How do different cognitive styles Learners deal with the bullet screen interruption in instructional videos? An...

Dense bullet screens at the top of the video screen may be disruptive. With the help of eye-tracking technology, this study explores the effects of bullet screen interruptions on instructional video learning from the perspective of different cognitive styles. Participants (N = 84) were required to complete a post-test after watching the video course "Human Body Temperature and Regulation" under a 2 (bullet-screen: bullet-screen, bullet-screen-free) × 2 (cognitive style: field-independent, field-dependent) between-subjects design. The study found that the bullet screen distracted both field-independent and field-dependent cognitive style learners' attention and increased the cognitive load of field-dependent learners. As a result, the learning outcomes of field-dependent learners with bullet screens was significantly lower than those of learners with bullet-screen-free condition, while field-independent learners did not exhibit any significant differences. These results revealed that bullet screen has a negative impact on instructional video learning outcomes for field-dependent learners, causing cognitive overload and reducing their learning outcomes, but has no impact for field-independent learners. Compared to field-dependent learners, field-independent learners can better cope with the interruption of bullet-screens in instructional videos.