Cognitive Load is a term (used in psychology and other fields of study) that refers to the level of effort associated with problem solving, thinking and reasoning (including perception, memory, language, etc.). Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ...

People learn better when they can build on words and ideas they already understand. The more things a person has to learn at a single time, the more difficult it will be to retain the information in their long term memory.

Consider the difference between having to study a subject in your native language versus trying study a subject in a language that you do not speak fluently. The cognitive load would be much higher in the second instance because your brain would be working to translate the language while it was trying to absorb the new information being studied.

Another aspect of cognitive load theory involves understanding how many discrete units of information can be retained in short term memory before information loss occurs. An example that seems to be commonly cited of this principle is the use of 7-digit phone numbers, based on the theory that most people can only retain seven "chunks" of information in their short term memory. Refer to Chunking (psychology). Look up discrete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Short-term memory, sometimes referred to as primary or active memory, is that part of memory which stores a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time (roughly 30-45 seconds). ... In cognitive psychology and mnemonics, chunking refers to a strategy for making more efficient use of short-term memory by recoding information. ...

Cognitive Load Theory, as defined by Sweller (1988), states that optimum learning occurs in humans when the load on working memory is kept to a minimum to best facilitate the changes in long term memory.

The history of Cognitive Load Theory

The history of cognitive load theory can be traced back to the beginning of Cognitive Science and the work of G.A. Miller (1956). Miller was perhaps the first to suggest our working memory capacity was limited in his classic paper. He suggested we are only able to hold seven plus or minus two digits of information in our short term memories. Miller's early work was built upon by many researchers in the coming decades. Perhaps most notably by that of Simon and Chase (1973) who also used the term "chunk" to describe how experts use their short term memories. As novices learn, they begin to see patterns in the world around them. These patterns can be combined with other patterns... this chunking of memory components has also been described a schema construction. George A. Miller (born February 3 1920) is a famous professor of psychology at Princeton University, whose most famous work was The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information, which was published in 1956 in In the linguistics community, Miller is well...

Sweller (1988) developed cognitive load theory while studying problem solving. Sweller suggests that novices who are unable to recognize problem schemas must resort to ineffective problem solving strategies like means-ends analysis. He suggests problem solving by means-ends analysis requires a relatively large amount of cognitive processing capacity, which may not be devoted to schema construction. Instead of problem solving, Sweller suggests Instructional designers should limit cognitive load by designing instructional materials like worked-examples, or goal-free problems. In the 1990s, this theory was applied in several contexts and the empirical results from these studies led to the demonstration of several learning effects: the completion-problem effect (Paas, 1992); Modality effect (Moreno & Mayer, 1999; Mousavi, Low, & Sweller, 1995); Split-attention effect (Chandler and Sweller, 1992); and the Worked-example effect (Sweller & Cooper, 1985; Cooper & Sweller, 1987). Means-Ends Analysis (MEA) is a long standing technique used at least since the 1950s as a creativity tool, most frequently mentioned in engineering books on design methods. ...

Human cognitive architecture and Instructional design

Cognitive load theory has been used to describe the architecture of human cognition and it has been suggested that it has broad implications for Instructional design (Sweller, 1999). This theory provides a general framework for instructional designers for it allows them to control the conditions of learning within an environment or more generally within most instructional materials. Specifically it provides empirically-based guidelines that help instructional designers to minimize extraneous cognitive load during learning. Look up Cognition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Instructional design, also known as instructional systems design, is the analysis of learning needs and systemic development of instruction. ...

John Sweller's theory employs information processing theory, emphasizes the inherent limitations of working memory, and uses schemas as the relevant unit of analysis for the design of instructional materials. John Sweller is an Australian educational psychologist who is best known for formulating an influential theory of cognitive load. ... In general, information processing is the changing (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer. ... In cognitive psychology, working memory is a theoretical framework that refers to structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information. ... The word schema comes from the Greek word σχήμα (skhēma) that means shape or more generally plan. ...

This theory differentiates between three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, germane, and extraneous cognitive load (Sweller, van Merriënboer, and Paas, 1998).

Intrinsic cognitive load

The term "Intrinsic cognitive load" was first described by Chandler and Sweller (1991). Accordingly all instruction has an inherent difficulty associated with it (e.g., the calculation of 2 + 2, versus solving a differential equation ). This inherent difficulty may not be altered by an instructor. However many schemas may be broken into individual "subschemas" and taught in isolation, to be later brought back together and described as a combined whole (Sweller, 2003). An illustration of a differential equation. ...

Extraneous cognitive load

Extraneous load is attributable to the design of the instructional materials, and shows itself as the unnecessary load found in inefficient instructional designs. For example, an audio-visual presentation format usually has lower extraneous load than a visual-only format, because in the former case, working memory has less information to process in the visual modality since the audio modality is also being used to convey information.

Germane cognitive load

Germane load relates to the degree of effort involved in the processing, construction and automation of schemas. Germane load is sometimes associated with motivation and interest. Intrinsic load is unchangeable, whereas the instructional designer can manipulate extraneous and germane load. Cognitive load theory is often used as the basis for educational multimedia presentation. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Ergonomics

The ergonomic approach seeks a quantitative neurophysiological expression of cognitive load which can be measured using common instruments. Fredericks T.K., Choi S.D,. Hart J., Butt S.E., and Mital A. (2005), for example, used the heart rate-blood pressure product as a measure of both cognitive and physical occupational workload. They believe that it may be possible to use RPP measures to set limits on workloads and for establishing work allowance. Heart rate is a term used to describe the frequency of the cardiac cycle. ... A sphygmomanometer, a device used for measuring blood pressure. ...

Effects of heavy cognitive load

Some are:

• Fundamental Attribution Error

In attribution theory, the fundamental attribution error (also known as correspondence bias or overattribution effect and frequently confused with the actor-observer bias) is the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional, or personality-based, explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing the role and power of situational...

See also

• Educational psychology
• Chunking (psychology)

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. ... In cognitive psychology and mnemonics, chunking refers to a strategy for making more efficient use of short-term memory by recoding information. ...

References

• Chandler, P. & Sweller, J. (1991). "Cognitive Load Theory and the Format of Instruction". Cognition and Instruction 8 (4): 293-332.
• Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1992). "The split-attention effect as a factor in the design of instruction". British Journal of Educational Psychology 62: 233-246.
• Chase, W.G. & Simon, H.A. (1973). "Perception in chess". Cognitive Psychology 4 (1): 55-81.
• Cooper, G., & Sweller, J. (1987). "Effects of schema acquisition and rule automation on mathematical problem-solving transfer". Journal of Educational Psychology 79 (4): 347-362.
• Fredericks T.K., Choi S.D,. Hart J., Butt S.E., and Mital A. (2005). "". International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 35 (12): 1097-1107.
• Miller, G.A. (1956). "The magic number seven plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity to process information". Psychological Review 63: 81-97.
• Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. (1999). "Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity". Journal of Educational Psychology 91: 358-368.
• Mousavi, S., Low, R., & Sweller, J. (1995). "Reducing cognitive load by mixing auditory and visual presentation modes". Journal of Educational Psychology 87 (2): 319-334.
• Paas, F. (1992). "Training strategies for attaining transfer of problem-solving skill in statistics: A cognitive-load approach". Journal of Educational Psychology 84: 429–434.
• Sweller, J. (1988). "Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning". Cognitive Science 12 (1): 257-285.
• Sweller, J. (1994). "Cognitive Load Theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design". Learning and Instruction 4: 295-312.
• Sweller, J. (1999). Instructional design in technical areas. Camberwell, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research. ISBN 0-86431-312-8.
• Sweller, J., & Cooper, G. A. (1985). "The use of worked examples as a substitute for problem solving in learning algebra". Cognition and Instruction 2 (1): 59-89.
• Sweller, J., Van Merrienboer, J., & Paas, F. (1998). "Cognitive architecture and instructional design". Educational Psychology Review 10: 251-296.

External links

• Cooper, Graham (1998). "Research into Cognitive Load Theory and Instructional Design at UNSW".