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In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. Cognitive load theory was developed out of the study of problem solving by John Sweller in the late 1980s.[1] Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners. Cognitive load theory differentiates cognitive load into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. Intrinsic cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic. Extraneous cognitive load refers to the way information or tasks are presented to a learner. And germane cognitive load refers to the work put into creating a permanent store of knowledge, or a schema. Researchers Paas and Van Merriënboer developed a way to measure perceived mental effort which is indicative of cognitive load.[2] More techniques have been developed to measure cognitive load including neurophysiological methods. Heavy cognitive load can have negative effects on task completion, and it is important to note that the experience of cognitive load is not the same in everyone. The elderly, students, and children experience different, and more often higher, amounts of cognitive load. High cognitive load in the elderly has been shown to effect their center of balance.[3] With increased distractions and cell phone use students are more prone to experiencing high cognitive load which can reduce academic success.[4] Children have less general knowledge than adults which increases their cognitive load.
Children
[edit]The components of working memory as proposed by British psychologists, Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch, are in place at 6 years of age.[5] However, there is a clear difference between adult and child knowledge. These difference is due to developmental increases in processing efficiency.[6] Children lack general knowledge, and this is what creates increased cognitive load in children. They do not have the knowledge that can help reduce high levels of cognitive load.
Gesturing is a technique children use to reduce cognitive load while speaking.[7] By gesturing, they can free up working memory for other tasks.[8] Pointing allows a child to use the object they are pointing at as the best representation of it, which means they do not have to hold this representation in their working memory, thereby reducing their cognitive load.[9] Additionally, gesturing about an object that is absent reduces the difficulty of having to picture it in their mind.[10]
Category: Social Sciences Category: Cognition Category: Thought Category: Methodology
- ^ Sweller, J (June 1988). "Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning". Cognitive Science. 12 (2): 257–285. doi:10.1016/0364-0213(88)90023-7.
- ^ Paas, Fred G. W. C.; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen J. G. (1993). "The Efficiency of Instructional Conditions: An Approach to Combine Mental Effort and Performance Measures". Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. 35 (4): 737–743. doi:10.1177/001872089303500412.
- ^ Andersson, Gerhard; Hagman, Jenni; Talianzadeh, Roya; Svedberg, Alf; Larsen, Hans Christian (May 2002). "Effect of cognitive load on postural control". Brain Research Bulletin. 58 (1): 135–139. doi:10.1016/s0361-9230(02)00770-0.
- ^ Frein, Scott T.; Jones, Samantha L.; Gerow, Jennifer E. (November 2013). "When it comes to Facebook there may be more to bad memory than just multitasking". Computers in Human Behavior. 29 (6): 2179–2182. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.04.031.
- ^ Gathercole, Susan E.; Pickering, Susan J.; Ambridge, Benjamin; Wearing, Hannah. "The Structure of Working Memory From 4 to 15 Years of Age". Developmental Psychology. 40 (2): 177–190. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177.
- ^ Gathercole, Susan E.; Pickering, Susan J.; Ambridge, Benjamin; Wearing, Hannah. "The Structure of Working Memory From 4 to 15 Years of Age". Developmental Psychology. 40 (2): 177–190. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177.
- ^ Ping, Raedy; Goldin-Meadow, Susan. "Gesturing Saves Cognitive Resources When Talking About Nonpresent Objects". Cognitive Science. 34 (4): 602–619. doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01102.x.
- ^ Ping, Raedy; Goldin-Meadow, Susan. "Gesturing Saves Cognitive Resources When Talking About Nonpresent Objects". Cognitive Science. 34 (4): 602–619. doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01102.x.
- ^ Ballard, Dana H.; Hayhoe, Mary M.; Pook, Polly K.; Rao, Rajesh P. N. (1 December 1997). "Deictic codes for the embodiment of cognition". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 20 (04). doi:10.1017/s0140525x97001611.
- ^ Ping, Raedy; Goldin-Meadow, Susan. "Gesturing Saves Cognitive Resources When Talking About Nonpresent Objects". Cognitive Science. 34 (4): 602–619. doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01102.x.