WHAT ARE COGNITIVE TASK DEMANDS?

COGNITIVE TASK DEMANDS are the different cognitive functions and/or processes that are embedded in a cognitive task. Simple tasks may have few cognitive task demands whereas complex tasks may have many. In aggregate, these task demands establish the level of difficulty of the task: tasks with few task demands are relatively easy and tasks with many task demands are relatively difficult.

Cognitive task demands may be difficult to identify. It is important to go beyond face validity that is based on intuition. Some tasks appear demanding but actually have few distinguishable cognitive demands, such as some short term memory tasks. Other tasks may not seem difficult but actually demand a series of different cognitive functions. A cognitive task analysis can help identify the demands of the task.