This research examined how spatial ability, sex, and cognitive styles associate with self-directed multimedia resource use (study 1) and learning outcomes (study 2). In study 1, three learning resource options were offered: two unimodal (text-only and labelled-picture) and one multimodal (picture-with-narration). Findings revealed that lower spatial ability associated with multimodal resource use and that verbalizers also used more picture-containing resources. In study 2, learning outcomes with multimodal resources were associated most significantly with spatial ability followed by sex. These studies offer unique empirical evidence that while spatial ability and cognitive style associate with self-directed resource use, spatial ability and sex associate with multimedia learning outcomes.