Each of the main cognitive theories, Organismic Developmental, Information Processing, Behavioristic, and Contextualistic, are played out in multimedia instructional design in various ways, according to which theory you prefer. Ellis expressed an opinion that Contextualistic, which incorporates the environment, the person and the system of delivery, holds the greatest promise for further study in cognitive science.

Ellis postulates that an instructional design will reflect the philosophical view point of the designer with respect to the cognitive theories. He posits that the cognitive science principles should be used to accommodate how people think, not what to manipulate them as to what to think.

Ellis outlined several design ideas for each of the cognitive theories stated above. Stated briefly and simply:

Organismic Developmental asserts that people progress through a series of developmental stages where knowledge is gained through the person's interaction between himself and the environment. The implications for multimedia instructional desig n are:

1. Understanding where the learners are requires that a needs assessment be done.
2. The design needs to enable the learner to explore the material at his own pace.
3. Since people establish knowledge through their relationship with the environment, the design may offer an alternate reality or a new experience that challenges the learner to assimilate or accommodate new information.

Information Processing states that knowledge can be gained through an underlying system of organization, such as chunking and cognitive maps. The implications for multimedia instructional design are:

1. Data should be chunked.
2. Use Mnemonic devices, such as pictographs and acronyms.
3. Use imaging which allows the student to explore through writing and drawing forms that are evoked by the material being studied.
4. Frames are more detailed than mnemonic devices or imaging. Frames are "essentially large images that provide a graphic representation of how the concepts interrelate.

Behavioristic: This theory is based on Stimulus-Response chains. Implications for multimedia instructional design are:

1. Use repetition.
2. Provide a reward or incentive
3. Involve the participant emotionally in the subject matter.

Contextualistic theory examines the interactions between the learner, environment and the system being used for lesson delivery. Implications for multimedia instructional design are:

1. Use imagery to aid in internalizing the information. This differs from information processing theory in that here the approach encourages metacognition.
2. Make apparent the logic and thinking connections.
3. Use an event as the focus of a lesson (an anchoring device).
4. Include a variety of cultural perspectives.
5. Combining videodisc technology with goggles and headphones so that the learner is transported to a different reality (virtual reality).

For a learner new to cognitive theory, this overview of four cognitive theories enables the learner to build a framework for understanding this and other readings about cognition. The outlining of specific design implications helps the learner understand where his instructional designs conform to cognitive theory and suggests other instructional designs that he may want to incorporate.