Does speaker’s voice enthusiasm affect social cue, cognitive load and transfer in multimedia learning?

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of voice enthusiasm (enthusiastic voice vs calm voice) on social ratings of the speaker, cognitive load and transfer performance in multimedia learning. Design/methodology/approach Two laboratory experiments were conducted in which learners learned from a multimedia presentation about computer algorithm that was narrated by either an enthusiastic human voice or a calm human voice. Findings Results from Experiment 1 revealed that the enthusiastic voice narration led to higher social ratings of the speaker and transfer performance when compared to the calm voice narration. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the enthusiastic voice led to higher affective social ratings (human-like and engaging) and transfer performance as compared to the calm voice. Moreover, it was shown that a calm voice prompted a higher germane load than an enthusiastic voice, which conforms to the argument that prosodic cues in voice can influence processing in multimedia learning among non-native speakers. Originality/value This study extends from prior studies that examined voice effects related to mechanization, accent, dialect, and slang in multimedia learning to examining the effects of voice enthusiasm in multimedia learning.