Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track
In educational hypermedia environments, students are often confronted with potential sources of distraction arising from additional information that, albeit interesting, is unrelated to their current task goal. The paper investigates the conditions under which distraction occurs and hampers performa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00268/full |
| _version_ | 1818692157760864256 |
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| author | Katharina eScheiter Peter eGerjets Elke eHeise |
| author_facet | Katharina eScheiter Peter eGerjets Elke eHeise |
| author_sort | Katharina eScheiter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In educational hypermedia environments, students are often confronted with potential sources of distraction arising from additional information that, albeit interesting, is unrelated to their current task goal. The paper investigates the conditions under which distraction occurs and hampers performance. Based on theories of volitional action control it was hypothesized that interesting information, especially if related to a pending goal, would interfere with task performance only when working on easy, but not on difficult tasks. In Experiment 1, 66 students learned about probability theory using worked examples and solved corresponding test problems, whose task difficulty was manipulated. As a second factor, the presence of interesting information unrelated to the primary task was varied. Results showed that students solved more easy than difficult probability problems correctly. However, the presence of interesting, but task-irrelevant information did not interfere with performance. In Experiment 2, 68 students again engaged in example-based learning and problem solving in the presence of task-irrelevant information. Problem-solving difficulty was varied as a first factor. Additionally, the presence of a pending goal related to the task-irrelevant information was manipulated. As expected, problem-solving performance declined when a pending goal was present during working on easy problems, whereas no interference was observed for difficult problems. Moreover, the presence of a pending goal reduced the time on task-relevant information and increased the time on task-irrelevant information while working on easy tasks. However, as revealed by mediation analyses these changes in overt information processing behavior did not explain the decline in problem-solving performance. As an alternative explanation it is suggested that goal conflicts resulting from pending goals claim cognitive resources, which are then no longer available for learning and problem solving. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:53:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-579489ab848144a7885f32562c7947d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:53:20Z |
| publishDate | 2014-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-579489ab848144a7885f32562c7947d72022-12-21T21:47:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782014-03-01510.3389/fpsyg.2014.0026876754Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on trackKatharina eScheiter0Peter eGerjets1Elke eHeise2Knowledge Media Research CenterKnowledge Media Research CenterTechnische Universität BraunschweigIn educational hypermedia environments, students are often confronted with potential sources of distraction arising from additional information that, albeit interesting, is unrelated to their current task goal. The paper investigates the conditions under which distraction occurs and hampers performance. Based on theories of volitional action control it was hypothesized that interesting information, especially if related to a pending goal, would interfere with task performance only when working on easy, but not on difficult tasks. In Experiment 1, 66 students learned about probability theory using worked examples and solved corresponding test problems, whose task difficulty was manipulated. As a second factor, the presence of interesting information unrelated to the primary task was varied. Results showed that students solved more easy than difficult probability problems correctly. However, the presence of interesting, but task-irrelevant information did not interfere with performance. In Experiment 2, 68 students again engaged in example-based learning and problem solving in the presence of task-irrelevant information. Problem-solving difficulty was varied as a first factor. Additionally, the presence of a pending goal related to the task-irrelevant information was manipulated. As expected, problem-solving performance declined when a pending goal was present during working on easy problems, whereas no interference was observed for difficult problems. Moreover, the presence of a pending goal reduced the time on task-relevant information and increased the time on task-irrelevant information while working on easy tasks. However, as revealed by mediation analyses these changes in overt information processing behavior did not explain the decline in problem-solving performance. As an alternative explanation it is suggested that goal conflicts resulting from pending goals claim cognitive resources, which are then no longer available for learning and problem solving.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00268/fullHypermediadistractionvolitional action controlgoal conflictspending goalseductive details |
| spellingShingle | Katharina eScheiter Peter eGerjets Elke eHeise Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track Frontiers in Psychology Hypermedia distraction volitional action control goal conflicts pending goal seductive details |
| title | Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| title_full | Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| title_fullStr | Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| title_short | Distraction during learning with hypermedia: Difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| title_sort | distraction during learning with hypermedia difficult tasks help to keep task goals on track |
| topic | Hypermedia distraction volitional action control goal conflicts pending goal seductive details |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00268/full |
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