Invested mental effort and interest are only weakly and inconsistently positively correlated across measurement points, with some correlations non-significant¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 Invested mental effort and interest are generally positively correlated but weakly (r = .01 to .28), with 14% of the measurement-point correlations not significant. → Katrin Schuessler 2026

Evidence¶

Katrin Schuessler 2026¶

Katrin Schuessler, Jenna Koenen, Elke Sumfleth, Marvin Rost. (2026). Variations in Repeated Measures of Cognitive Load and Interest During Complex Learning Tasks. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10105-4

q3 · i0 · associational · r1

Pairwise raw-data correlations across the 21 measurement points in the N = 360 sample. Printed coefficients span r = .01 to .28, with three measuring points non-significant; the lower bound r = .01 is negligible, so no meaningful effect size is printed for the pair overall.

"Invested mental effort and interest (Fig. 10, upper left, dark grey line) were found to be generally positively correlated ( r = .01 to .28). However, 14% (i.e. three measuring points) of the correlations were not significant."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Pairwise relationships between invested mental effort, perceived task difficulty, interest, and self-assessed understanding fluctuate across measurement points, with most correlations stronger when more content knowledge is presented — a broader claim this one bears on
• Model-based posterior-prediction correlations between the four variables show distinct dynamic patterns across the 21 time points and four intervention groups — related
• The relationship between invested mental effort and self-assessed understanding is weak and inconsistent, with most correlations non-significant and mixed directions — related
• Repeated measures of invested mental effort, perceived task difficulty, interest, and self-assessed understanding differ significantly across measurement points within complex learning tasks and are not adequately represented by their mean — related
• Mental effort is more suitably modeled as a non-linear than linear predictor of learning outcomes in most re-analyzed studies — related