Research has shown that several characteristics of learners can affect illustration processing.
A learner‘s preferred cognitive style is important to consider. Riding and Douglas (1993)
found that students displaying an ―imager‖ cognitive style benefited more from the integration
of text and illustrations than did students displaying a ―verbalizer‖ style. Prior knowledge is
another important consideration. Students with less prior knowledge are helped more by
illustrations than students with more prior knowledge (Cheng, Lowe, & Scaife, 2001). In
addition, research has indicated that children fixate longer on illustrations and are not as
skillful as adults in selecting informative areas of pictures (Patrick, Carter, & Wiebe, 2006).