodal learning, compensatory mechanisms
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