The concept of 'cognitive load' refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. In educational psychology, it is often divided into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. Intrinsic load is inherent to the complexity of the material itself, while extraneous load is generated by the way information is presented, such as confusing diagrams or irrelevant text. Germane load, on the other hand, is the effort dedicated to processing and understanding the material, which contributes to learning. Research suggests that instructional design should aim to reduce extraneous load while optimizing germane load, as excessive extraneous load can impede the learning process, especially for novices who lack prior knowledge to help organize new information.