Visualizers versus verbalizers: Effects of cognitive style on learning with texts and pictures - an eye-tracking study

This study was conducted in order to examine the differences between visualizers and verbalizers in the way they gaze at pictures and texts while learning. Using a collection of questionnaires, college students were classified according to their visual or verbal cognitive style and were asked to learn four different topics by means of text-picture combinations. Eye-tracking was used

to investigate their gaze behavior. The results show that visualizers spent significantly more time inspecting pictures than verbalizers, while verbalizers spent more time inspecting texts. Results also suggest that both visualizers' and verbalizer' way of learning is integrative but mostly within areas

providing the source of information in line with their cognitive style (pictures or text). Often, the percentage of revisits of pictures' relevant areas was higher for visualizers than for verbalizers. Interestingly, in spite of differences in learning behavior, both groups achieved comparable results on posttest knowledge.