The Effects of Cognitive Load on Engagement in a Virtual Reality Learning Environment

Engagement has been traditionally linked to presence in desktop-based virtual reality learning environments. Although several studies have been performed to determine other factors affecting cognitive engagement, the role of cognitive load as a factor of student's engagement in desktop-based virtual reality (VR) has received little attention in the literature. The main purpose of this study was to explain if individual dimensions of cognitive load (mental demand, effort, and frustration level) can be used in addition to factors like presence and self-efficacy to predict student's cognitive engagement. The results of the study confirmed presence and self-efficacy as significant predictors of student's engagement. Also, a three-step hierarchical regression analysis revealed that two of the three individual dimensions of cognitive load (effort and frustration level) were also significant predictors of student's engagement.