High Cognitive Load Conditions Research Articles

Impact of Locus of Control on Health Message Effectiveness

This article examined how individuals' locus of control might moderate the effect of health message frames. An experiment was conducted whereby participants read either individual- or social-responsibility message frames after their locus of control was primed. Results indicated that messages presented in individual-responsibility frames were more persuasive when people were primed with internal locus of control, whereas social-responsibility framed appeals were more persuasive when people were primed with external locus of control. These results were found for individuals in both high and low cognitive load conditions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Effects of increased homeostatic sleep pressure on postural control and their modulation by attentional resources

Objective This study aimed to determine how increased sleep pressure interferes with postural control according to the availability of attentional resources and visual input. Methods Thirteen healthy young adults performed a psychomotor vigilance task and postural tasks after a night of sleep and after 25 h of sleep deprivation. Primary outcome variables were calculated from the center of pressure (CoP) displacement measured by two force plates in various cognitive load and visual state conditions. Results Sleep deprivation increased CoP anterior–posterior range in the no cognitive load condition and decreased CoP mediolateral range and velocity in the high cognitive load conditions. Sleep deprivation effects on the mediolateral range in the eyes open high cognitive load condition were significantly correlated with its effects on the psychomotor vigilance task. Conclusions Sleep deprivation destabilizes postural control when attentional and sensory resources are not challenged. In high cognitive load condition, sleep loss induces a general freezing effect that seems to be modulated by the degree of impairment in psychomotor speed. Significance This study demonstrates that sleep pressure has a destabilizing effect on postural control independently of circadian factors, therefore suggesting that sleep debt may be a significant risk factor for falls.

Perceiving and remembering events cross-linguistically: Evidence from dual-task paradigms

What role does language play during attention allocation in perceiving and remembering events? We recorded adults’ eye movements as they studied animated motion events for a later recognition task. We compared native speakers of two languages that use different means of expressing motion (Greek and English). In Experiment 1, eye movements revealed that, when event encoding was made difficult by requiring a concurrent task that did not involve language (tapping), participants spent extra time studying what their language treats as the details of the event. This ‘linguistic encoding’ effect was eliminated both when event encoding was made easier (no concurrent task) and when the concurrent task required the use of language (counting aloud). In Experiment 2, under conditions of a delayed concurrent task of counting aloud, participants used language covertly just prior to engaging in the additional task. Together, the results indicate that language can be optionally recruited for encoding events, especially under conditions of high cognitive load. Yet, these effects are malleable and flexible and do not appear to shape core biases in event perception and memory.

Perversible Figures: An Ironic Process in Perception

Wegner and colleagues found an ironic hyperaccessibility to thoughts subjects were instructed to suppress under conditions of high cognitive load which they called The Ironic Effect. Wegner proposed that the Ironic Process underlying this effect entails the integration of two parallel processes: an effortful cognitive process which searches for distractors, and an automatic process which monitors the occurrence of the forbidden target thought (Wegner et al., 1987). We asked the question: Is there a perceptual analogue to the Ironic Effect?

The effect of Interface Consistency and Cognitive Load on user performance in an information search task

Although interface consistency is theorized to increase performance and user satisfaction, previous research has found mixed and often non-significant results. By controlling for the level of task difficulty, specifically the cognitive load, it is hoped that the study will explain the contradictory findings of past research. Eighty participants will be used in a 2×2×2 between-subjects factorial design. The study will manipulate the level of interface consistency, along with intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load imposed by the task. Objective performance measures of task completion time and error-rate along with the subjective measure of user satisfaction will be analyzed. It is expected that the high interface consistency condition will perform better than low interface consistency; in contrast, it is predicted that the low cognitive load condition will outperform the high cognitive load condition. Furthermore, it is predicted that the effect of consistency and cognitive load will interact causing the lack of interface consistency to be significantly more detrimental when paired with a high level of either form of cognitive load.

The Effect of Interface Consistency and Cognitive Load on User Performance in an Information Search Task

Although interface consistency is theorized to increase performance and user satisfaction, previous research has found mixed and often non-significant results. By controlling for the level of task difficulty, specifically the cognitive load, it is hoped that the study will explain the contradictory findings of past research. Eighty participants will be used in a 2×2×2 between-subjects factorial design. The study will manipulate the level of interface consistency, along with intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load imposed by the task. Objective performance measures of task completion time and error-rate along with the subjective measure of user satisfaction will be analyzed. It is expected that the high interface consistency condition will perform better than low interface consistency; in contrast, it is predicted that the low cognitive load condition will outperform the high cognitive load condition. Furthermore, it is predicted that the effect of consistency and cognitive load will interact causing the lack of interface consistency to be significantly more detrimental when paired with a high level of either form of cognitive load.

Design Factors for Effective Science Simulations

We propose that the effectiveness of simulations for science education depends on design features such as the type of representation chosen to depict key concepts. We hypothesize that the addition of iconic representations to simulations can help novice learners interpret the visual simulation interface and improve cognitive learning outcomes as well as learners’ self-efficacy. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments with high school chemistry students. The studies examined the effects of representation type (symbolic versus iconic), prior knowledge, and spatial ability on comprehension, transfer, and self-efficacy under low cognitive load (Study 1, N=80) and high cognitive load conditions (Study 2, N=91). Results supported our hypotheses that design features such as the addition of iconic representations can help scaffold students’ comprehension of science simulations, and that this effect was strongest for learners with low prior knowledge. Adding icons also improved learners’ general self-efficacy.

Does the use of mobile phones affect human short‐term memory or attention?

AbstractThe effect of acute exposure to low‐level radio frequency electromagnetic fields (REF) generated by mobile phones on short‐term memory and attention was assessed in two experiments. Most of the tests manipulated task difficulty or what might be termed cognitive load. This manipulation is important since previous studies have argued that exposure to mobile phones might affect cognitive functions only under conditions which tax the cognitive system. All participants were exposed to REF (half were exposed to GSM—Global System for Mobile Communication—signals and the other half were exposed to unmodulated signals) in one testing session, while in a separate session participants were exposed to sham signals. To investigate potential lateralised effects, the mobile phone was positioned on the left side of the head for half of the participants and on the right side for the other half. No significant effect of exposure to REF was detected in any of the six tasks used in either the low or high cognitive load conditions. This study used much larger sample sizes than is typical for this type of research and REF exposure was administered under double‐blind conditions. Overall, the results indicate that acute exposure to REFs emitted by mobile phones do not have a strong impact on cognitive functions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Health information processed under limited attention: Is it better to be "hot" or "cool?"

The attentional myopia model (T. Mann & A. Ward, 2004) posits that under conditions of limited attention, individuals will be disproportionately influenced by highly salient cues. The "hot/cool" model (J. Metcalfe & W. Mischel, 1999) suggests that cues designed to activate "hot" emotional systems will typically dominate attention and promote relevant behavior more than cues designed to activate "cool" cognitive systems. While under conditions of high or low cognitive load, participants heard information regarding the use of a zinc supplement and reported their intentions to try it. In Study 1, cool message cues that promoted the use of zinc were more salient than hot cues that discouraged its use. In Study 2, hot cues that discouraged the use of zinc were more salient than cool cues that promoted its use. In both studies, the imposition of cognitive load increased the influence of salient cues, regardless of their motivational "temperature." Consistent with the attentional myopia model, either hot or cool health message cues can exert strong influence over individuals, depending on the relative salience of those cues.

Spontaneous Stereotyping: A Matter of Prejudice?

Abstract In four studies, a new methodology was employed to explore whether both high- and low-prejudiced Whites (Ws) spontaneously stereotype African Americans (AAs). On several computer trials, three behavior descriptions were displayed one at a time beside a photo of a person, after which participants completed a 4-item recognition test for words in the descriptions. On target trials in Studies 1 and 2, one word was an AA-stereotypic trait implied but not seen in a behavior description. As predicted, both high- and low-prejudiced Whites were more likely to report erroneously that they had seen the implied trait when the stereotypic behavior had been displayed beside an AA rather than a W photo, indicating spontaneous stereotyping of AAs. Study 4 replicated this effect in a high cognitive load condition. Nonstereotypic trait inferences were made equally often for Wand AA photos (Study 2), and evidence of spontaneous stereotyping was obtained only when AA photos were paired with stereotypic behaviors (St...

Behavioral information search by indecisives

Abstract This research examined the behavioral processes by which individual differences in indecision may be reflected in decision-making situations. In Experiment 1, using an information board paradigm, indecisives compared to decisives searched less information and shifted less often among dimensions under a high cognitive load (distracter) condition. In Experiment 2, compared to decisives, indecisives demonstrated more intra- and fewer inter-dimensional shifts while searching the information board under a high cognitive load condition, thereby focusing their search. Indecisives also reported lower self-confidence and greater anxiety in the high cognitive load condition. These studies demonstrate that indecision-prone individuals tend to use a technique adapted as an avoidance strategy.

Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation.

Implementation intentions ("If I encounter Situation X, then I'll perform Behavior Y!") are postulated to instigate automatic action initiation. In 4 studies, the hypothesis was tested that implementation intentions lead to immediate action initiation once the specified situation is encountered, even under conditions of high cognitive load. First, individuals whose action control is known to be hampered by disruptive cognitive business, such as opiate addicts under withdrawal (Study 1) and schizophrenic patients (Study 2), benefited from forming implementation intentions. Second, the beneficial effect of implementation intentions was also found in 2 experiments with university students (Studies 3 and 4) in which cognitive load was experimentally induced by using dual task paradigms. Results of the 4 studies suggest that forming implementation intentions instigates immediate action initiation that is also efficient.

First Impressions Versus Good Impressions: The Effect of Self-Regulation on Interview Evaluations

Self-regulation may interfere with the ability to fully use situational information to form impressions of others. The demands posed by self-regulation were studied in a job interview situation. In the context of a simulated job interview, participants in the high cognitive load condition (interviewers) were less able to correct their initial characterizations of a job applicant with situational information than participants in the low cognitive load condition (observers). Results are discussed in terms of the person-perception literature and how cognitive load effects could be minimized to increase the comprehensiveness of interviewer assessments.

The influence of decision aids on choice strategies under conditions of high cognitive load

Concerns the role of effort and accuracy in choice tasks. The paper examines the role of computer-based decision aids in reducing cognitive effort where the decision maker experiences heavy information load. It is argued that specific features can be incorporated within a set of aids that alter the effort required to implement a particular strategy relative to other strategies, and that this influences strategy selection. Subjects were given aids to reduce cognitive effort associated with preferential choice strategies. In particular, the aids provided varying levels of support for the processing associated with either elimination by aspects (EBA) or additive difference (AD) strategies. The study examined changes in operators which represent the subcomponents or building blocks of the strategies. A repeated measures design was utilized whereby 32 subjects performed a 30 alternative apartment selection task over two trials. Analysis of the data was based on the coding of concurrent verbal protocols which described the subjects' problem solving strategies. The results show that aids which reduce the effort associated with the EBA strategy induce behaviors associated with EBA. More importantly, there was an interaction effect caused by the behavior of subjects provided with support for an AD but not for an elimination by aspects strategy. These subjects employed more operations which are unique to the AD strategy. These results are consistent with earlier studies in indicating that decision makers adapt to the aids available to them so as to maintain low overall levels of effort expenditure. They further indicate that aids can be designed to overcome constraining task limitations. >

Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design

This paper is concerned with some of the factors that determine the difficulty of material that needs to be learned. It is suggested that when considering intellectual activities, schema acquisition and automation are the primary mechanisms of learning. The consequences of cognitive load theory for the structuring of information in order to reduce difficulty by focusing cognitive activity on schema acquisition is briefly summarized. It is pointed out that cognitive load theory deals with learning and problem solving difficulty that is artificial in that it can be manipulated by instructional design. Intrinsic cognitive load in contrast, is constant for a given area because it is a basic component of the material. Intrinsic cognitive load is characterized in terms of element interactivity. The elements of most schemas must be learned simultaneously because they interact and it is the interaction that is critical. If, as in some areas, interactions between many elements must be learned, then intrinsic cognitive load will be high. In contrast, in different areas, if elements can be learned successively rather than simultaneously because they do not interact, intrinsic cognitive load will be low. It is suggested that extraneous cognitive load that interferes with learning only is a problem under conditions of high cognitive load caused by high element interactivity. Under conditions of low element interactivity, re-designing instruction to reduce extraneous cognitive load may have no appreciable consequences. In addition, the concept of element interactivity can be used to explain not only why some material is difficult to learn but also, why it can be difficult to understand. Understanding becomes relevant when high element interactivity material with a naturally high cognitive load must be learned.