Article Measuring Investment in Learning: Can Electrocardiogram Provide an Indication of Cognitive Effort During Learning? Jae T. Patterson and Amanda Hart Department of Kinesiology, Brock University, ON, Canada Steve Hansen Nipissing University, ON, Canada Michael J. Carter University of Ottawa, ON, Canada David Ditor Brock University, ON, Canada Abstract Heart rate variability (i.e., low frequency:high frequency ratio) was measured to differentiate invested cognitive effort during the acquisition and retention of a novel task. Participants (12 male, M ¼ 25.1 year, SD ¼ 3.6; 12 female, M ¼ 22.8 year, SD ¼ 1.1) were required to produce Braille equivalents of English letter primes on a standardized keyboard in proactive or retroactive conditions (groups, each n ¼ 12). The correct Braille response was either provided before (i.e., pro- actively) or after (i.e., retroactively) the participant’s response. During acquisition, participants in the proactive group demonstrated shorter study time, greater recall success, and reported lower cognitive investment. Participants in the proactive and retroactive groups did not statistically differ in heart rate variability. For retention, the retroactive group showed greater recall success, lower perceived cognitive effort investment, and lower heart rate variability. The results highlight the usefulness of Perceptual and Motor Skills 2016, Vol. 122(2) 375–394 ! The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0031512516633348 pms.sagepub.com Corresponding Author: Jae T. Patterson, Department of Kinesiology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada. Email: jae.patterson@brocku.ca