ABSTRACT

This chapter is concerned with empirical research on memory and motivation within the realm of educational communication and technology. A variety of research methods and methodologies are described, with emphasis on the accessibility of theoretical constructs such as memory and motivation and the validity and reliability of assessments. The abundance of issues surrounding the topics of memory and motivation is narrowed to a few which appear repeatedly in the literature and are dominant in the domains under discussion in current instructional psychology. Several theoretical approaches to the architecture of cognition and models of human memory are described and discussed with regard to the question of how experiences with media and human memory interact. Accordingly, cognitive load theory and dual-code processing, as well as the 40theories of schemata and mental models, are reviewed critically and evaluated with regard to their advantages and drawbacks for learning with media. This chapter furthermore introduces relevant motivational research issues concerning technology-enhanced learning. After a description of several theoretical approaches concerning relevant motivational factors (such as flow and self-efficacy), the empirical research dealing with the question of how media and motivation interact are critically reviewed and evaluated.