Here's one from 1970 http://books.google.com/books?id=srxOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22cognitive+load%22&dq=%22cognitive+load%22 http://books.google.com/books?id=srxOAAAAYAAJ

Here's one from 1970 http://books.google.com/books?id=srxOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22cognitive+load%22&dq=%22cognitive+load%22 http://books.google.com/books?id=srxOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22cogni... If you search that book for "cognitive load is defined" you get the snippet: > "Cognitive load" is defined loosely as the amount of mental strain put on a person during the performance of some task, often at least partially due to the constraints placed on the performance of that task...