In the context of instructional design and self-regulated learning research, the notion of mental effort allocation, monitoring, and control has gained increasing attention. Bringing together a cognitive perspective, focusing on Cognitive Load Theory, and a motivational perspective, merging central accounts from Situated Expectancy Value Theory and Self-Determination Theory, we plea for a three-fold conception of effort that clearly distinguishes the different psychological sources of experiencing and allocating effort in learning environments: effort-by-complexity, effort-by-need frustration, and effort-by-allocation. Such a detailed conception has important implications for how effort should be studied and how it can be influenced by instructional support or by the learning individual itself. A first conclusion we draw is that cognitively oriented research needs to be careful when taking students’ self-reports on the “effortfulness” of a task as an indication of the object-level cognitive requirements of the task, as such appraisals may also reflect the affective-emotional requirements of task execution as well as motivational beliefs regarding the likelihood of success and meaningfulness of a task. A second conclusion is that instructional procedures rooted in cognition-oriented theory ideally are complemented by motivation theory to support student learning optimally.

在教学设计和自我调节学习研究的背景下，脑力分配、监控和控制的概念越来越受到关注。将认知视角（重点关注认知负荷理论）和动机视角结合起来，融合情景期望价值理论和自我决定理论的中心论点，我们呼吁一种三重的努力概念，清楚地区分体验的不同心理来源学习环境中的努力分配：按复杂程度划分的努力、按需要挫折的努力以及按分配的努力。这样一个详细的概念对于如何研究努力以及如何受到教学支持或学习个体本身的影响具有重要意义。我们得出的第一个结论是，认知导向的研究在将学生对任务“努力程度”的自我报告作为任务的对象层面的认知要求的指示时需要小心，因为这样的评估也可能反映了任务的“努力程度”。任务执行的情感情感要求以及关于任务成功的可能性和意义的动机信念。第二个结论是，植根于认知导向理论的教学程序最好辅以动机理论，以最佳方式支持学生的学习。