Cognitive Load

Harnessing human computation through crowdsourcing offers a new approach to solving complex problems, especially those that are relatively easy for humans but difficult for computers. Micro-tasking platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk have attracted large, on-demand workforces of millions of workers as well as hundreds of thousands of job requesters. Achieving high quality results and minimizing the total task execution times are the two of the main goals of these crowdsourcing systems. Drawing on cognitive load theory and usability design principles, we study the effects of different user interface designs on performance and the latency of crowdsourcing systems. Our results indicate that complex and poorly designed user interfaces contributed to lower worker performance and increased task latency.

Abstract. The evaluation and management of medication side-effects is a common and complex task for physicians. Information visualization has the potential to increase the efficiency and reduce the cognitive load involved in this process. We describe the design and development of Rxplore, a novel tool for assessing medication side-effects. Rxplore supports simultaneous lookup of multiple medications and an intuitive visual representation of query results. In a pilot study of Rxplore's usability and utility, physicians rated the ...

In immanent justice reasoning, negative events are attributed to some prior moral failing, even in the absence of a physically plausible causal link between them. Drawing on just-world theory, we examined immanent justice reasoning as an intuitive, deservingness-guided form of causal judgment. Participants were exposed to a story about a man who either did or did not cheat on his wife and who was subsequently injured in a car accident. Under either high or low cognitive load, participants rated the extent to which they believed the accident was the result of the man's prior moral failings. The results showed that participants causally attributed the man's accident to his prior conduct when he was immoral (vs. not immoral) more strongly under high cognitive load. Further, moderated mediation analyses showed that perceived deservingness of the accident mediated the effect of the man's prior immoral behavior on immanent justice attributions more strongly under high cognitive load. These results offer support for the notion that immanent justice attributions reflect an automatic tendency to assume that people get what they deserve.

In this mixed method research study, the effect of gamification strategies on students’ cognitive load levels and achievements was examined along with student opinions about gamification. The topic of spreadsheets was covered for six weeks in a sixth grade information technologies and software course. The sample consisted of a control group of 48 students who were trained via traditional procedures and an experimental group of 46 students who were trained using gamification strategies. Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and descriptive analysis were applied to the data. A significant difference was found between the two groups that indicated higher achievement in the experimental group. When comparing cognitive load levels, the experimental group also scored higher than the control group. Interviews indicated that the students had positive views about gamification strategies.

Complex learning aims at the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes; the coordination of qualitatively different constituent skills; and the transfer of what is learned to daily life or work settings. Recent instructional theories stress authentic learning tasks as the driving force for learning; but due to the complexity of those tasks, learning may be hampered by the limited processing capacity of the human mind. In this article we present a framework for scaffolding practice and just-in-time information presentation, aiming to control cognitive ...

The sense of touch is an effective, but underutilized, human communication channel. In this paper we describe our research efforts towards optimizing a minimal tactile array for personal navigation and route guidance. There are several aspects to this problem. From an information transfer viewpoint, the question of tactor array size, dimension, location and display symbology requires careful consideration. Effective tactile display symbology involves providing information in an intuitive manner without adding to the cognitive loading of the user. Tactile information may be presented through spatial, temporal and signal variables. We have recently developed new wearable tactors that offer wide sensory capabilities to provide different “feeling” stimuli. These actuators are non-linear in that the salient characteristics for perception are linked to a complex drive stimulus. We have therefore developed a tactor activation design approach termed “TActions” (Tactile Actions) where patterns or sequence of individual tactile stimuli, each of which has its own characteristics and properties, are used to create tactile display symbology that a user can naturally associate with a particular function. These components provide display design frame work which we have used to demonstrate orientation and navigation.

No theory of driver behaviour has yet managed to achieve widespread acceptance and use in the field of Traffic Psychology, partly due to the difficulty in testing many of the theories. However, one class of theories, the motivational theories, can be usefully split into two groups and the differences between them can then be examined. One group posits the constant monitoring and targeting of a certain subjective variable, often risk, as the controlling factor in driving. The other group however states that subjective variables such as risk are only relevant once a certain threshold has been passed.In this study we aimed to examine this difference by manipulating both speed of travel and the amount of cognitive load participants were under. Participants were asked to initially drive at their preferred speed for 1 min in a driving simulator. Participant's speed was then automatically increased or decreased by 10, 20 30 km/h or left unchanged. Participants were then required to maintain the new speed for 1 min. After this 1 min the speed was again automatically changed and had to be maintained for one more minute, but this time participants also carried out a secondary mental arithmetic task. Finally participants were asked to again drive for another 1 min at their preferred speed. This procedure was repeated seven times, once for each speed manipulation; −30, −20, −10, +0, +10, +20 and +30 km/h. After each 1 min interval verbal ratings of task difficulty, effort, feeling of risk and the typicality of the speed were collected.The results show a threshold effect in ratings of task difficulty, effort and feeling of risk, with no significant difference given between the ratings during the baseline period and the experimentally decreased speed periods until after participant's preferred speed of travel had been exceeded. Furthermore, even when under cognitive load the threshold relationship was still apparent, if diminished. Finally it appears that when under cognitive load drivers have difficulty maintaining a travelling speed which is lower than the speed at which they would prefer to drive. However, driving at a speed in excess of their preferred speed appears to be easier to maintain, at least in the short term.► Examines the constant risk/feeling monitoring and threshold accounts of driving. ► Finds support for the threshold account. ► Threshold is crossed when participants first go faster than they would freely choose. ► Threshold perception persists under external cognitive load.

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS The purpose of the study was to investigate the application of cognitive load theory to the design of online instruction, specifically by redesigning aspects of three existing online courses to comply with the effects of split attention, redundancy, and modality. Students in three different courses (two class sections of each, treatment and control) were measured on both learning performance and on perceptions of mental effort to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences. This chapter ...

Language teachers in the twenty-first century cannot ignore the possible benefits of using multimodal texts in the classroom. One such multimodal source that has been used extensively is subtitled videos. Against the background of conflicting theories in the fields of educational psychology and psycholinguistics as well as language acquisition where multimodal texts are concerned, this article presents an experiment aimed at determining the impact of competition between different sources of information on comprehension and attention allocation. The material that is investigated is a recorded and subtitled academic lecture in Economics with PowerPoint slides edited in, as an example of multisource communication. The article in particular engages with the issue of language as it pertains to the use of English as medium of instruction for English Second Language (ESL) students in South Africa. Essentially, the article seeks to shed light on the well documented positive effects of subti...

Previous findings are inconsistent with regard to whether men are judged as being more or less competent leaders than women. However, masculine-relative to feminine-looking persons seem to be judged consistently as more competent leaders. Can this different impact of biological sex and physical appearance be due to the disparate availability of meta-cognitive knowledge about both sources? The results of Study 1 indicated that individuals possess meta-cognitive knowledge about a possible biasing influence of persons' biological sex, but not for their physical appearance. In Study 2, participants judged the leadership competence of a male versus female stimulus person with either masculine or feminine physical appearance. In addition, the available cognitive capacity was manipulated. When high capacity was available, participants corrected for the influence of stimulus persons' sex, but they fell prey to this influence under cognitive load. However, the effect of physical appe...

This paper outlines the key issues of remotely invigilated online exams (RIOEs) and presents ways to avoid and resolve the issues for educators who are considering implementing them. The purpose of this paper is to share the lessons learned during the process of implementing and evaluating RIOEs and highlight the key considerations required to conduct RIOEs more seamlessly, whilst minimising students’ cognitive load. With the continued growth, and future importance of online tertiary education, this paper provides an important contribution to the understanding of the best methods and practices by which to conduct online examinations and provides a foundation for continued research and enhancement of effective RIOEs.

The paper follows an extensive Action Learning process to develop and present a case study that was conducted across nine fully online business courses in a start-up venture for the University of South Australia. Cognitive load theory underpins the case study, which enabled the researchers to gain profound understanding into the RIOE process, identify issues and offer resolutions. RIOEs require more systematic and effective design compared to traditional paper-based exams and should be supplemented by early and clear communication with students. Educators should enable and encourage students to rehearse the exam service access procedures prior to their exams and students should be provided with real-time responsive technical support for any ad hoc issues that may present during the exam. These factors play a critical role in ensuring the successful implementation of RIOEs.