Can prior knowledge increase task complexity? - Cases in which higher prior knowledge leads to higher intrinsic...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Educational psychology
• Expertise studies

Background:

• Cognitive load theory posits that increased prior knowledge decreases intrinsic cognitive load (ICL).
• However, this relationship may not hold for complex systems where novices may underestimate complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate scenarios where higher prior knowledge leads to higher reported intrinsic cognitive load.
• To test if this reversed relationship between expertise and ICL applies to complex systems and mathematics problems.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Assessed perceived complexity of a climate change adaptation problem in the Black Forest among 118 participants with varying ecological expertise.
• Study 2: Used a within-subjects design with 66 primary school students to examine ICL in mathematics word problems based on prior knowledge.

Main Results:

• Experts in Study 1 perceived the ecological problem as more complex than novices.
• In Study 2, higher prior knowledge in mathematics correlated with a reduced underestimation of word problem complexity.

Conclusions:

• Findings challenge the universal applicability of cognitive load theory's assumptions regarding prior knowledge and intrinsic cognitive load.
• Suggests a need to refine cognitive load theory for problem-solving tasks involving complex systems and potentially certain mathematical problems.