Individual differences and cognitive load theory

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

Authors

The previous chapters discussed sources of cognitive load that are a result of the difficulty of the materials, the design of instruction, and the amount of mental effort invested by learners to process the new information. As outlined in these chapters, the major cause of cognitive load effects is the limited capacity of working memory. In this chapter, we discuss how individual differences relate to the level of cognitive load that a particular learner experiences. Individual differences in learner characteristics take many different forms, ranging from preferences for learning from different presentation formats (e.g., verbal, pictorial) or modalities (auditory, visual, haptic) and preferences for learning under different environmental conditions (e.g., lighting, noise level, or physical position) to cognitive styles (e.g., field dependency/independency), cognitive abilities (e.g., verbal, spatial ability), and intelligence (Carroll, 1993; Jonassen & Grabowski, 1993). The influence of individual differences on learning has been studied for several decades as aptitude-treatment interactions (ATIs; Cronbach & Snow, 1977; Leutner, 1992; Lohman, 1986; Mayer, Stiehl, & Greeno, 1975; Plass, Chun, Mayer, & Leutner, 1998; Shute, 1992; Snow, 1989, 1994; Snow & Lohman, 1984, 1989). Aptitude-treatment interactions occur when different instructional treatment conditions result in differential learning outcomes depending on student aptitudes, in other words, when the effect of a given treatment is moderated by a given aptitude. Different aptitudes may influence learning in specific instructional environments, and the impact of a particular aptitude on a particular condition may only be observed for a particular type of learning outcome.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCognitive Load Theory
EditorsJan L. Plass, Roxana Moreno, Roland Brünken
Number of pages24
PublisherCambridge University Press
Publication date01.01.2010
Pages65-88
ISBN (print)9780521860239
ISBN (electronic)9780511844744
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.01.2010
Externally publishedYes

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Do consumers prefer pasture-raised dual-purpose cattle when considering meat products? A hypothetical discrete choice experiment for the case of minced beef
  2. Integration of Sustainability into Universities - Good Practices and Benchmarking for Integration
  3. Das Conservation Reserve Program
  4. Zur internen Repräsentation von Umweltgeräuschen
  5. Ecosystem services from forest and farmland
  6. Collective emotions in institutional creation work
  7. The balanced scorecard’s missing link to compensation
  8. Controller als Partner im Nachhaltigkeits-Management
  9. Uncovered workers in plants covered by collective bargaining: Who are they and how do they fare?
  10. Von der Beharrlichkeit der Ungleichheit
  11. Integration trotz Segregation
  12. Handelsgesetzbuch
  13. Emotional intelligence
  14. "Wer sieht was?" und "Wer berührt wen?"
  15. Individual-tree radial growth in a subtropical broad-leaved forest
  16. Ungleich mächtig
  17. DAS STATISCHE SFB 3-MIKROSIMULATIONSMODELL - KONZEPTION UND REALISIERUNG MIT EINEM RELATIONALEN DATENBANKSYSTEM.
  18. Biotechnology and law
  19. Mental accounting mechanisms in energy decision-making and behaviour
  20. The Timing of Daily Demand for Goods and Services - Microsimulation Policy Results of an Aging Society, Increasing Labour Market Flexibility, and Extended Public Childcare in Germany
  21. On the effects of redistribution on growth and entrepreneurial risk-taking
  22. Digital naturalism
  23. Corrigendum to: Pathways to Implementation: Evidence on How Participation in Environmental Governance Impacts on Environmental Outcomes
  24. Ágnes Lesznyák: Communication in English as an International Lingua Franca. An Exploratory Case Study
  25. The Instrument as Medium
  26. Healthy Principals - Healthy Schools?