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Original Article

The role of cognitive load in university students' comprehension of multiple documents

Published Online:August 26, 2019https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/a000238

Abstract

Abstract. The study investigates the cognitive load of students working on tasks that require the comprehension of multiple documents (Multiple Document Comprehension, MDC). In a sample of 310 students, perceived task difficulty (PD) and mental effort (ME) were examined in terms of task characteristics, individual characteristics, and students' processing behavior. Moreover, it was investigated if PD and ME can still contribute to MDC while controlling for these variables. The perceived difficulty of the task was shown to be related to the number of documents, text length, study level, and sourcing. Mental effort was predicted by text length, study level, and processing time. When including these variables as covariates, cognitive load was incrementally predictive of MDC. The results are discussed in terms of how working memory resources can shape the process of comprehending multiple documents.


Die Rolle kognitiver Belastung für das Verständnis multipler Dokumente von Studierenden

Zusammenfassung. Die Studie untersucht das Belastungserleben (Cognitive Load) von Studierenden beim Bearbeiten von Aufgaben, die das Verstehen multipler Dokumente erfordern (Multiple Document Comprehension, MDC). Es wurde geprüft, inwiefern die wahrgenommene Aufgabenschwierigkeit und die mentale Anstrengung von 310 Studierenden durch aufgabenspezifische Eigenschaften, individuelle Merkmale und ihr Bearbeitungsverhalten bestimmt werden und darüber hinaus MDC erklären. Für die Aufgabenschwierigkeit wurde gezeigt, dass sie mit der Dokumentenanzahl, der Textlänge, dem Studienniveau sowie der Berücksichtigung von Quellen in Zusammenhang steht. Die mentale Anstrengung wurde durch die Textlänge, das Studienniveau und Bearbeitungszeiten vorhergesagt. Unter Einschluss dieser Variablen als Kovariaten war das Belastungserleben inkrementell prädiktiv für MDC. Die Ergebnisse werden dahingehend diskutiert, wie Arbeitsgedächtnisressourcen den Prozess des Verstehens multipler Dokumente gestalten können.

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