This study explored the causes of the reverse modality effect when learning from multimedia instruction. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups (visual text or spoken text). The findings revealed a reverse modality effect wherein that those studying visual text outperformed those studying spoken text on three assessments. Further investigation revealed significant differences in text access frequency, but not mental effort, between the two groups. This study provides theoretical support for establishing the boundaries of the modality effect, as well as extending the literature on possible causes for the reverse modality effect. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)