Dual-Coding Theory

Dual-coding theory holds that the mind processes and stores information along two partly independent channels, one verbal and one nonverbal or visual, and that material encoded in both channels at once is more easily retrieved than material encoded in only one. Allan Paivio of the University of Western Ontario first proposed the theory in the late 1960s, building on research into imagery and memory, and set it out fully in Imagery and Verbal Processes in 1971. In instructional terms the theory is the reason multimedia material pairing relevant images with words tends to be recalled better than words or images alone, though critics note it struggles with concepts that resist easy imagery. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/