Motivation can be identified as a dimension that determines learning success and causes the high dropout rate among online learners, especially in complex e-learning environments. It is argued that these learning environments represent a new challenge to cognitive load researchers to investigate the motivational effects of instructional conditions and help instructional designers to predict which instructional configurations will maximize learning and transfer. Consistent with the efficiency perspective introduced by Paas and Van Merrienboer (1993), an alternative motivational perspective of the relation between mental effort and performance is presented. We propose a procedure to compute and visualize the differential effects of instructional conditions on learner motivation, and illustrate this procedure on the basis of an existing data set. Theoretical and practical implications of the motivational perspective are discussed.