[IxDA Discuss] Cognitive load question

[Robert Hoekman, Jr.]

Thanks for the clarification. I knew I was somehow getting multiple concepts
mixed up. I'm definitely more interested in preattentive processing.

What I'm researching in particular is how clutter affects the usability of a
page, in general. Any insights?

-r-

On 6/7/06, Lisa deBettencourt <ldebett at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> Hi Robert,
>
> Cognitive load is more directly related to having to use your brain to
> transfer information from one place to the next. A static web
> page/interface
> really doesn't affect cognitive load very much. Instead, cognitive load
> can
> be affected by the places during interaction where you have to copy, say,
> a
> product number from one page and insert it into a text box on another.
> Cognitive load theory comes into play when you use your memory for that
> transfer instead of the copy/paste function in the browser.
>
> You can also find more info on Miller's magic number 7 (+/- 2) for recall
> in
> short term memory and how he proposed chunking info. The application of
> this
> theory and cognitive load into web design is somewhat misplaced. see also:
> http://www.ddj.com/184412300 and this quote: "He wasn't studying how many
> items humans can perceive, which he admits can be thousands. Web site
> navigation, however, is generally not concerned with short-term memory.
> Visitors are rarely required to memorize items in a menu. In fact, many
> site
> navigations are presented on all pages at all times for continuous
> reference. Immediate memory doesn't play a significant role."
>
> What you're talking about "processing a web page" is more visual load than
> cognitive and has little to do with memory but more to do with
> preattentive
> processing and our ability to visually decipher relationships between
> items
> (groups) or identifying important/not important information.
>
> Cheers,
> Lisa
>
>
> On 6/7/06, Robert Hoekman, Jr. <rhoekmanjr at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> > material.]
> >
> > I want to make sure I'm understanding cognitive load correctly, and I'm
> > hoping someone here can verify whether or not I'm on the right track.
> >
> > Here's my understanding:
> >
> > The elements that make up an interface all contribute to the cognitive
> > load
> > users must wade through when using an application for the first time,
> and
> > any time something in the application changes (eg: the addition of a new
> > feature that takes a prominent position in the interface).
> >
> > Cognitive load theory says that the learning process is most effective
> > when
> > the load on short-term memory is reduced to facilitate the transfer of
> > information to long-term memory. In short, it's much easier to process
> and
> > retain only one or two new pieces of information at a time than it is to
> > process ten. When we view a Web page for the first time, we have to
> > process
> > every piece of information on it to decide what's relevant to what we
> are
> > trying to accomplish. When a page is cluttered up with all sorts of
> > unnecessary items, short-term memory is hit hard. There's a lot to see
> and
> >
> > learn and process. When we finally manage to pick out the important
> > pieces,
> > we have very little remaining capacity to transfer that information into
> > long-term memory.
> >
> > How far off am I with this explanation? Can someone please correct
> > anything
> > I've misstated here?
> >
> > Thanks very much ...
> >
> > -r-
> ________________________________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixda.org
> List Guidelines ............ http://listguide.ixda.org/
> List Help .................. http://listhelp.ixda.org/
> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://subscription-options.ixda.org/
> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixda.org/
> Questions .................. lists at ixda.org
> Home ....................... http://ixda.org/
> Resource Library ........... http://resources.ixda.org
>