How do different cognitive styles Learners deal with the bullet screen interruption in instructional videos? An eye-tracking study

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.