Running head: BOOK REVIEW CHAPTER 8: APPLYING THE COHERENCE PRINCIPLE

Book Review Chapter 8: Applying the Coherence Principle

Wesley Harpold
Student ID#: L25631103
EDUC 633-B01 Principles of Design and Management in Distance Education
Dr. Jennifer Courduff
Liberty University

BOOK REVIEW CHAPTER 8: APPLYING THE COHERENCE PRINCIPLE

Summary
The focus of chapter 8 is on Mayers coherence principle. According to the coherence
principle, students learn better when extraneous material in the form of audio, graphics, and text
is excluded from e-lessons (Clark & Mayer, 2011). In other words, if the material is
irrelevant to what the student needs to learn, then the material should be eliminated. Designers
of e-lessons are sometimes tempted to spice up their lesson by adding background music,
entertaining graphics, or text to embellish the lesson. Adding the extraneous material can clog
up working memory which may contribute to cognitive overload in the student. Clark & Mayer
recommend that designers of e-learning stick to the basics that are to be taught and avoid these
extraneous distractions.

Coherence Principle 1: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Audio

An e-learning designer may be tempted to add background sounds such as construction
noises when material on construction is being presented or adding music to another e-lesson
because they feel that this will relax the learner or enhance the topic that is being taught.
According to the coherence principle, these background sounds will compete for and disrupt the
cognitive systems and therefore, will compete for valuable, limited cognitive resources. Students
are less likely to pay attention to the material to be learned when their attention is distracted by
competing sounds and music. The opposite of the coherence principle is arousal theory, which
believes that, adding entertaining auditory adjuncts will make the learning task more interesting
and thereby increase the learners overall level of arousal. This increase in arousal results in a
greater level of attention so that more material is processed by the learner (Moreno & Mayer,
2000, p. 118). In a study by Moreno & Mayer, students that studied without extraneous sound

BOOK REVIEW CHAPTER 8: APPLYING THE COHERENCE PRINCIPLE

performed better than those that had extraneous sound added to their learning by arousal theory
(Moreno & Mayer, 2000).

Coherence Principle 2: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Graphics

Designers of e-learning may be tempted to add interesting pictures, graphics, or video in
an attempt to make their presentations look more appealing. The second principle states that
pictures and illustrations that are used to decorate the page or screen do not improve learning of
the material. Extraneous material that is interesting may even draw the learners attention away
from the important material to be learned. It can be a disruption to a learners process of linking
material together by getting in the way. Extraneous pictures are seductive in drawing the
learners attention away from what is important to learn. Simple visuals are also found to lead
to a better understanding of material. For instance, a simple sketch that shows the compartments
of the heart using simple lines and curves is easier to learn than a more complex drawing or
picture of the heart.

Coherence Principle 3: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Words

Designers of e-learning should keep descriptions that are basic and concise. Often, the
designers add additional words for added interest, to expand upon the key ideas of the lesson, or
to add technical detail that goes beyond the key ideas of the information. But the coherence
principle states that this additional text takes away from the key concept, which results in
decreasing learning (Clark & Mayer, 2011). In a study by Mayer, Griffith, Jurkowitz, &
Rothman (2009), students were presented with multimedia science lessons that also contained
seductive, extraneous text of high interest versus lessons that had additional low-interest text.

BOOK REVIEW CHAPTER 8: APPLYING THE COHERENCE PRINCIPLE

Results indicate that the students that did not have the distraction of high interest, extraneous
details perform better in both transfer score and retention score on test.
Reflection
One of the tendencies in our information, media driven society is to try to add content to
a presentation to make appealing. Presentations should have eye-popping visuals, music and
sound effects, and information and facts. The idea is to draw the viewers attention. But does all
the media draw the attention or does it distract the viewer from what information is important? A
brain will only handle so much information at one time before becoming overloaded.
Overloading the brain with extraneous details makes it difficult to transfer what is important to
long-term memory.
I have seen this tendency of placing extraneous information in websites and textbooks. I
teach mathematics and the mathematics textbooks that are being produced are full of extraneous,
useless pictures and text. Textbook companies try to fill up all the space on the page and so they
place interesting pictures and facts on the page, but often those pictures and facts do not have
anything to do with the main topic of the lesson. The page often has a visual appeal, but it only
serves as a distraction and confuses the learner as to what is important on the page. I also have
to remind myself of the coherence principle when I create Powerpoints and worksheets to present
my material. I need to be creative in finding graphics and text to draw the students attention.
That media should draw the attention of the student to what is important in the lesson and not be
a distraction that lead to confusion of the student by drawing their attention away from what is
important.

BOOK REVIEW CHAPTER 8: APPLYING THE COHERENCE PRINCIPLE

References

Clark,R.C.,&Mayer,R.E.(2011).Who'sinControl?In Elearningandthescience
ofinstruction:Provenguidelinesforconsumersanddesignersofmultimedialearning,
thirdedition(pp.151176).SanFrancisco,CA:Pfeiffer.
Mayer, R. E., Griffith, E., Jurkowitz, I. T. N., & Rothman, D. (2008). Increased interestingness of
extraneous details in a multimedia science presentation leads to decreased learning.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14(4), 329-339.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A coherence effect in multimedia learning: The case for
minimizing irrelevant sounds in the design of multimedia instructional messages. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 92(1), 117-125.