Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

Date of Award

Spring 4-8-2024

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Caroline Strang

Abstract

This study experimentally investigated the effects of nonverbal communication in online learning formats, and whether there was an impact on working memory. Participants (N = 40) were randomly assigned to watch 1 of 3 different online video formats. Each video had identical slide show and audio content, but different visibility of the speaker. All videos were 10 minutes long and followed by a 15 multiple choice questionnaire based on the video content. Following the experiment, participants also completed demographic questions to obtain data on prior online learning experience, age, and undergraduate years. Results of this study indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in memory between the various types of online formats. However, online learning experience in high school did provide a benefit for working memory scores compared to those without high school online learning experience. This difference did change across video types with the difference being smallest when no nonverbal cues were present, but that trend was not statistically significant. Given the ambiguity of this study's findings, more research is required to enhance a better understanding of nonverbal communication in online learning formats, particularly with full-body gestures and their effects on learning.

Keywords: Nonverbal communication, nonverbal cues, working memory, online learning

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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