Task-evoked pupillary responses, processing load, and the structure of processing resources.

Abstract

A physiological measure of processing load or mental effort required to perform a cognitive task should accurately reflect within-task, between-task, and betweenindividual variations in processing demands. This article reviews all available experimental data and concludes that the task-evoked pupillary response fulfills these criteria. Alternative explanations are considered and rejected. Some implications for neurophysiological and cognitive theories of processing resources are discussed.