# Cognitive load theory

> IB Psychology · IB Psychology 2027 First Assessment
> Source: https://www.owlsprep.com/study/ib-psychology-cog-cognitive-load-theory/

The role of cognitive load theory in understanding human cognition.

## Learning objectives

- The role of cognitive load theory in understanding human cognition.

## Core concept

Cognitive load theory says working memory can hold only a small amount of information at once, so learning suffers when the mental effort a task demands exceeds that capacity. Load comes from the material's intrinsic difficulty and from how it is presented. The practical payoff is instructional: presenting information in ways that stay within working-memory limits improves learning.

## Key studies

IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:

**Baddeley, Thompson & Buchanan (1975)** — Short-term memory held more short words than long ones, indicating a limited, time-based capacity of the phonological loop. — *Establishes the limited-capacity premise that cognitive load theory is built on.*

## Evaluation (AO3)

**Strength — practical and applied** — Generates concrete, testable instructional-design predictions (e.g. worked examples, avoiding split attention).

**Limitation — load is hard to measure** — Cognitive load is inferred rather than directly observed, so separating intrinsic from presentation-caused load is difficult.

## Scope

> **note**
>
> The limited-capacity idea and its instructional use are the focus; the memory model itself is COG_4. ⚠️ The 107-study base has no dedicated cognitive-load study — anchored on working-memory capacity; flagged for expert-brain backfill.

## Common pitfalls

- **Wrong:** Treating 'cognitive load' as just being generally busy or tired.
  - Why it fails: A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
  - Correct: It specifically means the demand on limited working memory during learning/problem-solving — a capacity claim, not a mood or fatigue claim.

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