Table 4.

Relationship of cognitive load factors to other variables

Variable	Intrinsic load factora	Germane load factorb
Paas single item measure of overall cognitive load	Pearson correlation coefficient 0.310 (N = 86, P = 0.004)	Pearson correlation coefficient 0.110 (N = 85, P = 0.32)
Student self-assessment of handoff’s success	Pearson correlation coefficient 0.129 (N = 85, P = 0.24)	Pearson correlation coefficient 0.303 (N = 85, P = 0.005)
Performance rating by standardized resident	Pearson correlation coefficient − 0.140 (N = 85, P = 0.20)	Pearson correlation coefficient 0.107 (N = 84, P = 0.33)
Lowc versus highd handoff experience	T-test Low (N = 52): M = 26.3 (SD = 5.3) High (N = 34): M = 23.6 (SD = 6.3) P = 0.036	T-test Low (N = 52): M = 4.6 (SD = 2.4) High (N = 33): M = 3.3 (SD = 3.2) P = 0.03

^aSum of four contributing factors—range 0–40.

^bValue of one contributing factor—range 0–10.

^cLow = prior experience with less than 5 handoffs.

^dHigh = prior experience with 5 or more handoffs.