Selected Publications

Selected Books (Past 10 Years)

Clark, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). E-learning and the science of instruction (5th ed). Wiley.

Mayer, R. E., & Fiorella, L. (Eds.). (2022). The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (3rd ed). Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, R. E. (2021). Multimedia learning (3rd ed). Cambridge University Press.

Plass, J., Mayer, R. E., & Homer, B. (Eds.). (2020). Handbook of game-based learning. MIT Press.

Mayer, R. E. (2019). How to be a successful student: 20 study habits based on the science of learning. Routledge.

Mayer, R. E., & Alexander, P. A. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook on research on learning and instruction (2nd ed). Routledge.

Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2015). Learning as a generative activity: Eight learning strategies that promote understanding. Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, R. E. (2014). Computer games for learning: An evidence-based approach. MIT Press

Selected Journal Articles (Past 5 Years)

Yang, X., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., Hu, X., & Gu, C. (in press).  Ocular foundations of the spatial contiguity principle: Designing multimedia materials for parafoveal vision.  Journal of Educational Psychology.

Wang, F., Cheng, M., & Mayer, R. E.  (2023). Improving learning-by-teaching without audience interaction as a generative learning activity by minimizing the social presence of the audience. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115, 783-797. 

Lawson, A., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  Does the emotional stance of human and virtual instructors in instructional videos affect learning processes and outcomes?  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 70, 102080.

Li, W., Wang, F., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  How to guide learners' processing of multimedia lessons with pedagogical agents.  Learning and Instruction.

Zhao, F., & Mayer (in press). Benefits of turning the illustrations in a narrated slideshow into cartoons: An extension of the positivity principle.  Learning and Instruction.

Wang, Y., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., Hu, X., & Gong, S. (in press).  Benefits of prompting students to generate summaries during pauses in segmented multimedia lessons.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 

Cheng, M., Wang, F., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  Benefits of asking students to make an instructional video of a multimedia lesson: Clarifying the learning-by-teaching hypothesis.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.

Wang, L., Wang, X., Mayer, R. E., Han, M., & Zhang, L. (in press). Two emotional design features are more effective than one in multimedia learning.  Journal of Educational Computing Research.

Ponce, H., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  Different principles of information design for three online financial tasks: Localization, comparison, and subtraction. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.

Mayer, R. E., Makransky, G., & Parong, J. (2023).  The promise and pitfalls of learning in immersive virtual reality.  International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 39, 2229-2238.   [Special Issue on Trends in Adaptive Interactive Training Systems]

Zhao, F., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  Role of emotional tone and gender of computer-generated voices in multimedia lessons, Educational Technology Research and Development. 

Bediou, B., Rogers, M. A., Tipton, E., Mayer, R. E., Green C. S., & Bavelier, D. (in press). Effects of action video game play on cognitive skills: A meta-analysis.  Technology, Mind, and Behavior.

Petersen, G. B., Stenberdt, V., Mayer, R. E., & Makransky, G. (in press).  Collaborative generative learning activities in immersive virtual reality increase learning.  Computers & Education.

Ponce, H., & Mayer, R. E. (in press).  Effects of learner-generated outlining and instructor-provided outlining on learning from text: A meta-analysis.  Educational Research Review. 

Lindner, M. A., Schult, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2022).  A multimedia effect for multiple-choice and constructed response test items.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 114, 72-88.

Li, W., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., & Liu, T. (2022).  Animated pedagogical agents enhance learning outcomes and brain activity during learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 38, 621-637.

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., & Mendez, E.  (2022).  Effects of learner-generated highlighting and instructor-provided highlighting on learning from text: A meta-analysis.  Educational Psychology Review, 34, 989-1024.

Makransky, G., & Mayer, R. E. (2022). Benefits of taking a virtual field trip in immersive virtual reality: Evidence for the immersion principle in multimedia learning.  Educational Psychology Review, 34, 1771-1798.

Lawson, A. & Mayer, R. E. (2022).  The power of voice to convey emotion in multimedia instructional messages.  International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32, 971-990.

Flores-Gallegos, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2022).  Learning cognitive skills by playing video games at home: Testing the specific transfer of general skills theory.  Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 6, 485-495.

Makransky, G., Andreasen, N. K., Baceviciute, S., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Immersive virtual reality increases liking but not learning with a scientific simulation and generative strategies promote learning in immersive virtual reality.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 113, 719-735.

Wang, X., Mayer, R. E., Zhou, P., & Lin, L. (2021).  Benefits of interactive graphic organizers in online learning: Evidence for generative learning theory.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 113, 1024-1037.

Stull, A., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  The case for embodied instruction: The instructor as a source of attentional and social cues in video lectures.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 113, 1441-1453.

Lawson, A. P., & Mayer, R. E. (2021). Benefits of writing an explanation during pauses in multimedia lessons.  Educational Psychology Review, 33, 1859-1885.

Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Cognitive and affective processes for learning science in immersive virtual reality.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37, 226-241. [Recognized as a top-cited article in 2021-2022.]

Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Learning about history in immersive virtual reality: Does immersion facilitate learning?  Educational Technology Research and Development, 69, 1433-1451.

Wells A., Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Limits on training inhibitory control with a focused video game.  Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 5, 83-98.

Lawson, A. P., Mayer, R. E., Adamo-Villani, N., Benes, B., Lei, X., & Cheng, J. (2021).  Recognizing the emotional state of human and virtual instructors.  Computers in Human Behavior, 114, 106554.   

Lawson, A. P., Mayer, R. E., Adamo-Villani, N., Benes, B., Lei, X., & Cheng, J. (2021).  Do learners recognize and relate to the emotions displayed by virtual instructors?  International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 31, 134-153.

Lawson, A., Mayer, R. E., Adamo-Villani, N., Benes, B., Lei, X., & Cheng, J. (2021).  The positivity principle: Do positive instructors improve learning from instructional video lectures? Educational Technology Research and Development, 69, 3101-3129.

Gyllen, J., Stahovich, T., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Priming productive study strategies with preparatory quizzes in an engineering course. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35, 169-180.

Horovitz, T., & Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Learning with human and virtual instructors who display happy or bored emotions in video lectures.  Computers in Human Behavior, 119, 106724.

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., & Loyola, M. (2021).  Effects on test performance and efficiency of technology-enhanced items: An analysis of drag-and-drop response interactions.  Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59, 713-739.

Wells, A., Mayer, R. E., Plass, J., & Homer, B. (2021).  Playing a video game and learning to think: What's the connection?  Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 5, 459-467.

Mayer, R. E. (2021).  Evidence-based principles for how to design effective instructional videos.  Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 10, 229-240.

Fiorella, L., Stull, A., Kuhlmann, S. L., & Mayer, R. E. (2020).  Fostering generative learning from video lessons: Benefits of instructor-generated drawings and learner-generated explanations.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 895-906.

Parong, J., Wells, A., & Mayer, R. E. (2020).  Replicated evidence towards a cognitive theory of game-based training.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 922-937.

Huang, X., Mayer, R. E., & Esher, E. (2020).  Better together: Effects of four self-efficacy building strategies on online statistical learning.  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 63, 101924.  

Wang, F., Zhao, T., Mayer, R. E., & Wang, Y. (2020).  Guiding the learner's cognitive processing of a narrated animation.  Learning and Instruction, 69, 101357.

Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2020).  Cognitive consequences of playing brain training games in virtual reality.  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 34, 29-38.

Mayer, R. E., Fiorella, L., & Stull, A. (2020).  Five ways to increase the effectiveness of instructional video.  Educational Technology Research and Development, 68, 837-852.

Makransky, G., Mayer, R. E., Noremolle, A., Cordoba, A. L., Wandall, J., & Bonde, M.  (2020).  Investigating the feasibility of using assessment and explanatory feedback in desktop virtual reality simulations.  Educational Technology Research and Development, 68, 293-317.

Petersen, G. B., Klingenberg, S., Mayer, R. E., & Makransky, G.  (2020).  The virtual field trip: Investigating how to optimize immersive virtual learning in climate change education.  British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(6), 2098-2114.

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., Sitthiworachart, J., & Lopez, M. (2020).  Effects on response time and accuracy of technology-enhanced cloze tests: An eye-tracking study.  Educational Technology Research and Development, 68, 2033-2053.

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., Loyola, M., & Lopez, M. (2020).  Study activities that foster generative learning: Notetaking, graphic organizers, and questioning.  Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58, 275-296.

Mayer, R. E. (2020).  Designing multimedia instruction in anatomy: An evidence-based approach.  Clinical Anatomy, 33, 2-11.

Xie, H., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., & Zhou, Z.  (2019).  Coordinating visual and auditory cueing in multimedia learning.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 235-255.

Leopold, C., Mayer, R. E., & Dutke, S. (2019).  The power of imagination and perspective in learning from science text.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 793-808.

Fiorella, L., Stull, A., Kuhlmann, S., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Instructor presence in video lectures: The role of dynamic drawings, eye contact, and instructor visibility.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 1162-1171.

Li, W., Wang, F., Mayer, R.E., & Liu, H. (2019).  Getting the point: Which kinds of gestures by pedagogical agents improve multimedia learning?  Journal of Educational Psychology, 111, 1382-1395. 

Makransky, G., Terkildsen, T., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Role of subjective and objective measures of cognitive processing during learning in explaining the spatial contiguity effect.  Learning and Instruction, 61, 23-34.

Makransky, G., Terkildsen, T. S., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Adding immersive virtual reality to a science lab simulation causes more presence but less learning.  Learning and Instruction, 60, 225-236.

Stahovich, T., Van Arsdale, T. S. & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  How handwriting behaviors during problem solving are related to problem-solving success in an engineering course.  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58, 331-337.

Makransky, G., Wismer, P., & Mayer, R. E. (2019). A gender matching effect in learning with pedagogical agents in an immersive virtual reality science simulation.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35(3), 349-358. [Recognized by Wiley as a top-cited article in 2019-2020.]

Makransky, G., Borre-Gude, S., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Motivational and cognitive benefits of training in immersive virtual reality based on multiple assessments.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35, 691-707. 

Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Computer games in education.  Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 531-549.

Mayer, R. E., Parong, J., & Bainbridge, K. (2019).  Young adults learning executive function skills by playing focused video games.  Cognitive Development, 49, 43-50.

Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Thirty years of research on online learning.  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 152-159.

James, K., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Learning a second language by playing a game.  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 669-674.

Mayer, R. E., Wells, A., Parong, J., & Howarth, J. (2019).  Learner control of the pacing of an online slideshow: Does segmenting help?  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 930-935.

Hellenbrand, J., Mayer, R. E., Opfermann, M., Schmeck, A., & Leutner, D. (2019).  How generative drawing affects the learning process: An eye-tracking analysis.  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 1147-1164.

Gyllen, J. G., Stahovich, T., Mayer, R. E., Darvishzadeh, A., & Entezari, N.  (2019).  Accuracy in judgments of study time predicts academic success in an engineering course.  Metacognition and Learning, 14, 215-228.

Huang, X., & Mayer, R. E. (2019).  Adding self-efficacy features to an online statistics lesson.  Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57, 1003-1037.

Homer, B. D., Ober, T. M., Rose, M. C., MacNamara, A., Mayer, R. E., & Plass, J. (2019).  Speed versus accuracy: Implications of adolescents' neurocognitive development in a digital game to train executive function.  Mind, Brain, and Education, 13(1), 41-52.

Green, C. S., et al. (2019). Improving methodological standards in behavioral interventions for cognitive enhancement.  Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 3, 2-29.  [Consensus document with 47 authors.]

Makransky, G., Mayer, R. E., Veitch, N., Hood, M., Christensen, K. B., & Gadegaard, H. (2019).  Equivalence of using a desktop virtual reality science simulation at home and in class.  PLoS ONE, 14(4), [e0214944].

Wang, F., Li, W., Mayer, R. E., & Liu, H. (2018).  Animated pedagogical agents as aids in multimedia learning: Effects on eye-fixations during learning and learning outcomes.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 110, 250-268.

Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  Learning science in immersive virtual reality.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 110, 785-797.

Pilegard, C., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  Game over for Tetris as a platform for cognitive skill training.  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54, 29-41.

Mayer, R. E., Howarth, J., Kaplan, M., & Hanna, S. (2018).  Applying the segmenting principle to online geography lessons.  Educational Technology Research and Development, 66, 563-577. 

Bainbridge, K., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  Shining the light of research on Lumosity.  Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 2, 43-62

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., Figueroa, V. A., & Lopez, M. J.  (2018).  Interactive highlighting for just-in-time assessment during whole-class instruction: Effects on vocabulary learning and reading comprehension.  Interactive Learning Environments, 26, 42-60. 

Stull, A., Fiorella, L., Gainer, M., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  Using transparent whiteboards to boost learning from online STEM lectures.  Computers & Education, 20, 146-159.

Ponce, H. R., Mayer, R, E., Loyola, M. S., Lopez, M., & Mendez, E. E. (2018).  When two computer-supported learning strategies are better than one: An eye-tracking study.  Computers & Education, 125, 376-388.

Stull, A., Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  An eye-tracking analysis of instructor presence in video lectures.  Computers in Human Behavior, 88, 263-272.

Gyllen, J., Stahovich, T., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  How students read an e-textbook in an engineering course.  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34, 701-712.

Ponce, H., Mayer, R. E., Lopez, M. J., & Loyola, M. S. (2018).  Adding interactive graphic organizers to a whole-class slideshow lesson.  Instructional Science, 46(6), 973-988.

Bediou, B., Adams, D. M., Mayer, R. E., Tipton, E., Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2018).  Meta-analysis of action video game impact on perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills.  Psychological Bulletin, 144(1), 77-110. 

Lee, H., & Mayer, R. E. (2018).  Fostering learning from instructional video in a second language.  Applied Cognitive Psychology, 32, 648-654.

Full Publications List

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