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Energetics and Human Information Processing pp 175–198Cite as

The Concept and Measurement of Mental Effort

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASID,volume 31))

Abstract

This chapter will address the following questions: What is meant by mental effort? What is its role in human information processing? How can effort be measured? The chapter will consider the ways in which the concept of effort has been used in different theories of human information processing. Effort may be measured in behavioural, subjective and physiological domains. The present approach will focus on the physiological indices. The concept of mental effort has been thought necessary in theories of behaviour for several reasons: (1) To account for individual differences in intellectual performance in terms of differences in motivation and in the availability of mental resources. (2) As an analogy for physical effort in theories of mental workload, and (3) To explain the effects of stressors such as noise, lack of sleep, time-on-task, etc, on human performance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Groningen, The Netherlands

    G. Mulder

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  1. G. Mulder
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Research Council (MRC)/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, Dept of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    G. Robert J. Hockey

  2. Institute for Perception TNO, Kampweg 5, PO Box 23, 3769, Soesterberg, The Netherlands

    Anthony W. K. Gaillard

  3. Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel St, Champaign, Illinois, 61820, USA

    Michael G. H. Coles

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© 1986 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht

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Mulder, G. (1986). The Concept and Measurement of Mental Effort. In: Hockey, G.R.J., Gaillard, A.W.K., Coles, M.G.H. (eds) Energetics and Human Information Processing. NATO ASI Series, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4448-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4448-0_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8479-6

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