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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Cognitive Science
Volume 15 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1401005
Which ERP components are effective in measuring cognitive load in multimedia learning? -A meta-analysis based on relevant studies
Provisionally accepted- 1 Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
- 2 Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
- 3 College of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
The open and generative nature of multimedia learning environments tends to cause cognitive overload in learners, and cognitive load is difficult for researchers to observe objectively because of its implicit and complex nature. Event-related potentials (ERP), a method of studying potential changes associated with specific events or stimuli by recording the electroencephalogram (EEG), has become an important method of measuring cognitive load in cognitive psychology. Although many studies have relied on ERP output measurements to compare different levels of cognitive load in multimedia learning, the results of the effect of cognitive load on ERP have been inconsistent. In this study, we used a meta-analysis of evidence-based research to quantitatively analyze 17 experimental studies to quantitatively evaluate which ERP component (amplitude) is most sensitive to cognitive load. 45 effect sizes from 26 studies involving 360 participants were calculated. (1) The results of the studies analyzed in subgroups indicated high level effect sizes for P300 and P200 (2) Analyses of moderating variables for signal acquisition did not find that different methods of signal acquisition had a significant effect on the measurement of cognitive load (3) Analyses of moderating variables for task design found that a task system with feedback was more convenient for the measurement of cognitive load, and that designing for 3 levels of cognitive load was more convenient for the measurement of cognitive load than for 2 levels of cognitive load. (4) Analyses of continuous moderating variables for subject characteristics did not find significant effects of age, gender, or sample size on the results.
Keywords: cognitive load1, event-related potentials2, multimedia learning3, meta-analysis4, Electroencephalogram5
Received: 15 Mar 2024; Accepted: 06 Sep 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Yu, Tian, Wang and Nie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Guohua Wang, College of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
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