Mental effort is more suitably modeled as a non-linear than linear predictor of learning outcomes in most re-analyzed studies¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In re-analyses of data from four recently published studies with repeated measures of self-reported mental effort, mental effort was more suitably modeled as a non-linear rather than linear predictor of outcomes in three of the four studies. → Paul Ginns & Jimmie Leppink 2019

Evidence¶

Paul Ginns & Jimmie Leppink 2019¶

Paul Ginns & Jimmie Leppink. (2019). Special Issue on Cognitive Load Theory: Editorial. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 255–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09474-4

q2 · i? · review · r2

Re-analyses of data from four recently published studies, each including repeated measures of self-reported mental effort along with workload, time on task, or self-rated certainty of correct task performance. The editorial reports "In three of the four studies, mental effort was more suitably modeled as a non-linear rather than linear predictor of outcomes."

"In three of the four studies, mental effort was more suitably modeled as a non-linear rather than linear predictor of outcomes."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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
• The relationship between invested mental effort and self-assessed understanding is weak and inconsistent, with most correlations non-significant and mixed directions — related
• 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 interest are only weakly and inconsistently positively correlated across measurement points, with some correlations non-significant — related
• 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
• 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
• Model-based posterior-prediction correlations between the four variables show distinct dynamic patterns across the 21 time points and four intervention groups — related
• The predictive value of cognitive load ratings for problem performance was mixed: mental effort predicted performance in Experiment 1, perceived difficulty in Experiment 2, but never both at once — related
• Mental effort relates to self-rated certainty in a cubic (declining–flat–declining) rather than linear pattern — a narrower finding that bears on this claim