Reduce Survey Cognitive Load

One of the most common reasons that respondents quit surveys is because of cognitive load. Cognitive load refers to the amount of effort it takes for the respondent to complete the survey. The more mentally frustrating the survey, the more common it is for respondents to quit.

Often when researchers discuss cognitive load they’re discussing things like: Making the questions very complex or difficult to understand. Adding video or tasks to make the surveys harder. Requiring memory use or making someone take a survey in their non-native tongue.

We are also talking about survey length. The longer the survey, the more cognitive load it places on the individual, and so they become more likely to drop out. All of these are common factors that increase cognitive load and the survey dropout rate.

But there are other factors as well – indeed, anything that makes a survey more complicated is something that can cause frustration, increase cognitive load, and make it less likely the respondent will complete the survey.

That is why most researchers recommend cutting down the length (height, in this case) of the question table. If there are 20 questions in a question table, it makes it easy to lose track of where you are and find yourself frustrated every time you try to find your previous spot. Cutting up question tables is a common procedure to reduce cognitive load.

But you should also consider something else – cutting down the width of your question table. While the length is arguably a bigger factor in cognitive load, most researchers forget that the width of the table – also known as the scale the question is on – can also increase cognitive load. If a scale goes from 1 to 10, with a “no opinion/NA” question in there, then finding the right dot to select in a giant question table instantly becomes more difficult.

The users has to measure and find where the right number is on the scale every time, and make sure not to select the number to the left or the right of it, even though they all blend together. That can create a lot of stress for the respondent, which represents an increase in their cognitive load. So while you need to remember to cut down on the length of the question table, don’t forget that you can also benefit from cutting down on the width.

The longer the scale – especially if the table has a lot of questions – the harder it will be for users to find the right answer to select, and the more likely they’ll quit the survey.