In the context of learning systems, identifying causal relationships among information presented to the user, their behavior and cognitive effort required/exerted to understand and perform a task is key to building effective learning experiences, and to maintain engagement in learning processes. An unexplored question is whether our interaction with presented information affects our cognitive effort (and behaviour), or vice-versa. We investigate causal relationship between information presented and cognitive effort (and behaviour) in the context of two separate studies (N = 40, N = 98), and study the effect of instruction (active/passive task). We utilize screen-recordings and eye-tracking data to investigate the relationship among these variables. To investigate the causal relationships among the different measurements, we use Granger’s causality. Further, we propose a new method to combine two time-series from multiple participants for detecting causal relationships. Our results indicate that information presentation drives user focus size (behaviour), and that cognitive load (a measure of cognitive effort exerted) drives information presentation. This relationship is also moderated by instruction type and performance-level (high/low). We draw implications for design of educational material and learning technologies.

在学习系统的背景下，识别提供给用户的信息之间的因果关系，理解/执行任务所需/施加的行为和认知努力是建立有效的学习体验并保持参与学习过程的关键。一个尚待探讨的问题是我们与所呈现信息的交互是否会影响我们的认知努力（和行为），反之亦然。我们在两项单独的研究（N = 40，N = 98）的背景下调查了所提供的信息与认知努力（和行为）之间的因果关系，并研究了教学效果（主动/被动任务）。我们利用屏幕录像和眼动数据来研究这些变量之间的关系。为了研究不同度量之间的因果关系，我们使用了格兰杰的因果关系。此外，我们提出了一种将来自多个参与者的两个时间序列进行组合以检测因果关系的新方法。我们的结果表明，信息呈现驱动着用户关注点的大小（行为），而认知负荷（一种施加的认知努力的量度）驱动着信息呈现。此关系还通过指令类型和性能级别（高/低）进行调节。我们对教材和学习技术的设计产生了影响。此关系还通过指令类型和性能级别（高/低）进行调节。我们对教材和学习技术的设计产生了影响。此关系还通过指令类型和性能级别（高/低）进行调节。我们对教材和学习技术的设计产生了影响。