An unexpected effect: task difficulty variation in the Tetris study also produced differences in reported extraneous cognitive load¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i3 In the Tetris study, ECL differed significantly between difficulty conditions, with the boredom condition reporting the lowest ECL, contrary to the hypothesis of no ECL differences. → Melina Klepsch 2020

Evidence¶

Melina Klepsch 2020¶

Melina Klepsch, Tina Seufert. (2020). Understanding instructional design effects by differentiated measurement of intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Instructional Science (2020) 48:45–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-020-09502-9

q2 · i3 · causal · r2

Between-subject Tetris experiment (N = 62) varying task difficulty across boredom, flow, and overload conditions. The article reports a significant ECL main effect "that was not expected", with η2 = 0.29, and lowest ECL in the boredom condition.

"For ECL, we found a significant main effect (F(2,59) = 12.19, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.29) that was not expected. Contrasts showed that ECL was lowest for participants in the boredom condition."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Task difficulty strongly determined task performance: boredom conditions scored highest and overload conditions lowest in both ICL studies — related
• Variations in task difficulty are reflected in the intrinsic cognitive load scale, with boredom conditions reporting the lowest ICL — related