Cognitive load ratings rise and interest and self-assessed understanding fall in sections introducing new content knowledge compared with introductory sections of worked examples¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Invested mental effort and perceived task difficulty are significantly higher, and interest and self-assessed understanding significantly lower, in sections introducing new content knowledge than in first introductory sections. → 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 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive analysis of the N = 360 repeated-measures sample plotted across measurement points (Fig. 4). The article reports the same significant pattern for perceived task difficulty, interest (higher in introductory sections), and self-assessed understanding (lower in content sections); no effect sizes are printed.

"In sections introducing new content knowledge (e.g. measurement points 4 to 6 within the worked examples), the amount of mental effort invested is significantly higher than in the first introductory sections."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Interest — outcome: instruction changes it
• Motivation — outcome: instruction changes it

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 — 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 — a broader claim this one bears on
• Prior knowledge and intervention condition predict repeated cognitive load and interest measures: prior knowledge lowers effort and difficulty and raises interest and understanding, and prompting groups perceive tasks as more difficult — related
• Invested mental effort and perceived task difficulty are significantly positively correlated at all measurement points except MP2.5, with correlations increasing as material complexity rises — related
• Perceived task difficulty correlates negatively with self-assessed understanding and with interest at essentially all measurement points, while interest and self-assessed understanding correlate positively throughout — related