This study explores mental fatigue using a professionally relevant and cognitively demanding task: a 33-minute simultaneous interpretation task. While mental fatigue is often characterized by a decline in cognitive performance, its effects on psychophysiological indicators such as the pre-ejection period (PEP)-a marker of sympathetic beta-adrenergic activity and effort mobilization-remain underexplored. Forty-seven participants with a minimum level of B2 in English (mean age = 23.57 years) completed a sequential task protocol comprising a 2-back task performed before and after an interpreting task (fatiguing task) or a comprehension task (less-demanding task). Behavioral results revealed stable translation quality throughout the interpreting task, but the frequency of long pauses (>2 s) increased over time. Post-task performance on the 2-back task significantly declined after the interpreting task compared to the less-demanding condition, indicating mental fatigue. Analysis of PEP data showed a sharp decline in sympathetic beta-adrenergic activity during the first 11 min of interpretation, after which PEP values resembled those of the less-demanding task. These results suggest that interpreters initially mobilize effort, followed by a phase of physiological adaptation marked by reduced sympathetic beta-adrenergic activation. A correlational analysis showed that the decline in performance does not reflect boredom or loss of motivation, but rather a combination of effort disengagement, stress reduction, and cognitive resource management. The study demonstrates that simultaneous interpretation induces measurable mental fatigue observable both behaviorally and physiologically. Moreover, it underscores the complexity of using PEP as a continuous marker of effort in prolonged cognitive tasks. Over time, PEP reflects adaptation.

Extended Reality is increasingly used in education, particularly for complex domains such as neuroanatomy. While prior studies have emphasized XR's potential to enhance engagement and learning, few have empirically examined the cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying these effects. This study introduces the Integrative Model of Cognitive Load and Motivation in XR learning (IMCLM-XR), a conceptual model linking cognitive load theory and curiosity-driven learning models to understand how XR influences learning outcomes. A total of 282 medical students were randomly assigned to a traditional video-based condition, an AR-guided drawing condition, or an interactive VR lesson. Using Bayesian structural equation modeling, results showed that both AR and VR significantly reduced extraneous cognitive load and increased intrinsic motivation, though the latter did not directly predict learning performance. Agency, enhanced in VR, was associated with greater intrinsic motivation and reduced extraneous load. Crucially, extraneous load had a strong negative effect on perceived learning progress, which in turn predicted intrinsic motivation, revealing a key mediating pathway. These findings highlight how unnecessary cognitive demands not only impair learning performance but also disrupt learners' perceptions of progress, undermining intrinsic motivation. This study advances a unified theoretical perspective by demonstrating how optimizing extraneous load in XR environments supports both cognitive efficiency and curiosity-driven learning.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies present promising opportunities for enhancing anatomy education, for example by supporting learner-generated drawing tasks. This study investigated the impact of AR- and MR-supported drawing on drawing performance, learning outcomes, and the overall learning experience, in comparison to traditional instructor-guided drawing. A total of 73 medical students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: traditional drawing (Control), AR-supported drawing, MR-supported drawing, and MR with stereoscopic 3D visualization. The results showed that both AR- and MR-supported drawing conditions effectively reduced extraneous cognitive load, enhanced intrinsic motivation, and improved drawing accuracy. However, no significant differences in knowledge acquisition were found across the four groups. Interestingly, in the stereoscopic 3D visualization condition, learners with higher intrinsic motivation demonstrated poorer learning performance. This suggests that their attention may have been diverted toward interacting with the system rather than focusing on conceptual understanding. Furthermore, visuospatial ability and prior knowledge moderated the effectiveness of AR/MR interventions, with more experienced learners gaining greater benefits. These findings underscore the importance of evaluating both learning performance and learner experience. They also emphasize the need to tailor AR/MR-based educational tools to individual learner characteristics in order to maximize their educational impact.

Extended Reality (XR) is increasingly used in education, yet the cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying these effects remain insufficiently understood. Moreover, most existing frameworks treat cognitive load and motivation as parallel mediators rather than as interdependent processes. This study introduces the Integrative Model of Cognitive Load and Motivation in XR learning (IMCLM-XR), a theoretical framework combining Cognitive Load Theory with the Learning Progress Hypothesis to explain how XR environments shape intrinsic motivation and learning outcomes by modulating cognitive demands. We tested this model using Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM) with 282 undergraduate medical students randomly assigned to one of three neuroanatomy learning conditions: traditional video-based instruction, Augmented Reality (AR), or Virtual Reality (VR). Results revealed that extraneous cognitive load was a strong negative predictor of both perceived learning progress and autonomy, two motivational mediators that positively predicted intrinsic motivation. Both XR conditions significantly reduced extraneous load, while VR additionally reduced intrinsic load and directly enhanced perceived learning progress. These findings position extraneous cognitive load as the primary cognitive lever through which instructional design shapes curiosity-driven motivation in XR contexts and suggest that the motivational benefits of immersive technologies arise less from novelty or presence than from their capacity to liberate cognitive resources for self-directed learning. Theoretical implications for the integration of Cognitive Load Theory and process-oriented motivation models, as well as practical guidelines for XR instructional design, are discussed.

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly used in education due to its immersive and interactive capabilities, but its impact on cognitive load and curiosity remains underexplored, particularly regarding real-time behavioral indicators of cognitive load and curiosity. This study investigates how VR behavioral metrics, specifically hand and head movement patterns, can serve as objective, synchronous indicators of cognitive engagement and intrinsic motivation. A controlled experiment was conducted with 125 medical students, who engaged in a neuroanatomy learning task within a VR environment featuring varying levels of interactivity. Behavioral data, including movement entropy, exploration patterns, and gesture dynamics, were analyzed in relation to self-reported measures of cognitive load, motivation, and engagement. Results indicate that while greater hand movement was associated with lower intrinsic motivation, higher head movement correlated positively with germane cognitive load and intrinsic motivation, implying deeper cognitive engagement. Additionally, movement entropy emerged as a predictor of curiosity-driven learning, suggesting its potential as an indicator of learning behaviors in VR environments. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how behavioral data can complement traditional assessments of learning experiences in VR. They also highlight the need for further research into integrating movement-based metrics with instructional design to support engagement and learning.

Extended Reality (XR) is increasingly used in education, particularly in complex spatial learning domains such as neuroanatomy. Although prior research highlights XR’s potential to enhance engagement and improve learning, the cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying these effects remain insufficiently understood. This study introduces the Integrative Model of Cognitive Load and Motivation in XR learning (IMCLM-XR), a theoretical framework combining Cognitive Load Theory with the Learning Progress Hypothesis to explain how XR technologies influence learning through the joint regulation of cognitive demands and curiosity-driven motivational processes. A total of 282 medical students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a traditional video-based lesson, an AR-guided drawing activity, or an interactive VR task. Using Bayesian structural equation modeling, results showed that both AR and VR significantly reduced extraneous cognitive load, while VR additionally reduced intrinsic cognitive load. Extraneous load negatively predicted both perceived learning progress and autonomy, which in turn positively predicted intrinsic motivation, revealing extraneous load as the primary cognitive mechanism through which instructional design shapes curiosity-driven engagement. Instead, extraneous load associated with lower perceived learning progress and autonomy, which in turn predicted intrinsic motivation, revealing a key mediating pathway. These findings advance a unified theoretical perspective on XR-based learning by demonstrating that the motivational benefits of immersive technologies are not a direct product of novelty or immersion, but emerge from their capacity to reduce unnecessary cognitive demands, thereby creating the conditions under which learners can perceive progress, exercise autonomous engagement, and sustain intrinsic motivation. Implications for the design of cognitively and motivationally optimized XR learning environments are discussed.

The Web and its main tools (Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter) deeply raise and renew fundamental questions, that everyone asks almost every day: Is this information or content true? Can I trust this author or source? These questions are not new, they have been the same with books, newspapers, broadcasting and television, and, more fundamentally, in every human interpersonal communication. This paper is focused on two scientific problems on this issue. The first one is theoretical: to address this issue, many concepts have been used in library and information sciences, communication and psychology. The links between these concepts are not clear: sometimes two concepts are considered as synonymous, sometimes as very different. The second one is historical: sources like Wikipedia deeply challenge the epistemic evaluation of information sources, compared to previous modes of information production. This paper proposes an integrated and simple model considering the relation between a user, a document and an author as human communication. It reduces the problem to three concepts: credibility as a characteristic granted to information depending on its truth-value; trust as the ability to produce credible information; authority when the power to influence of an author is accepted, i.e., when readers accept that the source can modify their opinion, knowledge and decisions. The model describes also two kinds of relationships between the three concepts: an upward link and a downward link. The model is confronted with findings of empirical research on Wikipedia in particular.

Cognitive load theory (Sweller et al [...]

Drawing is a classical teaching strategy in anatomy. While teachers' drawings can foster learning, teaching anatomy using video lectures can be challenging. According to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), the learning effect of a video lecture could be related to the presence of the drawing hand of the teacher. Thus, this randomized controlled trial tested the effect of showing the drawing hand of the teacher in an anatomy video lecture on students' learning, motivation, and cognitive load. Second‐year medical students were randomized into 2 groups (Group H: “Hand” and Group NH: “No hand”), took pre‐tests multiple‐choice questionnaires (MCQ), watched the anatomy video lecture, answered a motivation and a cognitive load (CL) questionnaire and post‐tests MCQ on the Moodle© learning management system. Three hundred forty‐three students completed the experiment. No difference in learning gain was observed between H and NH groups (4.47 ± 1.05 to 6.23 ± 1.11 vs. 4.52 ± 1.80 to 6.24 ± 1.11; G*T: p = 0.75). In group H, compared to group NH, students' motivation was higher (4.32 ± 0.59 vs. 4.18 ± 0.60; p = 0.027) and CL was not different (4.53 ± 0.97 vs. 4.56 ± 0.70; p = 0.76). Cognitive load and MCQ score changes were correlated ( r = −0.11, p = 0.04). Thus, MCQ score changes depended both on group and CL (G*T*CL interaction: p = 0.04). Showing the drawing hand of the teacher in the anatomy video lecture improved students' motivation without increasing cognitive load. Moreover, in students experiencing the highest cognitive load, the presence of the teacher's hand improved learning. These results underscore the potential relevance of embodiment strategies in anatomy teaching in the digital age.

Many recent studies support the idea that creativity is partially or totally “domain-general.” Certain individuals may exhibit greater creativity than the average, whatever the domain. More precisely, certain general factors (e.g., genetic factors, creative personality) could significantly impact creativity. This systematic review aims to evaluate this latter assertion. All empirical papers using at least two creative performance tasks in two domains were selected (n = 36). Results show that some participants succeed in creative tasks in several different domains, but only in experiments where specific prior knowledge is not controlled and tasks are artificial. Furthermore, certain studies conflate the function, which is domain-general, with its functioning, which may not necessarily be domain-general. For these reasons, the results appear less robust (no control for confounding factors) and less representative (creative tasks are not academically, socially, or professionally realistic). Therefore, it seems premature to recommend the integration of general creative skills into school or training programs, as well as the selection of students or employees with a presumed “creative profile.”

Geary's evolutionary approach in educational psychology differentiates between primary (low cognitive costs and motivational advantage) and secondary knowledge (high cognitive costs and no motivational benefit). Although these features have been well demonstrated in previous work, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate it, in a reasoning task, the present study varies (i) the content of the problems (primary knowledge vs. secondary; e.g., food vs. grammar rules), (ii) the intrinsic cognitive load (conflict or non-conflict syllogism, the former requiring more cognitive resources to be properly processed than the latter) and (iii) the extraneous cognitive load (via a Dot Memory Task with three modalities: low, medium and high cognitive load). Analyses assessed the influence of these variables on performance, problem solving speed and perceived cognitive load. Results confirmed the positive impact of primary knowledge on efficiency, particularly when intrinsic cognitive load was high. Surprisingly, the extraneous cognitive load did not influence the performance in secondary knowledge content but that in primary knowledge content: the higher the additional load was, the better the performance was, only for primary knowledge and especially for syllogisms with high intrinsic load. Findings support evolutionary theory as secondary knowledge would overload cognitive resources, preventing participants from allocating sufficient resources to solve problems. Primary knowledge would allow participants to process the additional load and to increase their performance despite this. This study also raises the hypothesis that a minimum cognitive load is necessary for participants to be invested in the task.

Immersive technologies (imT) is claimed to have many benefits for learning, such as the ability to optimize learners’ cognitive load (CL) as well as their curiosity states (intrinsic motivation) (CS-IM). From 2802 studies, we selected only 31 studies with a reliable study-design for investigating the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) and/or Augmented Reality (AR) on learning performance with respect to measurements of cognitive load and/or curiosity state. To this end, we built an analytical gird for probing positive, negative, null, or uninterpretable relationships between the learning performance and CL or CS-IM measures. The 24 studies focusing on CL show that the imT benefit for learning depends on technology with CL advantage for AR and with CL disadvantage for VR. For the 15 studies with a focus on CS-IM, the results are inconclusive and inconsistent due to large methodological differences in measuring this facet of the learning experience. Of the 8 studies investigating both CL and CS-IM, very few studies documented causal links between these two learning-related constructs, and the reported results were contradictory. The role of variables such as the type of knowledge taught, the type of learning, or the level of prior knowledge of the learners is examined. However, these variables did not yield significant insight into the relationships between the imT-learning performance and the learner experience in terms of CL and/or CS-IM. Recommendations for future research to address the identified gaps are provided for advancing the field of imT for learning.

Although in-service teacher training programs are designed to enhance the performance of several cohorts of students, there is little evidence on the persistence of their effects. We present the two-year results of a randomized study of an intensive in-service teacher training program conducted in France during and after the training program's implementation. Our results highlight the short-run effectiveness of the training program: it successfully improves students' performance but only during the implementation year. A detailed analysis of teachers' outcomes indicates that teachers changed their pedagogical vision and practices but afterward struggled to apply skills to contents not directly covered during training.

Les liens entre les difficultés scolaires des élèves de Segpa et les processus psychologiques qui contribuent habituellement aux difficultés scolaires sont peu documentés. Dans cette étude expérimentale, nous explorons en quoi la menace du stéréotype et le sentiment d’impuissance acquise pourraient être impliqués dans les performances d’élèves de Segpa. 429 élèves, de Segpa ou de classe ordinaire, devaient réaliser la même épreuve qui était présentée comme relevant d’une évaluation en mathématiques ou de leurs capacités intellectuelles, ou bien présentée comme un jeu de dominos. Les résultats montrent que les élèves de Segpa sont moins performants que les élèves ordinaires dans les conditions mathématiques et capacités intellectuelles, mais pas dans la condition jeu de dominos. Quelle que soit la condition, le désengagement est très faible, tandis que la charge cognitive subjective est plus élevée chez les élèves de Segpa. Ces résultats sont compatibles avec un effet de menace du stéréotype.

The purpose of this study was to better understand how middle school students consider the source of information when processing videos with conflicting information. To this end, we exposed a sample of seventh-graders to a series of videos in which two interviewees expressed divergent positions on a socioscientific issue ('Will organic farming be able to feed the entire world population by 2050?'). After viewing the videos, students were asked to recall the sources they had seen and indicate how far they had perceived the sources to be credible and convincing. Results showed that students paid close attention to the information given about the sources during viewing and rated their credibility accordingly. However, only a minority of students rated the expert sources as the most convincing after viewing the videos, while students' beliefs on the topic contributed to source evaluation. These results suggest that although middle school students may pay attention to the identity of sources when viewing a video, they are unlikely to use this information to assess the reliability of the message.