L’acquisition de la lecture, au-delà du décodage, nécessite la maîtrise d’un ensemble complexe de processus qui conduisent à la compréhension. Pour certains enfants, l’étape du décodage est imparfaitement franchie à cause d’un trouble spécifique de la lecture, communément nommé dyslexie. Les sujets dyslexiques représenteraient 5% de la population. Si la recherche a permis de mieux comprendre l’étiologie du trouble, la question de la prise en charge des élèves dyslexiques n’a pas donné lieu à beaucoup de travaux. L’objectif de cette thèse est de mesurer si d’une part, la modalité a un effet significatif sur les performances en compréhension de textes narratifs pour des élèves de CM2, d’autre part si la mise en relief de morphèmes peut avoir aussi un effet significatif. Trois expériences ont été menées sur la modalité de présentation des textes (présentation orale/écrite). Les résultats montrent que la modalité orale n’améliore pas les performances en compréhension des élèves dyslexiques. De plus, dans les trois expériences, les dyslexiques ont des performances inférieures aux normo-lecteurs, quelle que soit la modalité de présentation utilisée. Une expérience concernant la morphologie et manipulant le format de présentation des lettres écrites a donné les mêmes résultats non significatifs : la mise en relief des éléments saillants des mots n’améliore pas la compréhension. Le résultat principal de ces études est de mettre en évidence l’importance du paramètre temporel dans la réalisation des tâches de compréhension pour les enfants dyslexiques. Ces résultats corroborent certaines données issues des recherches menées dans le cadre de la théorie de la charge cognitive et sur la mémoire de travail, notamment le modèle TBRS (Time-Based Resource Sharing, modèle de partage temporel des ressources) de Barrouillet, Bernardin et Camos (2004). Des pistes de recommandations pédagogiques sont envisagées. / Reading comprehension, beyond decoding, is based on a complex set of processes. For some students, decoding is impaired because of specific reading disorder commonly called dyslexia. Dyslexic people represent approximatively 5% of the population. Many studies allow to better understand etiology of dyslexia but only few ones are devoted to the compensation or to circumvent the difficulties associated with reading. The aim of this research is, on one hand, to evaluate if spoken presentation improves narrative texts comprehension, and, on the other hand, to evaluate if highlighting some morphemes can also improve reading comprehension of narrative texts for students in grade 5. Three experiments compared spoken vs. visual presentations. Results show that oral modality doesn’t improve reading comprehension. However, in the three experiments, dyslexic students perform less than control group, regardless of the modality. One experiment manipulated the color of morphemes written letters presentation. The same non-significant results were obtained: highlighting the salient elements of the words does not improve text comprehension. The main element of these studies is to highlight the importance of time in achieving comprehension tasks for dyslexic children: reading time of dyslexic students is longer than control group’s and seems to compensate comprehension much more than document presentation. These results confirm some data from research conducted in the framework of Cognitive Load Theory and working memory, including TBRS model (Time-Based Resource Sharing model) of Barrouillet, Bernardin and Camos (2004). Instructional recommendations are considered.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cognitive load and cognitive style and explore the role cognitive load and cognitive style play in the achievement of learning outcomes, when using animation and static images as multimedia learning formats in an authentic learning environment. Two hundred and forty five 2nd year medical and dental students participated in the main study. The majority of the participants had a Analytic style on the Wholistic-Analytic dimension and an Imager style on the Verbaliser-Imager dimension. It is not clear from the literature whether this is a typical cognitive style profile for health education learners. Cognitive load was measured using a subjective rating technique. The cognitive loads of the respective research interventions were significantly different, yet neither version appeared to have an excessive cognitive load that negatively influenced learning. Significant learning took place for all the participants in this study. Surprisingly it was found that when the program was considered as a whole the version that used predominantly animation had the lower cognitive load. When the analysis drilled down to specific screens and compared animation and static images and text the results consistently showed that animation had a higher cognitive load than static images and text. This study established that there is empirical evidence that cognitive load influences learning performance. There are indicators that the Analytic cognitive style influences the subjective rating of cognitive load. Further empirical investigation of this relationship is necessary. The proposal is that the Analytic style influences the germane load experienced during learning. Since researchers are currently unable to measure the three different types of load separately this proposal remains an area for further investigation. The subjective cognitive load rating of the program was compared with the cognitive load rating measured using the direct measurement method. The direct measurement method found that the animation version had the higher cognitive load. The correlation between these two methods of measurement was very low and not significant, thereby confirming a suggestion in recent literature that each method might be measuring different aspects of cognitive load. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

The objective of this study is to develop a quantified method for determining the mental workload imposed on train control officers (TCOs) and to express this mental workload by means of an index that is objective and can stand up to the tests of validity and reliability. The method addresses an existing operational shortcoming in Spoornet train control operations and could be used as a tool for predicting the mental workload imposed on operators at particular train control centres. The method could be applied to manage and improve operational safety in the rail transport environment. A participative systems approach was followed in the development of the measuring methodology. A work group comprising expert users of the specific train control system was involved in identifying task factors and assigning weights for task and moderating factors. The newly developed Mental Workload Index (MWLI) consists of three task factors and eleven moderating factors, each with a different weight in terms of its contribution to overall mental workload. The work group performed several iterations to reach final consensus on the following task factors and their respective contributions to the MWLI: the number of data transactions, the number of authorisations, and the number of communications via telephone and radio. The systems approach used in the development process is discussed, and the final index with the task and moderating factors is presented. In conclusion, the value and possible application of the MWLI are discussed. The MWLI is shown to provide an objective method for the assessment and prediction of mental workload in the train control environment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

The current study applied classic cognitive capacity models to examine the effect of cognitive load on deception. The study also examined whether the manipulation of cognitive load would result in the magnification of differences between liars and truth-tellers. In the first study, 87 participants engaged in videotaped interviews while being either deceptive or truthful about a target event. Some participants engaged in a concurrent secondary task while being interviewed. Performance on the secondary task was measured. As expected, truth tellers performed better on secondary task items than liars as evidenced by higher accuracy rates. These results confirm the long held assumption that being deceptive is more cognitively demanding than being truthful. In the second part of the study, the videotaped interviews of both liars and truth-tellers were shown to 69 observers. After watching the interviews, observers were asked to make a veracity judgment for each participant. Observers made more accurate veracity judgments when viewing participants who engaged in a concurrent secondary task than when viewing those who did not. Observers also indicated that participants who engaged in a concurrent secondary task appeared to think harder than participants who did not. This study provides evidence that engaging in deception is more cognitively demanding than telling the truth. As hypothesized, having participants engage in a concurrent secondary task led to the magnification of differences between liars and truth tellers. This magnification of differences led to more accurate veracity rates in a second group of observers. The implications for deception detection are discussed.

Cette thèse se situe dans le domaine de l’Instructional Design, un champ de recherche anglo-saxon qui génère des connaissances pour améliorer la conception des environnements destinés aux apprentissages directs et explicites. Les recherches actuelles montrent que les apprentissages à partir d’environnements complexes permettent de confronter les apprenants à des situations authentiques des réalités de la vie et montrent des performances intéressantes, notamment dans les situations de transfert. Les environnements complexes sont caractérisés par la présence de nombreux éléments et de nombreuses interactions qui peuvent être difficilement traités par la mémoire de travail et dégrader fortement les performances d’apprentissage. Dans ce cas, la théorie de la charge cognitive préconise une approche en deux étapes en présentant en premier les éléments extraits du tout puis le tout. A partir d’une contribution empirique fondée sur quatre expérimentations où sont manipulés le niveau de complexité du matériel d’apprentissage, le degré d’isolement des éléments et le séquencement de la présentation, nous montrons que pour du matériel très complexe, les meilleures performances d’apprentissage sont obtenues en présentant de la complexité dans la première étape. Pour expliquer ces résultats, nous nous appuyons sur la théorie des desirable difficulties et sur les théories de l’engagement. / This thesis is in the field of Instructional Design, an Anglo-Saxon field of research that generates knowledge to improve the design of environments for direct and explicit learning. Current research shows that learning from complex environments allow learners to confront authentic situations from the realities of life and show interesting performance, especially in transfer situations. Complex environments are characterized by the presence of many elements and many interactions that can’t be easily dealt with by the working memory and greatly degrade the learning performance. In this case, the cognitive load theory recommends a two-step approach by presenting first extracts elements of the whole and the whole. From an empirical contribution based on four experiments which handled the complexity of the learning material, the degree of isolation and sequencing of the presentation, we show that for highly complex environments, the best learning performance are obtained by introducing the complexity in the first step. To explain these results, we rely on the desirable difficulties theory and theories of engagement.

The primary interest of this investigation concerned working memory functioning and cue/act discrimination during encoding of intentions. The study included manipulations of working memory and intention load to investigate the encoding processes related to prospective memory (PM). Three experiments are presented that involve working memory distraction tasks at the time of encoding the PM intentions, as well as varying numbers of cues and actions. In the first experiment three cues were paired with one action, in the second, one cue with three actions, and in the third, three cues with three actions. Results suggest that the central executive is involved in binding a cue to an action, and that this operation is key to PM success. Furthermore, the phonological loop seems primarily involved with processing of cues and the visuospatial sketchpad with actions. It is further proposed that the processes of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad must be successful before the central executive can bind the cues and acts together, which is possibly the most important part in the encoding of intentions. By directly examining PM at the time of encoding, information was gained that allows for a more complete understanding of the nature of how we form and execute intentions.

The literature predicts a paradoxical effect on time perception under the influence of positive emotion and high cognitive load in the retrospective paradigm. High cognitive load is expected to increase time perception, whereas positive emotion is expected to decrease time perception. A quasi-experimental within-subjects design was devised that manipulated emotion on two levels (positive and neutral) as well as cognitive load on two levels (high and low) to investigate the effect on time perception. The findings of the study prove disappointing with no main effects witnessed along any of the four experimental conditions. Participants overestimated all the durations, but under the high cognitive load, positive emotion condition, the mean time perception scores where the closest to the chronological time. / Mini-dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Psychology / Unrestricted

The impact of eliminating extraneous sound and light on students’ achievement was investigated under four conditions: Light and Sound controlled, Sound Only controlled, Light Only controlled and neither Light nor Sound controlled. Group, age and gender were the control variables. Four randomly selected groups of high school freshmen students with different backgrounds were the participants in this study. Academic achievement was the dependent variable measured on a pretest, a posttest and a post-posttest, each separated by an interval of 15 days. ANOVA was used to test the various hypotheses related to the impact of eliminating sound and light on student learning. Independent sample T tests on the effect of gender indicated a significant effect while age was non- significant. Follow up analysis indicated that sound and light are not potential sources of extraneous load when tested individually.

The current research investigates how authentic and hubristic pride influence licensing effects in the context of indulgent behaviors. Previous research examining the influence of pride on consumption behavior has generally found that pride leads to both indulgence and self-control. The current research suggests that the reason for the conflict within the previous research stems from the fact that pride is not a unitary construct. Rather, the two distinct types of pride - hubristic and authentic - have different consequences on indulgence. Consistent with prior literature, the results from the first two studies suggest that authentic pride leads to more licensing in indulgence than hubristic pride. We further demonstrate how cognitive resources moderate the effect of pride on indulgence. By manipulating pride in different ways, using different measures of indulgent choice, and different manipulations of cognitive resources, the last three studies confirm that authentic pride leads to more indulgence than hubristic pride, especially when cognitive resources are available. However, when cognitive resources are limited, hubristic pride leads to more indulgence than authentic pride. This research contributes to our basic understanding of the dynamics of pride on licensing effects.

Digitala läroböcker har ökat i skolorna efter Skolverkets nya riktlinjer 2018 om att skolorna skulle förstärka digitaliseringen. Läroboksförlagen erbjuder därför både traditionella analoga böcker, online- samt digitala böcker. I det här examensarbetet har jag studerat den digitala versionens potentiella påverkan på den kognitiva belastningen vid inlärning jämfört med den traditionella analoga boken. Studien har utförts enligt Swellers kognitiva belastningsteori (cognitive load theory) för att utvärdera hur den kognitiva belastningen påverkas utifrån några valda faktorer som enligt teorin belastar minnet och därmed inlärningen. Resultaten visar att det finns skillnader i den kognitiva belastningen mellan den analoga boken, boken online och den digitala boken enligt de variabler som studerades. Den analoga boken ger med stor sannolikhet den minsta kognitiva belastningen och därmed bättre inlärning för eleverna. Den digitala versionen ger i sin nuvarande form en ökad kognitiv belastning främst genom splittrat fokus.