The Effects of task Difficulty and Workload on Training

Abstract

We propose four hypotheses regarding the possible effects of workload and task difficulty on training: (1) increased levels of task difficulty will facilitate learning to the extent that these increases are (a) resource loading and (b) intrinsic to the component task to be learned. (2) Decrease of task difficulty will facilitate learning to the extent that these decreases (a) reduce the resource load and (b) are extrinsic of the component task to be learned. (3) The learner's tendency to conserve resources may lead to the adoption of undesirable, short-term, low resource strategies early in training. (4) The effect of changes in resource demand on learning will depend upon the similarity of the resource whose demand is changed to the resource involved in learning.