This idea came from Nicole Brais, a researcher at Laval University in Quebec. It is now associated with the idea of “thinking about everything, all the time”, and in particular with the mental load of running a household. Taken out of the context of its scientific origins, the term “mental load” has since become common in everyday language.
As part of his research on instructional design, or the design of teaching, he tried to identify techniques that facilitate learning while keeping cognitive load to a minimum. Psychologist John Sweller formalized the cognitive load theory in the late 1980s. “Mental load is the cost of processing information in most given circumstances for an individual.” “It is clear that the amount of mental effort required, and the resulting cognitive load, is larger for the second calculation,” she says. To understand its capacity, Lacroix suggests solving the following sums using mental arithmetic: 2 x 2 + 1 and then 22 x 15 + 3. Often called short-term memory, its storage is limited to roughly 10 pieces of information that can be held for a short period of time (typically a few seconds). This means, during the course of a day, trying to grasp more information than your working memory can handle. It is regular cognitive overload that can be bad for you. Contrary to popular belief, cognitive load is normal it occurs as soon as you engage your cognitive abilities and it is not actually a bad thing in itself. Marie Lacroix defines a mental burden, or a cognitive load, as “the cost of processing information in most given circumstances for an individual”. So, how can you avoid an overload and preserve some sort of cognitive balance under such circumstances? Let’s answer that question and look at how the brain works, with Marie Lacroix, a neuroscientist, and co-founder of the agency Cog’X. Sometimes this massive mental effort leads to what scientists call “cognitive overload”. This constant stream of information puts our minds under a lot of strain, leaving our brains to deal with this neverending stimulation. You are expected to evolve in a highly stimulating environment, where you have to take in, process and produce an endless amount of information. You receive a message on Whatsapp while trying to re-read an email that you don’t understand.ĭoes this sound familiar? Over the past few years, the workplace has experienced a real, fast-paced revolution due to a rise in digital technology, open-plan offices and the abundance of fast and instant communication tools at our disposal.
Behind you, someone else is mid-conversation on the phone. To your left, three colleagues are reviewing a file.
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