Multimedia Learning Outcomes and Cognitive Load: The Roles of Spatial Ability, Enjoyment, Domain, and Resource Type

Background Multimedia learning research has primarily emphasized cognitive predictors of learning, with less attention to affective engagement despite its potential relevance to effort allocation during learning tasks. Objectives This study examined the joint predictive associations of spatial ability, enjoyment, gender, and multimedia type (static versus animated) with learning outcomes and perceived cognitive load in parallel across two tasks (biology and mechanics). Methods Voluntary online participation was completed by 111 university students who were randomly assigned to static or animated resources. Participants completed a spatial ability measure (Paper Folding Test), two multimedia learning tasks, post‐task enjoyment ratings, and a cognitive load questionnaire assessing intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. Multivariate multiple linear regression was used to model learning outcomes and cognitive load within each task. Results and Conclusions Across both domains, higher spatial ability predicted higher learning performance and lower perceived extraneous cognitive load. Enjoyment was positively associated with germane cognitive load in both tasks, with additional task‐specific associations with intrinsic and extraneous load. Multimedia type and gender did not significantly predict learning outcomes or cognitive load in either task. This study contributes to the literature by examining cognitive (spatial ability) and affective (enjoyment) learner characteristics jointly along with multimedia type, while modelling learning outcomes and cognitive load as complementary parallel outcomes. Through this approach, this study clarified the distinct roles of cognitive and affective learner characteristics when static and animated materials are instructionally equivalent. Specifically, it identified spatial ability as a reliable individual‐difference factor associated with more efficient multimedia processing and found that enjoyment was associated with higher reported germane cognitive load. These findings highlight the importance of considering both cognitive capacity and task‐level engagement in multimedia learning design.