Use of Mouse-tracking Method to Measure Cognitive Load

Abstract

Integrated with computerized education platforms, the mouse-tracking technique could provide an inexpensive and less intrusive tool for assessing cognitive load. The present study examined whether mouse-tracking can quantify changes in cognitive load. Participants performed a dual-task, which required them to perform primary tasks of moving a computer mouse cursor along the vertical and the horizontal axes to a target, and secondary arithmetic tasks designed to impose different levels of cognitive load. Analyses of the mouse-tracking data indicated that slower mean response time and less trajectory deviation were observed when participants were given secondary tasks imposing a greater cognitive load, whereas slower mean response time and greater trajectory deviation were observed when participants moved a cursor toward a smaller-sized target. The cause behind the quantitative difference between the cognitive load effect, and the motor task difficulty (target size) is discussed, as are implications of these results for computerized education platforms.