cognitive load

(noun)

The total amount of mental effort being used in working memory.

Related Terms

Examples of cognitive load in the following topics:

  • Attention

    • "Cognitive load" refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in working memory.
    • Brains work on a similar principle, called the cognitive load theory.
    • "Cognitive load" refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in working memory.
    • Attention requires working memory; therefore devoting attention to something increases cognitive load.
    • Each task increases cognitive load; attention must be divided among all of the component tasks to perform them.

  • Classification and Categorization

    • This process is vital to cognition.
    • Our minds are not capable of treating every object as unique; otherwise, we would experience too great a cognitive load to be able to process the world around us.
    • However, over the history of cognitive science and psychology, three general approaches to categorization have been named.

  • Problem Solving

    • It is considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, since it is a higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of basic skills.
    • The advantage of heuristics is that they often reduce the time and cognitive load required to solve a problem; the disadvantage is that they cannot always be relied on to solve the problem—just most of the time.

  • Cognitive Psychology

    • "Cognition" refers to thinking and memory processes, and "cognitive development" refers to long-term changes in these processes.
    • Major areas of research in cognitive psychology include perception, memory, categorization, knowledge representation, numerical cognition, language, and thinking.
    • Cognitive psychology is one of the more recent additions to psychological research.
    • Though there are examples of cognitive approaches from earlier researchers, cognitive psychology really developed as a subfield within psychology in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
    • Piaget is best known for his stage theory of cognitive development.

  • History of Cognition

    • The word "cognition" is the closest scientific synonym for thinking.
    • Human cognition takes place at both conscious and unconscious levels.
    • Some of the most important figures in the study of cognition are:
    • The study of human cognition began over two thousand years ago.
    • These numerous approaches to the analysis of cognition are synthesized in the relatively new field of cognitive science, the interdisciplinary study of mental processes and functions.

  • Criticisms of the Social-Cognitive Pespective on Personality

    • Critics of the social-cognitive theory of personality argue that it is not a unified theory and does not explain development over time.
    • The social-cognitive theory of personality emphasizes both learning and cognition as sources of individual differences in personality.
    • One of the main criticisms of the social-cognitive theory is that it is not a unified theory.
    • Because of this, it can be difficult to quantify the effect that social cognition has on development.
    • Critics of social-cognitive theory argue that the theory does not provide a full explanation of how social cognition, behavior, environment, and personality are related (known as "reciprocal determinism").

  • Cognitive Development in Adulthood

    • Cognition changes over a person's lifespan, peaking at around age 35 and slowly declining in later adulthood.
    • Because we spend so many years in adulthood (more than any other stage), cognitive changes are numerous during this period.
    • In fact, research suggests that adult cognitive development is a complex, ever-changing process that may be even more active than cognitive development in infancy and early childhood (Fischer, Yan, & Stewart, 2003).
    • During early adulthood, cognition begins to stabilize, reaching a peak around the age of 35.
    • Review the milestones of cognitive development in early and middle adulthood

  • Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

    • Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies address the interplay between dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and biased cognitions.
    • Cognitive therapy (CT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are closely related; however CBT is an umbrella category of therapies that includes cognitive therapy.
    • At the core of cognitive therapy is the idea of cognitive biases, or irrational beliefs that cause distress in a person's life.
    • During the 1980s and 1990s, cognitive and behavioral techniques were merged into cognitive-behavioral therapy.
    • Discuss the goals, techniques, and efficacy of cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies

  • Schachter–Singer Theory of Emotion (Two-Factor Theory)

    • The Schachter–Singer theory views emotion as the result of the interaction between two factors: physiological arousal and cognition.
    • According to the Schacter–Singer theory, emotion results from the interaction between two factors: physiological arousal and cognition.
    • These cognitive interpretations—how a person labels and understands what they are experiencing—are formed based on the person's past experiences.
    • For example, if you were to see a venomous snake in your backyard, the Schachter–Singer theory argues that the snake would elicit sympathetic nervous system activation (physiological arousal) that would be cognitively labeled as fear (cognition) based on the context.
    • The Schachter–Singer theory views emotion as resulting from the interaction of two factors: physiological arousal and cognition.

  • Social Cognition

    • Social cognition, like general cognition, uses schemas to help people form judgments and conclusions about the world.
    • Social cognition is a specific approach of social psychology (the area of psychology that studies how people's thoughts and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others) that uses the methods of cognitive science.
    • Similarly, a notable theory of social cognition is social-schema theory.
    • Two cognitive processes that increase the accessibility of schemas are salience and priming.
    • Studies have found that culture influences social cognition in other ways too.