Element interactivity and intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load
John Sweller argues that element interactivity, long the basic mechanism defining intrinsic cognitive load, also underlies extraneous cognitive load. Whether the two kinds of load are distinct depends on whether the interactivity is needed for the task or produced by how the instruction is designed. Germane load is defined in terms of intrinsic load and so is also tied to element interactivity. The paper analyses what these definitions mean for explaining the various cognitive load effects.
John Sweller argues that element interactivity, long the basic mechanism defining intrinsic cognitive load, also underlies extraneous cognitive load. Whether the two kinds of load are distinct depends on whether the interactivity is needed for the task or produced by how the instruction is designed. Germane load is defined in terms of intrinsic load and so is also tied to element interactivity. The paper analyses what these definitions mean for explaining the various cognitive load effects.
Written from the abstract as shown on the Springer record, read 2026-10-29.
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Sweller, J. (2010). Element interactivity and intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Educational Psychology Review, 22(2), 123-138. doi:10.1007/s10648-010-9128-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-010-9128-5