Charge mentale et mobilisation des processus rédactionnels : examen de la procédure de Kellogg

Abstract

The method used by Kellogg (1987) requires that the writer performs a concurrent task followed by a supplementary task. The subjects must react to auditory signals during writing (the recorded RT's express the weight of the subject's cognitive effort) and then qualify (directed retrospection) the ongoing writing activity (planning, translating or reviewing). The goal of experiment 1 is to test the role of bips distribution (15, 30, 60 sec) on the cognitive load. Experiment 2 tests how the retrospective task (retrospection with training, without retrospection vs. Kellogg's retrospection) affects the cognitive effort. The results show that the bips distribution as well as a training on retrospection had effects on RT's but not on the activation of writing processes. Contrary to Kellogg's findings, RT's are not different for the three writing processes. Writers distribute their cognitive resources as a function of the tasks' constraints: writing, quick reaction and retrospection. It is concluded that Kellogg's method must be revaluated as an appropriate tool for measuring the cognitive effort involved in the various writing processes.