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Cognitive Load Effects on End User Understanding of Conceptual Models: An Experimental Analysis

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Advances in Databases and Information Systems (ADBIS 2004)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 3255))

Abstract

According to Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), presenting information in a way that cognitive load falls within the limitations of working memory can improve speed and accuracy of understanding, and facilitate deep understanding of information content. This paper describes a laboratory experiment which investigates the effects of reducing cognitive load on end user understanding of conceptual models. Participants were all naïve users, and were given a data model consisting of almost a hundred entities, which corresponds to the average-sized data model encountered in practice. One group was given the model in standard Entity Relationship (ER) form and the other was given the same model organised into cognitively manageable “chunks”. The reduced cognitive load representation was found to improve comprehension and verification accuracy by more than 50%, though conflicting results were found for time taken. The practical significance of this research is that it shows that managing cognitive load can improve end user understanding of conceptual models, which will help reduce requirements errors. The theoretical significance is that it provides a theoretical insight into the effects of complexity on understanding of conceptual models, which have previously been unexplored. The research findings have important design implications for all conceptual modelling notations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerstner Laboratory, Department of Cybernetics, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Daniel L. Moody

  2. School of Business Systems, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 3800

    Daniel L. Moody

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  1. Daniel L. Moody
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Data Mining and Web search Research Group, Informatics Laboratory Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,  

    András Benczúr

  2. MTA SZTAKI, Computer and Automation Institute, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Kende u. 13-17, H-1111, Budapest, Hungary

    János Demetrovics

  3. Oxford University Computing Laboratory, Wolfson Building Parks Road, OX1 3QD, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Georg Gottlob

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Moody, D.L. (2004). Cognitive Load Effects on End User Understanding of Conceptual Models: An Experimental Analysis. In: Benczúr, A., Demetrovics, J., Gottlob, G. (eds) Advances in Databases and Information Systems. ADBIS 2004. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3255. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30204-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30204-9_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23243-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-30204-9

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