1. Together in space and time Hope Kelly, Ph.D.
Contiguity
Together in space and time
Hope Kelly, Ph.D.
Now that we understand that words and pictures working together improve learning outcomes, we need to look at the relationship in space and time that the words and pictures have to one another.

2. con·ti·gu·i·ty
the state of bordering or being in direct contact with something.
the sequential occurrence or proximity of stimulus and response, causing their association in the mind.
Let's start by defining contiguity.
Our first definition is about space, where words and pictures are arranged in close proximity or merged together. We can relate this to the idea of state borders, Here we have an image of the southeastern United States and we can describe Florida and Georgia as contiguous since they share a border.
In psychology, contiguity is defined as having proximity in time resulting in an association in the mind. In the classic example of Pavlov’s operant conditioning dogs made an association of a bell with food. This type of stimulus response is one type of contiguity but we also associate things that consistently appear together. For example, if we enter a dining establishment and saw only a spoon and a knife at a table, we would be curious to know why the fork is missing.
Both of these types of contiguity play a role in how people learn as contiguity helps us make sense of things.
CC-By: Ivan Petrovich

3. Contiguous in space
Used for choice roasts, the porterhouse and sirloin steaks.
Rump, used for steaks, stews and corned beef.
Aitch bone, used for boiling-pieces, stews and pot roasts.
Buttock or round, used for steaks, pot roasts, beef á la mode; also a prime boiling piece.
Mouse-round, used for boiling and stewing.
Shin or leg, used for soups, hashes, etc.
Thick flank, cut with under fat, is a prime boiling piece, good for stews and corned beef, pressed beef.
Veiny piece, used for corned beef, dried beef.
Thin flank, used for corned beef and boiling-pieces.
The first principle of contiguity is all about the position of words and text. Research has demonstrated that they should be physically contiguous in order to improve learning outcomes.
Here we have two classic images of the parts of a cow. Both are sharing similar information about the cuts of meat and their uses, but the picture on the right is a good example of the contiguity principle because the text appears integrated with the image.
The image on the left has two problems first the corresponding text would be better if it was aligned to the right or the left of the image so the eye does not have to move up and down between the corresponding numbers. The other problem is the numbers themselves, research shows us that when learners must leave the image to visit a legend or key, it taxes their cognitive load as they must hold in their working memory the part of the image they are reading about.
In e-learning the most common violation of contiguity is when images and pictures cannot be viewed at the same time due to the design of a page. If an individual must scroll up or down away from the image and its corresponding text, learners waste time scrolling back and forth when they should be making connections between the words and picture. When designing screens, text and graphics that correspond should appear on the same horizon to avoid this issue.

4. Contiguous in time
The second principle of contiguity concerns the timing of sound and feedback.
See the shape presented here, it is an example of an oval and rather than showing you this on one slide and telling you about it on another, I am showing and telling at the same time.
The idea that audio narration should be presented simultaneously with video, animations or images that they are describing idea is pretty straightforward. If you think about films that have another language dubbed in, you may giggle at the incongruity of the actors’ mouths with the audio but since the the action and the words match, it all makes sense.
The other idea about timing is a bit more complex and in fact I think of this a little differently than how it is presented in our text. The idea that feedback should be presented contiguously in space, as illustrated in the quiz example above is definitely true but of course sequence matters here and so I like to think of this as a feature of time since I doubt you expect to have feedback presented before a student responds.

5. Split attention
The psychological reasoning that underlies the contiguity principle is the concept of split attention. If you will recall, humans have a limited capacity for cognitive processing and if our words or text and images are not presented together, we have to hold one part in working memory while we attend to the other information.
Attention is split when an individual is moving back and forth because text and images are not in proximity in space or synchronized in time. In either case your design will be improved and the cognitive processing load of your learners will be better supported by keeping text, audio, and feedback integrated with their corresponding images.

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