cognitive load

USAGE SUMMARY

Cognitive load is correct and usable in written English.
You can use cognitive load when referring to a person's mental effort in trying to complete a task or understand a concept. For example: "The students were overwhelmed by the dense material, leading to a high cognitive load."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Dealing with this distance creates cognitive load.

Harvard Business Review

For example, urbanites walking busy streets often experience "cognitive load".

The Guardian

Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design.

Yale University

Research on cognitive load theory (CLT) has not yet provided facet-specific measures of cognitive load.

Learning and Instruction

Cognitive load depends on the mental effort required to process a given type of information.

Harvard Business Review

When you're working from home as a parent, the cognitive load of "housework" can feel paralyzing.

The Washington Post

Start-ups get complex quickly and having a coherent philosophy reduces cognitive load and improves results.

Harvard Business Review

"BYOD eliminates quite a bit of the cognitive load associated with learning.

The Guardian

"Existing teleoperation systems impose too much cognitive load on the operator.

MIT Technology Review

Cognitive load theory states that well-designed learning material minimizes extraneous cognitive load and optimizes germane cognitive load within the thresholds of available cognitive resources.

Computers in Human Behavior

For the suspect, lying creates a cognitive load — it takes energy to juggle the details of a fake story.

The New Yorker

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In educational contexts, optimize learning materials to minimize extraneous "cognitive load" and maximize relevant processing.

Common error

Avoid packing too much information into a single sentence; this increases the reader's "cognitive load" and makes comprehension difficult. Break down complex ideas into shorter, more manageable sentences.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "cognitive load" functions primarily as a noun phrase, referring to the amount of mental effort required to process information. Ludwig examples show it used in contexts related to learning, user experience, and decision-making. As Ludwig AI confirms, the phrase is suitable for written English.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

31%

Academia

27%

Science

23%

Less common in

Formal & Business

8%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "cognitive load" is a well-established and frequently used noun phrase referring to the mental effort required for processing information. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and usability in written English. It appears most often in News & Media, Academia, and Scientific contexts. To reduce "cognitive load" in your writing, use clear and concise language. Related phrases include "mental workload" and "mental burden". Understanding and managing "cognitive load" is crucial for effective communication and learning, especially when creating materials and content that are geared toward user or audience comprehension.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

mental workload

Focuses on the amount of mental effort exerted.

mental burden

Emphasizes the weight and stress associated with cognitive demands.

cognitive effort

Focuses on the expenditure of mental resources for cognitive tasks.

information processing demands

Highlights the cognitive resources required to process information.

cognitive demands

Broader term referring to the cognitive resources required.

mental exertion

Emphasizes the effortful nature of cognitive processes.

brain strain

Highlights the stress placed on the brain during cognitive tasks.

intellectual effort

Focuses on the mental energy expended in intellectual activities.

information overload

Describes a state where information exceeds processing capacity.

attentional demands

Highlights the demands on selective attention and focus.

FAQs

How can I reduce "cognitive load" in my writing?

Simplify sentence structure, use clear and concise language, and present information in a logical and organized manner. Visual aids can also help to reduce "cognitive load" by supplementing textual explanations.

What are the different types of "cognitive load"?

Cognitive load theory distinguishes between intrinsic, extraneous, and germane "cognitive load". Intrinsic load is inherent to the material, extraneous load is caused by poor instructional design, and germane load is devoted to creating schemas.

What is the difference between "cognitive load" and "mental workload"?

"Cognitive load" refers to the mental resources required to perform a task, while "mental workload" is a broader term that encompasses the overall demand placed on an individual's cognitive system. The terms are closely related and often used interchangeably, but "mental workload" can also include physical and emotional demands.

How does "cognitive load" affect learning?

High "cognitive load" can hinder learning by overwhelming working memory and preventing the formation of new schemas. Effective instructional design aims to optimize "cognitive load" to promote deeper understanding and retention.