Memory for biopsychology material presented in comic book format.

This study investigated the influence of format of presentation on memory for undergraduate level Biopsychology material. Ninety participants read either seven comic book pages from Aleixo and Baillon (2008) explaining the rudiments of sleep, the same material presented in text only format or seven pages where the original images were replaced with random incongruous images. Participants were tested on the material using ten multiple-choice questions. Results showed significantly higher memory scores in the comic book condition compared to both the text only and the incongruous comic condition. Furthermore, the text only version showed significantly higher memory scores than the incongruous comic condition. It was concluded that while there were some limitations with the study, the findings provided preliminary evidence to support the general idea of using comic books to create instructional materials. Results also provided some support for dual coding theory (Paivio, 1969, 1972, 1975) as a theoretical basis for the use of comics in educational contexts. Keywords: Comics, Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Memory, Education, Dual-Coding Theory.