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)
Zhao, F., & Mayer, R. E. (2024). Limitations of Disembodied Computer-Generated Voice to Convey Emotion in Multimedia Lessons. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-13.
Lawson, A. P., Martella, A. M.*, LaBonte, K., Delgado, C. Y., Zhao, F., Gluck, J. A., ... & Mayer, R. E. (2024). Confounded or Controlled? A Systematic Review of Media Comparison Studies Involving Immersive Virtual Reality for STEM Education. Educational Psychology Review, 36(3), 1-35.
Lawson, A. P., & Mayer, R. E. (2024). Effect of Pre-Training and Role of Working Memory Characteristics in Learning with Immersive Virtual Reality. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-18.
Lawson, A. P., & Mayer, R. E. (2024). Role of Individual Differences in Executive Function for Learning From Distracting Multimedia Lessons. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 62(3), 756-784.
Lawson, A. P., & Mayer, R. E. (2024). Individual differences in executive function affect learning with immersive virtual reality. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(3), 1068-1082.
Ponce, H. R., Mayer, R. E., & Torres, S. F. (2024). Different Principles of Information Design for Three Online Financial Tasks: Localization, Comparison, and Subtraction. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(11), 2954-2967.
Yang, X., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., Hu, X., & Gu, C. (2023). 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. P., & Mayer, R. E. (2022). 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. (2023). How to guide learners' processing of multimedia lessons with pedagogical agents. Learning and Instruction, 84, 101729.
Zhao, F., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). Benefits of turning the illustrations in a narrated slideshow into cartoons: An extension of the positivity principle. Learning and Instruction, 86, 101779.
Wang, Y., Wang, F., Mayer, R. E., Hu, X., & Gong, S. (2023). Benefits of prompting students to generate summaries during pauses in segmented multimedia lessons. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(4), 1259-1273.
Cheng, M., Wang, F., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). Benefits of asking students to make an instructional video of a multimedia lesson: Clarifying the learning‐by‐teaching hypothesis. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(5), 1636-1651.
Wang, X., Mayer, R. E., Han, M., & Zhang, L. (2023). Two emotional design features are more effective than one in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 60(8), 1991-2014.
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. (2023). Role of emotional tone and gender of computer-generated voices in multimedia lessons. Educational technology research and development, 71(4), 1449-1469.
Bediou, B., Rodgers, M. A., Tipton, E., Mayer, R. E., Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2023). Effects of action video game play on cognitive skills: A meta-analysis.
Petersen, G. B., Stenberdt, V., Mayer, R. E., & Makransky, G. (2023). Collaborative generative learning activities in immersive virtual reality increase learning. Computers & Education, 207, 104931.
Ponce, H. R., Mayer, R. E., & Méndez, E. E. (2023). Effects of learner-generated outlining and instructor-provided outlining on learning from text: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 39, 100538.
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
