The effect of note-taking modality on offloading and memory under cognitive load

Ciesielski, Cami

Publication

The effect of note-taking modality on offloading and memory under cognitive load

Ciesielski, Cami

Date

2022-07-08

Abstract

The current experiments examined how an offloading modality may influence cognitive load and performance in a memory task. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that participants would have lower performance and higher cognitive load (i.e., reaction times) when typing as compared to writing when offloading the material. In Experiment 1, using the dual-task methodology, participants either wrote or typed the words to offload them while studying and concurrently responding to a tone. After each study trial, participants took a recall test. There was no difference in test performance or reaction times between participants who wrote or typed, suggesting that the offloading modality did not significantly impact cognitive load. In Experiment 2, again using the dual-task method, the difficulty of the studied material was manipulated; results largely mirrored the findings of Experiment 1. Additionally, the difficulty of the material influenced offloading behavior and performance, but did not influence cognitive load.