Keeping It Too Simple: How the Reductive Tendency Affects Cognitive Engineering

Research background Research conducted under the rubric of Cognitive Flexibility Theory examined learning and performance in medical education and, in particular, how people learn and understand the cardiovascular system.1,2 The research identified characteristics of learning material and performance situations that cause cognitive difficulty for learners and operators. It also determined how people respond to these elements of difficulty. That research found that learners and practitioners often deal with complexity through oversimplification, which can lead to misconception and faulty knowledge application.