Levels Of Task Difficulty Research Articles

The Effect of Cognitive Load on Auditory Susceptibility During Automated Driving.

ObjectiveWe experimentally test the effect of cognitive load on auditory susceptibility during automated driving.BackgroundIn automated vehicles, auditory alerts are frequently used to request human intervention. To ensure safe operation, human drivers need to be susceptible to auditory information. Previous work found reduced susceptibility during manual driving and in a lesser amount during automated driving. However, in practice, drivers also perform nondriving tasks during automated driving, of which the associated cognitive load may further reduce susceptibility to auditory information. We therefore study the effect of cognitive load during automated driving on auditory susceptibility.MethodTwenty-four participants were driven in a simulated automated car. Concurrently, they performed a task with two levels of cognitive load: repeat a noun or generate a verb that expresses the use of this noun. Every noun was followed by a probe stimulus to elicit a neurophysiological response: the frontal P3 (fP3), which is a known indicator for the level of auditory susceptibility.ResultsThe fP3 was significantly lower during automated driving with cognitive load compared with without. The difficulty level of the cognitive task (repeat or generate) showed no effect.ConclusionEngaging in other tasks during automated driving decreases auditory susceptibility as indicated by a reduced fP3.ApplicationNondriving task can create additional cognitive load. Our study shows that performing such tasks during automated driving reduces the susceptibility for auditory alerts. This can inform designers of semi-automated vehicles (SAE levels 3 and 4), where human intervention might be needed.

Adaptive target enhancement determines levels of guidability in Multiple Object Tracking

Flexible resource models suggest that attentional deployment in Multiple Object Tracking either shows in target enhancement or distractor inhibition or both. In order to gauge the influence of these processes we manipulated distinctiveness of targets and distractors along a single dimension by finely grading gray values of objects. We established that a quantitative increase in distinctiveness results in a quantitative increase in tracking performance thus demonstrating a new finding. Further increases of distinctiveness beyond a certain degree produced no further improvements in tracking. This effect, however, was moderated by levels of task difficulty thus providing evidence for the relativity of this effect. With higher task difficulty higher degrees of distinctiveness still resulted in a significant performance gain (Experiment 1). A follow up experiment generalized this finding. By manipulating speed of objects, a situation with a yet higher task difficulty could be established showing that an increase of an already striking distinctiveness can produce an even further performance gain – provided higher task difficulty (Experiment 2). Finally we tested the hypothesis that target enhancement and distractor inhibition are influenced by feature distinctiveness. Although we found possible indications for distractor inhibition, we could not demonstrate an effect of feature distinctiveness on distractor inhibition. Target enhancement, however, was substantially influenced by variation of feature distinctiveness (Experiment 3).

Human vs computer: What effect does the source of information have on cognitive performance and achievement goal orientation?

Abstract The increasing presence of computers in society calls for the need to better understand how differently the sociocognitive mechanisms involved in natural human relationships operate in human–robot interactions. In the present study, we investigated one fundamental aspect often neglected in the literatures on psychology and educational sciences: how the source of information, either human or computer, influences its perceived reliability and modulates cognitive and motivational processes. In Experiment 1, participants performed a reasoning task that presented cues following participants’ errors, helping them to succeed in the task. Using two levels of task difficulty, we manipulated the source of the cues as either a human or a computer. In addition to task accuracy, Experiment 2 assessed the impact of the information source on socially and nonsocially related dimensions of achievement goals. In Experiment 1, participants who believed that they received cues from a human teacher performed better on difficult trials compared to those who believed that they received cues from a computer. In Experiment 2, we replicated these findings by additionally showing that the nature of the source only had an impact on the socially related dimension of achievement goals, which in turn mediated the source’s effect on reasoning performance. For the first time, the present study showed modulations of cognitive and motivational processes resulting from the manipulation of the type of information source aimed at providing assistance with a reasoning task. The findings highlight the importance of considering the social and motivational aspects involved in human–computer interactions.

Cognitive control in older Minnan-Mandarin and Hakka-Mandarin bidialectal adults: Advantages in Stroop-type tasks

The effect of bidialectalism on older bidialectal adults’ performance on cognitive tasks has received little attention in aging studies. The current research aimed to investigate older monolingual and bidialectal adults’ performance on nonverbal and verbal cognitive tasks, including Simon, Stroop, flanker, and spatial n-back tasks. Bidialectalism and task effects were examined via a comparison of the monolinguals’ and bidialectals’ response latencies. Two experiments were conducted, which consisted of four nonverbal tasks (Experiment 1) and four verbal tasks (Experiment 2), respectively. The participants were 20 older Mandarin monolingual adults and 20 older Minnan-Mandarin/Hakka-Mandarin bidialectal adults from Taiwan. The results indicated that the bidialectals performed better than the monolinguals on the nonverbal and verbal Stroop color-word tasks and the verbal Stroop day-night task. The nonverbal tasks revealed no significant interaction of task and language group, while the verbal tasks showed the opposite results. These findings suggest that the advantages in cognitive control extended beyond bilingualism to bidialectalism. Moreover, the bidialectal advantage was found in some tasks which involved more attentional and inhibitory control and had a high or intermediate level of task difficulty, and was absent in other tasks.

How does information consistency influence prospective teachers’ decisions about task difficulty assignments? A within-subject experiment to explain data-based decision-making in heterogeneous classes

In order to provide adaptive instruction in heterogeneous classes, teachers have to consider performance-related information for their decisions on which task difficulty level fits best for a particular student. Focusing on prospective teachers’ data-based decision-making, we aim to investigate their use of proximal and distal indicators of students’ ability and readiness to deal successfully with domain-specific tasks that are available for 32 student cases in a digital test environment. To address several hypotheses on the participants’ information-processing behaviors and decisions, we conducted a within-subject experiment in which we systematically varied the informational consistency of the presented student cases. We used a mixed-methods approach to measure observable information-processing behavior and decision-making. We assessed the effects of consistent/inconsistent cases on the amount, sequence, and perceived relevance of selected information, the type of processed information, the time needed for information processing, and the subjective confidence when making a decision via linear dynamic panel-data modeling.

How cognitive loads modulate the postural control of older women with low back pain?

BackgroundThe capacity of postural control is a key factor related to falling in older people, particularly in older women with low back pain (LBP). Cognitive involvement in postural control increases with age. However, most scholars have not considered different difficulty levels of cognitive loads when exploring the effects of cognition on postural control in older patients with LBP. The present study is to investigate how different levels of cognitive loads modulate postural control in older women with LBP.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Twenty older women with LBP were recruited into the LBP group, and 20 healthy older women without the history of LBP were recruited into the healthy control group. Balance parameters were computed to quantify postural control. All participants underwent the balance test, which required the participant to maintain stability during standing on a force platform with or without a concurrent cognitive task. The balance test included three levels of difficulties of posture tasks (eyes-open vs. eyes-closed vs. one-leg stance) and three cognitive tasks (without cognitive task vs. auditory arithmetic task vs. serial-7 s arithmetic task).ResultsA repeated-measure analysis of variance (3 postural tasks × 3 congnitive tasks× 2 groups) testing the effects of the different congnitive task levels on the performance in different postural conditions. Older women with LBP had worse postural control (as reflected by larger center of pressure (COP) parameters) than control group regardless of postural or cognitive difficulties. Compared with the single task, the COP parameters of participants with LBP were larger during dual tasks, even though the difficulty level of the cognitive task was low. Larger COP parameters were shown only if the difficulty level of the cognitive task was high in control group. Correlations between sway area/sway length and the number of falls were significant in dual tasks.ConclusionOur findings shed light on how cognitive loads modulate postural control for older women with LBP. Compared with control group, cognitive loads showed more disturbing effects on postural control in older women with LBP, which was associated with falling.

Cognitive Load Monitoring With Wearables–Lessons Learned From a Machine Learning Challenge

To further extend the applicability of wearable sensors, methods for accurately extracting subtle psychological information from the sensor data are required. However, accessing subjective information in everyday life, such as cognitive load, remains challenging. To bring consensus on methods for cognitive load monitoring, a machine learning challenge is organized. The participants developed machine learning methods for cognitive load classification using wrist-worn physiological sensors' data, namely heart rate, R-R intervals, skin conductance, and skin temperature. The data from subjects solving cognitive tasks of varying difficulty is used for the challenge. This article presents a systematic comparison and multi-strategic performance evaluation of the thirteen methods submitted to this challenge. A systematic comparison of preprocessing techniques, classification algorithms, and implementation techniques is presented. Performance variations for different task difficulty levels, different subjects, and different experiment periods are evaluated. The results indicate that the most robust methods used multimodal sensor data, classical classification approaches such as decision trees and support vector machines or their ensembles, and Bayesian hyperparameter optimization for hyperparameter tuning. The most accurate models used handcrafted features that are further selected using sequential backward floating search and evaluated using stratified person-aware cross-validation strategy. Moreover, the results indicated better classification performance for specific test subjects, the tasks with the highest difficulty, and in some cases, the time elapsed since the start of the experiment. This dependency is likely due to model overfitting or due to the subjective nature of the psychophysiological process. The intersubject variability in responses is challenging to be captured through objective binary labels for cognitive load, thereby warranting more sophisticated annotation approaches.

Сognitive Style Differences in Detection and Discrimination of Sensory Signals

The purpose of the study was to test individual differences in sensory sensitivity while performing signal detection and signal discrimination tasks. A total of 98 subjects performed two cognitive style tests on flexibility and rigidity of cognitive control, and focusing and scanning control, as well as two psychophysical tasks on visual signal detection (“yes/no” method) and loudness discrimination (“same/different”), each including two difficulty levels. Task type and difficulty level were considered as stimulation factors, and cognitive styles were considered as individual differences factors. The effects of both cognitive styles along with the effect of their interaction were revealed. ‘Flexible’ subjects and ‘scanners’ showed higher sensitivity in signal detection compared to ‘rigid’ subjects and ‘focusers’, respectively. Whereas no between-group differences were found in the accuracy of signal discrimination. Thus, we revealed individual differences in sensitivity, driven by cognitive style characteristics on the one hand, and task type on the other.

Trust your Abilities More than the Stereotype: Effect of Gender-stereotype Threat and Task Difficulty on Word Production, Clustering, and Switching in Letter Fluency

Gender-stereotype threat consistently accounts for underperformance phenomena experienced by women on male-stereotyped cognitive tasks. However, only a few studies have examined how the threat is affecting performance on female-stereotyped cognitive tasks, such as letter fluency. The present study examined whether variations in the cues to activate stereotype threat and the level of task difficulty would affect the letter fluency performance of undergraduate men and women (<em>n</em> = 168) and the underlying cognitive processes of this performance (i.e., switching, clustering). The results indicated participants held beliefs about women’s superiority in this task. However, threat-activation cues did not affect production of correct words, errors, clustering, or switching in men and women. Task difficulty affected the number of correct words, yet it did not interact with the stereotype threat-activation cues. Finally, participants’ actual performance was related to their self-rating perception about their ability instead of the stereotyping they perceived. The effect of self-efficacy, educational level, and individuals’ susceptibilities should be taken into account when studying the effects of stereotype threat.

La competenza fraseologica in italiano lingua straniera tra i livelli elementare e intermedio

Phraseology constitutes an indisputably important area of language proficiency. Among the methods devised to explore this domain, semiautomated analysis of learner corpora has yielded important findings, especially in the case of intermediate and advanced levels. This paper investigates phraseological competence in Italian as a Foreign Language between the A2 and B1 levels of the CEFR. We collected 160 texts based on different combinations of task difficulty and learner level and we compared, through two-way Anova tests, the different groups. Results show that A2 leaners produce more non-collocational bigrams with respect to other groups, but when they attempt a B1 task they experience difficulty in producing high frequency bigrams. Implications for instruction and further research are discussed.

EEG Correlates of Difficulty Levels in Dynamical Transitions of Simulated Flying and Mapping Tasks

Decoding the subjective perception of task difficulty may help improve operator performance, i.e., automatically optimize the task difficulty level. Here, we aim to decode a compound of cognitive states that covaries with the task difficulty level. We designed a protocol composed of two different subtasks, flying and visual recognition, to induce different difficulty levels. We first showed that electroencephalography (EEG) signals can be a reliable source for discriminating different compound states. To gain insight into the underlying components in the compound states, we examined the attentional index and engagement index as in our previous study. We showed that, first, attention and engagement are essential components but fail to provide the best accuracy, and, second, our model is consistent with our previous study, which means that lateralized modulations in the α bands are representative of the flying task. We also analyzed a practical issue in the design of adaptive human-machine interaction (HMI) systems, namely, the latency of changes in the user's compound state. We hypothesized that the EEG correlates of the task difficulty level do not instantaneously reflect the changes in the task difficulty. We validated the hypothesis by measuring the time required for our decoders to provide stable accuracy after the task changed. This amount of time, or latency, could be as high as ten seconds. The results suggest that the latency of changes in the user's compound state between different tasks is a factor that should be taken into account when building adaptive HMI systems.

Interrogating the role of the noradrenergic locus coeruleus in memory encoding in aging

AbstractBackgroundThe locus coeruleus‐norepinephrine system (LC‐NE system) supports the process of encoding of emotionally salient events. LC integrity varies in healthy elderly and is associated with altered cognitive functions in aging. Post‐mortem as well as structural indicators suggest that the modulation of the LC‐NE system is reduced in elderly. This reduction in ageing is also of note as it might be one of the earliest pre‐symptomatic indicators of dementia‐related brain pathology. Indeed, LC neuron degeneration is already observable in early stages of tau pathology before any cognitive symptoms are clinically notable in Alzheimer´s disease (AD). The main aim of this study was to investigate age differences in functional activations of the LC during (emotionally) salient events.MethodA total of 50 people (28 younger, 22 older healthy adults) participated in the experiment. A reversal learning task has been chosen as it provokes the release of NE. The study used neuromelanin (NM) ‐ sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high‐resolution functional MRI (fMRI) to visualise age differences in LC structure and function. Functional indicators can add sensitivity over structural indicators, which is important considering the fact of neuronal function loss before cell death occurs.ResultReduced LC integrity was related to lower memory performance for negative emotional events in elderly only. Moreover, unexpectedly, stronger functional responses of dopaminergic and noradrenergic midbrain structures to (emotionally) salient events during memory encoding were observed in older adults.ConclusionThese results are discussed in light of age differences in adapting to high and low levels of task difficulty. The study has shown the feasibility of investigating age differences in neuromodulatory nuclei. Therefore, the observed reduction in LC integrity might be a typical sign of healthy ageing or a sign of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and thus also for AD.

Effects of auditory feedback and task difficulty on the cognitive load and virtual presence in a virtual reality dental simulation

This research examined the difference in cognitive load and the virtual presence depending on auditory feedback and task difficulty in haptic-based dental simulation. In the field of dental education, practice-centered training using handpiece has been crucial because a practitioner's psychomotor experience has a significant impact on the mastery of treatment skills. For the novice, it is necessary to reduce errors in dental treatment to enhancing skill acquisition in the haptic practice. In the training process, the force-feedback is crucial to elaborate subtle movement to guide what to do and how it should be hard or soft. However, It is not easy to add force-feedback to generate kinetic experience training. As an alternative method, we examined that auditory feedback can help learners' skill training. In this study, we analyzed how the presence/absence of auditory feedback at the different levels of task difficulty impacts learners' psychological demand and virtual presence in the virtual reality simulation. For this study, 29 dental college students participated in a dental simulation. The participants were grouped into two conditions that are with and without auditory feedback. Additionally, two consecutive tooth preparation tasks with different levels of difficulty were used in the simulation. The auditory feedback condition gives alarms to a learner when he treats a non-targeted tooth with a virtual handpiece. The user's cognitive load and virtual presence were measured to examine the effects of auditory feedback. The results revealed that the main effect was found in cognitive loads. Also, a significant interaction effect was shown in the virtual presence. We discussed the effective design methods for the virtual reality-based dental simulation through the result of this study.

Distracted driving caused by voice message apps: A series of experimental studies

Hand-free voice message apps are frequently used by young people while driving. Previous studies have identified voice message apps as a common source of driving distraction. To quantitatively evaluate the factors contributing to driving distractions, three simulated driving experiments were designed using a dual-task experimental paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants completed several common tasks related to voice messages in WeChat with or without manual operations (perceptual-motor distraction). Experiments 2 and 3 further took into consideration the cognitive distraction level, measured by task difficulty and task frequency. The results showed that, in comparison with undistracted driving, the perceptual-motor distraction related to voice message app use significantly (ps < 0.05) weakened young drivers’ driving performance with respect to the standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) between two cars (0.24 m), response time (0.21 s) and error rate (0.12) to turning lights, and collision percentage (0.54%), similar to the effects induced by non-voice-based apps. There were also significant differences (ps < 0.05) between driving with secondary tasks with and without continuous manual operations in the SDLP between two cars (0.19 m) and in the response time (0.18 s) and error rate (0.10) to turning lights, which indicates that the distracting effect produced by voice-message apps comes from the related manual operations. The effects of cognitive distraction on driving performance mainly depended on task difficulty level. High-difficulty secondary tasks via a voice message app significantly (ps < 0.05) weakened the driving performance in response time (by 0.13 s and 0.13 s compared to low-difficulty and baseline conditions, respectively) and error rate (by 0.07 and 0.07 compared to low-difficulty and baseline conditions, respectively) to turning lights and collision percentage (by 0.90% and 0.80% compared to low-difficulty and baseline conditions, respectively). The findings provide a theoretical reference for analysing the distracting components of voice messages and suggest that drivers should limit the use of these kinds of apps during driving.

Effects of balance training on balance performance in youth: role of training difficulty

BackgroundCross-sectional studies have shown that balance performance can be challenged by the level of task difficulty (e.g., varying stance conditions, sensory manipulations). However, it remains unclear whether the application of different levels of task difficulty during balance training (BT) leads to altered adaptations in balance performance. Thus, we examined the effects of BT conducted under a high versus a low level of task difficulty on balance performance.MethodsForty male adolescents were randomly assigned to a BT program using a low (BT-low: n = 20; age: 12.4 ± 2.0 yrs) or a high (BT-high: n = 20; age: 12.5 ± 2.5 yrs) level of balance task difficulty. Both groups trained for 7 weeks (2 sessions/week, 30–35 min each). Pre- and post-training assessments included measures of static (one-legged stance [OLS] time), dynamic (10-m gait velocity), and proactive (Y-Balance Test [YBT] reach distance, Functional Reach Test [FRT]; Timed-Up-and-Go Test [TUG]) balance.ResultsSignificant main effects of Test (i.e., pre- to post-test improvements) were observed for all but one balance measure (i.e., 10-m gait velocity). Additionally, a Test x Group interaction was detected for the FRT in favor of the BT-high group (Δ + 8%, p < 0.001, d = 0.35). Further, tendencies toward significant Test x Group interactions were found for the YBT anterior reach (in favor of BT-high: Δ + 9%, p < 0.001, d = 0.60) and for the OLS with eyes opened and on firm surface (in favor of BT-low: Δ + 31%, p = 0.003, d = 0.67).ConclusionsFollowing 7 weeks of BT, enhancements in measures of static, dynamic, and proactive balance were observed in the BT-high and BT-low groups. However, BT-high appears to be more effective for increasing measures of proactive balance, whereas BT-low seems to be more effective for improving proxies of static balance.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN83638708 (Retrospectively registered 19th June, 2020).

How can the blow of math difficulty on elementary school children’s motivational, cognitive, and affective experiences be dampened? The critical role of autonomy-supportive instructions.

Although teachers are recommended to create a stimulating learning environment in which children can use, perfect, and extend their skills, this is far from easy. In many cases, identifying the optimal difficulty level of learning tasks involves a trial-and-error process during which teachers offer children too difficult tasks, with negative outcomes as a result. This experimental study investigated if autonomy-supportive instructions could dampen or even cancel out these presumed negative outcomes associated with math difficulty in elementary schoolchildren (N = 479; Mage = 9.41). After varying an autonomy-supportive versus a controlling instructional style through a comic book, children solved a series of either easy-medium or difficult math exercises, followed by the completion of questionnaires and the opportunity to choose the difficulty level of a final set of exercises to work on independently. Children who solved difficult, relative to easier, exercises reported less interest, more irritation, and more cognitive disengagement, while also seeking less challenge when asked to work independently. Need-based experiences of competence and autonomy accounted for these effects. Yet, the impairing impact of task difficulty could, at least partially, be dampened through the use of an autonomy-supportive relative to a controlling instructional style, which led to enhanced autonomy satisfaction. These findings largely occurred independent of children’s motives for mathematics. The results have high practical value, especially for poor performers and children with mathematical learning disabilities, who find math to be harder overall. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Determining the Difficulty Level of Tasks in Online Courses

Online courses on different platforms provide thousands of students with the knowledge and skills they need. This paper presents the results of a survey of students, during which they expressed their opinion on the use of electronic resources in teaching. The survey showed that students are more motivated to study when they understand how their knowledge will be used in their professional activities. The survey results also showed that the objectivity of knowledge control is essential. Students are usually familiar with the criteria for assessing the performance of the task. Knowing the criteria for evaluating the task itself, understanding why it is possible to get this particular number of points for completing the task will help students to approach their studies more responsibly. We analyzed the tasks that will be offered to students in the course of learning the MAXScript language. These tasks are assessed according to factors that affect their complexity and the maximum number of points that students can receive for their correct performance. The resulting complexity value can be adjusted after analyzing the scripts written and the trainees' time. This approach to assessing tasks can be applied in the study of information technology and other disciplines.

The Varying Effects of Dual Tasks on the Performance of Motor Skills across Practice

Numerous previous studies using the dual-task methodology have indicated that the effect of attentional direction on the performance of motor skill differs as a function of skill levels. Whereas previous studies relied mostly on inter-individual comparisons, this study focused on how the effects of different attentional conditions change within individuals with practice. Participants were instructed to learn a short and a long keying sequence (three versus six keys) and then practiced under two block-wise alternating dual-task conditions. In each trial, a tone, either low- or high-pitched, was presented at one of the three/six keys and participants had to indicate either the pitch of the tone (extraneous dual task) or the key with which the tone was presented (skill-focused dual task) after finishing the execution of the keying sequence. Motor task performance was assessed by reaction time (RT) and movement duration (MD), and the concurrent cognitive task performance was assessed by the error rate. RT was faster in the skill-focused dual-task condition at the beginning of practice, whereas a generally shorter MD was found in the extraneous dual-task condition. The error rate in the extraneous dual task decreased with practice, whereas in the skill-focused dual task, it increased with practice. These results show that the effects of attentional direction differ not only as a function of the amount of practice but also as a function of the stage of information processing. Furthermore, our results indicate that the direction of attention alone does not explain the different patterns of performance at different skill levels seen across dual-task studies; rather, the skill levels, the nature of cognitive demands, the difficulty level of dual tasks, and the complexity of the motor skill could all drive performance differences.

Emotional distractors and attentional control in anxious youth: eye tracking and fMRI data

ABSTRACT Attentional control theory suggests that high cognitive demands impair the flexible deployment of attention control in anxious adults, particularly when paired with external threats. Extending this work to pediatric anxiety, we report two studies utilising eye tracking (Study 1) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (Study 2). Both studies use a visual search paradigm to examine anxiety-related differences in the impact of threat on attentional control at varying levels of task difficulty. In Study 1, youth ages 8–18 years (N = 109), completed the paradigm during eye tracking. Results indicated that youth with more severe anxiety took longer to fixate on and identify the target, specifically on difficult trials, compared to youth with less anxiety. However, no anxiety-related effects of emotional distraction (faces) emerged. In Study 2, a separate cohort of 8–18-year-olds (N = 72) completed a similar paradigm during fMRI. Behaviourally, youth with more severe anxiety were slower to respond on searches following non-threatening, compared to threatening, distractors, but this effect did not vary by task difficulty. The same interaction emerged in the neuroimaging analysis in the superior parietal lobule and precentral gyrus-more severe anxiety was associated with greater brain response following non-threatening distractors. Theoretical implications of these inconsistent findings are discussed.

Balanced difficulty task finder: an adaptive recommendation method for learning tasks based on the concept of state of flow

An adaptive task difficulty assignment method which we reckon as balanced difficulty task finder (BDTF) is proposed in this paper. The aim is to recommend tasks to a learner using a trade-off between skills of the learner and difficulty of the tasks such that the learner experiences a state of flow during the learning. Flow is a mental state that psychologists refer to when someone is completely immersed in an activity. Flow state is a multidisciplinary field of research and has been studied not only in psychology, but also neuroscience, education, sport, and games. The idea behind this paper is to try to achieve a flow state in a similar way as Elo’s chess skill rating (Glickman in Am Chess J 3:59–102) and TrueSkill (Herbrich et al. in Advances in neural information processing systems, 2006) for matching game players, where “matched players” should possess similar capabilities and skills in order to maintain the level of motivation and involvement in the game. The BDTF draws analogy between choosing an appropriate opponent or appropriate game level and automatically choosing an appropriate difficulty level of a learning task. This method, as an intelligent tutoring system, could be used in a wide range of applications from online learning environments and e-learning, to learning and remembering techniques in traditional methods such as adjusting delayed matching to sample and spaced retrieval training that can be used for people with memory problems such as people with dementia.