Items requiring integration have higher relative item difficulty than items requiring selecting or organizing, and delayed perceived task difficulty ratings appear closer to integrating-item difficulty, though that correlation comparison is not significant¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · associational r1–r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Relative item difficulty differs significantly across cognitive processes (Welch's F(2, 80.030) = 4.94, p = 0.009), with Bonferroni post-hoc differences between integrating and selecting and between integrating and organizing. → Schuessler 2025 q2 i? Correlations between perceived task difficulty and relative item difficulty were higher for integrating items (r = -0.71) than for selecting (r = -0.64) or organizing (r = -0.60), but the comparisons were small and not significant. → Schuessler 2025 (2) q2 i? Relative item difficulty of integrating items explains 50.5% of variance in perceived task difficulty, more than selecting (40.3%) or organizing (35.9%). → Schuessler 2025 (3)

Evidence¶

Schuessler 2025¶

Schuessler, K., Fischer, V., & Walpuski, M. (2025). Investigating construct validity of cognitive load measurement using single-item subjective rating scales. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09692-6

q2 · i? · associational · r?

One-way ANOVA (Welch's F, as homogeneity of variance was violated) on 43 selecting, 41 organizing, and 42 integrating items; the post-hoc tests show "selecting < integrating" and "organizing < integrating", while selecting and organizing did not differ significantly. Only F and p are printed.

"The results indicate a significant difference for cognitive processes (selecting, organizing, integrating) concerning relative item difficulty, F(2, 80.030) = 4.94, p = 0.009. Post-hoc tests (Bonferroni) reveal significant differences for relative item difficulty between integrating and selecting (p = 0.004, selecting < integrating) and integrating and organizing (p = 0.046, organizing < integrating)."

Schuessler 2025 (2)¶

Schuessler, K., Fischer, V., & Walpuski, M. (2025). Investigating construct validity of cognitive load measurement using single-item subjective rating scales. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09692-6

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Correlations of perceived task difficulty with relative item difficulty per process: r = -0.64 (selecting, n = 43), r = -0.60 (organizing, n = 41), r = -0.71 (integrating, n = 42); differences of q = 0.14 and q = 0.20 were "small effects, but not significant", so no null-hypothesis test confirmed the pattern.

"Nevertheless, the comparison of correlation coefficients is not significant."

Schuessler 2025 (3)¶

Schuessler, K., Fischer, V., & Walpuski, M. (2025). Investigating construct validity of cognitive load measurement using single-item subjective rating scales. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09692-6

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Three separate regressions at item-group level; selecting items explained 40.3% and organizing items 35.9% of perceived task difficulty variance, both "less than the 50.5%" explained by integrating items. Only R² values are printed, so impact is coded null.

"Both explain less than the 50.5% of variance in perceived task difficulty, R 2 = 0.51, F(1, 40) = 40.88, p ≤ 0.001, nitems int = 42, which is explained when the relative item difficulty of items asking students to integrate is used as a predictor."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Multiple-choice single-select items are less difficult than open-ended response questions, and delayed perceived task difficulty ratings relate more strongly to relative item difficulty for open-ended items
• Delayed perceived task difficulty ratings relate more strongly to the relative difficulty of the more demanding items within a task set, consistent with delayed ratings being affected by the most demanding item
• Perceived task difficulty ratings show a strong relation to Rasch-estimated relative task difficulty, supporting construct validity of the single-item scale
• Re-analyses support PSVT:R structural validity: degree of rotation explains 66.9% of item-difficulty variance, though modified problematic items show no rotation-difficulty relationship — related
• CASTLE's cognitive influence hypothesis states that (para-)social processes influence selection, organization, integration, and retrieval of information — related
• Test tasks requiring analysis, selection and organization of elements give better predictive results per unit cost than simpler tasks — related