If you have multiple preferences you are in the majority as around two-thirds of any population seems to fit into that group.
Multiple preferences are interesting and quite varied. For example, you may have two strong preferences V and A, or R and K, or you may have three strong preferences such as VAR or ARK. Some people have no particular strong preferences and their scores are almost even for all four modes. For example, one student had scores of V=9, A=9, R=9, and K=9. She said that she adapted to the mode being used or requested. If the teacher or supervisor preferred a written mode she switched to that mode for her responses and for her learning.
So multiple preferences give you choices of two or three or four modes to use for your interaction with others. Some people have admitted that if they want to be annoying they stay in a mode different from the person with whom they are working. For example, they may ask for written evidence in an argument, knowing that the other person much prefers to refer only to oral information. Or they may ask for “concrete” examples knowing that the other person has a low preference for kinesthetic input and output. These are what some people do when they feel negative. When feeling more positive, those with multimodal preferences try to match or align their mode to the significant others around them.
The 13 Multimodal preferences are made from the various combinations of the four preferences below. You will need to view more than one of those lists. For example, if your VARK Profile is the bimodal combination of Visual and Kinesthetic (VK), you will need to use those two lists of strategies below. If your VARK Profile is the trimodal combination of Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic (ARK) you will need to use those three lists of strategies below.
Some people with multimodal preferences have told us they find it necessary to use more than one strategy for learning and communicating. They feel insecure with only one. Others are able to “get it” using just one of their preferred modalities.
