Actions Per Minute (APM) as an Analogue to Cognitive Workload: Measuring Workload Through In-game Metrics & Subjective Self Report Criteria in World of Warcraft

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether Actions Per Minute(APM) can be used as a proxy for cognitive workload in a demanding human computer interaction task, namely playing World of Warcraft. By correlating APM with performance metrics such as Damage Per Second and Avoidable Damage Taken, as well as self-report measures from the Raw NASA Task Load Index, the study examined workload and APM changes across three difficulty levels in World of Warcraft’s Mythic+ Dungeons. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess changes in workload and performance, while correlation and regression analyses investigated the relationship between in-game metrics, subjective workload and performance. Due to participant misreporting, the scores from both a corrected and uncorrected version of the TLX were processed. The collected data showed no meaningful correlation between APM and cognitive workload across difficulties (r = -0.13 for the Uncorrected TLX, and r = -0.16 for the Corrected TLX during the “Easy” difficulty, to r = 0.23 and r = 0.27 for the Corrected and Uncorrected TLX at “Hard” difficulty, respectively). The reasons for this lack of correlation, the many present confounding variables, as well as venues for future research are discussed.