How a first impression biases cognitive load assessments: Anchoring effects in problem-solving tasks of varying...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where initial information heavily influences subsequent judgments.
• Its impact on cognitive load assessments, particularly in educational settings with repeated evaluations, remains unclear.
• Students may use heuristics for repeated, demanding cognitive load assessments during problem-solving.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if anchoring biases cognitive load assessments in students during problem-solving.
• To examine how task sequence and element interactivity affect this potential bias.
• To understand the conditions under which anchoring influences cognitive load evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments were conducted with 100, 87, and 80 students, respectively.
• Participants repeatedly assessed cognitive load during problem-solving tasks with varying element interactivity (low, moderate, high).
• Task sequences were manipulated to test the influence of initial complexity (anchor) on subsequent assessments.

Main Results:

• Results were mixed; Experiments 1 and 2 did not show a significant anchoring effect.
• Experiment 3 confirmed the anchoring effect, suggesting initial impressions influenced later cognitive load assessments.
• Other factors like subjective complexity, scale effects, and memory may also contribute.

Conclusions:

• Anchoring may influence cognitive load assessments, particularly when there's a notable contrast between the initial anchor and subsequent evaluations.
• Objective anchors (e.g., numerical values) might have a stronger impact than subjective ones.
• Further research is needed to disentangle anchoring from other contributing cognitive factors.