Are all challenge stressors beneficial for learning? A meta-analytical assessment of differential effects of workload and cognitive demands

Figures & data

Table 1. Bivariate meta-analytic results.

	k	N	r	SDr	ρ	SDρ	95% CI	80% CV	I^2	τ^2
Workload – learning	32	90,688	−.05	.13	−.06	.17	[−.12,  .00]	[−.27,  .16]	98.04	0.03
Cognitive demands – learning	17	13,345	.37	.23	.47	.29	[ .32,  .62]	[ .08,  .86]	98.21	0.09
Workload – motivation	96	99,309	−.05	.14	−.06	.17	[−.10, −.03]	[−.28,  .15]	95.34	0.03
Cognitive demands – motivation	26	13,600	.17	.17	.21	.21	[ .12,  .29]	[−.07,  .48]	94.03	0.04
Workload – strain	350	242,436	.35	.14	.42	.17	[ .40,  .44]	[ .21,  .63]	94.16	0.03
Cognitive demands – strain	84	73,493	.18	.16	.22	.20	[ .18,  .26]	[−.03,  .47]	95.94	0.04
Workload – cognitive demands	55	26,654	.41	.15	.52	.17	[ .47,  .56]	[ .30,  .73]	92.22	0.03
Motivation – learning	16	51,034	.50	.12	.61	.15	[ .53,  .69]	[ .41,  .81]	98.82	0.02
Motivation – strain	74	72,508	−.41	.22	−.46	.26	[−.52, −.40]	[−.79, −.13]	98.61	0.07
Learning – strain	31	61,389	−.27	.24	−.33	.30	[−.44, −.22]	[−.73,  .06]	99.26	0.09

Note: k = number of samples included in meta-analysis, N = total sample size, r = mean observed correlation, SDr = standard deviation of observed correlations, ρ = mean corrected correlation, SDρ = standard deviation of corrected correlations after removing sampling and measurement error, 95% CI = 95% confidence interval for ρ, and 80% CV =  80% credibility interval for ρ, I² = estimated percentage of variability not caused by sampling error and artifacts, τ² = estimated random-effects variance

Figure 1. Summary of the meta-analytic results with estimates of meta-analytic path modelling and bivariate relationships.

Note: Values are standardised estimates for meta-analytic path modelling and mean corrected correlations ρ for the bivariate relationships. Total N = 319,306. All values in bold are significant at p < .05.

Table 2. Estimates for job control as a moderator of the relationships between stressors and outcomes.

Relationship	k	Ncountries	B	SE	t	p-value	95% CI	Study level (Level 2) variance in %	Country level (Level 3) variance in %
Workload – motivation	82	20	0.19	0.29	0.66	.51	[ −0.39,  0.77]	90.39	6.78
Workload – strain	281	30	0.11	0.17	0.64	.52	[ −0.22,  0.43]	94.15	2.25
Cognitive demands – strain	71	16	−0.25	0.44	−0.57	.57	[ −1.14,  0.63]	64.20	33.02
Workload – learning	28	12	−0.64	0.48	−1.33	.19	[ −1.63,  0.35]	98.98	0.00
Cognitive demands – motivation	21	9	0.63	0.64	0.99	.33	[ −0.71,  1.98]	94.12	0.00
Cognitive demands – learning	11	5	−0.82	3.39	−.24	.81	[ −8.49,  6.85]	83.90	15.12

Note: Due to the low number of studies and countries, results should not be interpreted for the relationships of workload with learning and cognitive demands with motivation and learning. k = number of studies; N_countries= number of countries; B = unstandardized/raw regression coefficient; SE = standard error (robust); t = t statistic; * p < .05; 95% CI = 95%-confidence intervals.

Table 3. Results for subgroup analyses.

	k	N	r	SDr	ρ	SDρ	95% CI	80% CV	I^2	τ^2
Workload – learning
Load – learning	26	72,262	−.03	.14	−.03	.17	[−.10,  .04]	[−.25,  .19]	98.12	0.03
Overload – learning	6	18,426	−.14	.04	−.19	.06	[−.24, −.13]	[−.26, −.11]	83.15	0.003
Care and social worker samples	9	16,434	−.12	.06	−.15	.08	[−.21, −.09]	[−.26, −.05]	87.19	0.01
Other samples	23	74,254	−.04	.14	−.04	.17	[−.11, .04]	[−.27,  .19]	98.44	0.03
Cognitive demands – learning
Care and social worker samples	4	2888	.07	.17	.08	.22	[−.27,  .44]	[−.27,  .44]	95.44	0.05
Other samples	13	10,457	.45	.16	.58	.21	[ .45,  .71]	[ .29,  .86]	97.17	0.04
Workload – motivation
Load – motivation	79	70,451	−.04	.15	−.04	.18	[−.08, −.00]	[−.27,  .18]	95.09	0.03
Overload – motivation	17	28,858	−.09	.12	−.11	.14	[−.18, −.04]	[−.30,  .07]	95.83	0.02
Care and social worker samples	26	21,563	−.12	.11	−.14	.13	[−.19, −.09]	[−.30,  .02]	90.57	0.02
Other samples	70	77,746	−.04	.15	−.04	.17	[−.08, −.00]	[−.27,  .18]	95.82	0.03
Cognitive demands – motivation
Care and social worker samples	3	3198	.20	.14	.28	.20	[−.22,  .77]	[−.09,  .65]	95.58	0.04
Other samples	23	10,402	.16	.19	.19	.22	[ .10,  .29]	[−.09,  .48]	93.93	0.05
Workload – strain
Load – strain	284	19,652	.34	.14	.41	.17	[ .39,  .43]	[ .20,  .61]	93.94	0.03
Overload – strain	66	45,916	.39	.13	.48	.16	[ .44,  .52]	[ .27,  .69]	94.31	0.03
Care and social worker samples	107	56,722	.39	.13	.46	.15	[ .44,  .49]	[ .28,  .65]	91.20	0.02
Other samples	243	185,714	.34	.14	.41	.17	[ .39,  .43]	[ .20,  .62]	94.78	0.03
Cognitive demands – strain
Care and social worker samples	19	10,818	.13	.12	.17	.15	[ .10,  .25]	[−.02,  .36]	88.42	0.02
Other samples	65	62,675	.19	.16	.23	.20	[ .18,  .28]	[−.03,  .49]	96.59	0.04

Note: k = number of samples included in meta-analysis, N = total sample size, r = mean observed correlation, SDr = standard deviation of observed correlations, ρ = mean corrected correlation, SDρ = standard deviation of corrected correlations after removing sampling and measurement error, 95% CI = 95% confidence interval for ρ, and 80% CV =  80% credibility interval for ρ, I² = estimated percentage of variability not caused by sampling error and artifacts, τ² = estimated random-effects variance.