multitasking 3 Flashcards
what is multitasking
performing two or more tasks during the same period of time. divided atttention. task switching
what is divided attention
the ability to respond, seemingly simultaneously, to multiple tasks or demands. This is impacted by a number of factors about the tasks involved (practice, task difficulty, task similarity).
what did shneider and shiffrin research?
- demonstrated the impact of practice
- p’s were shown a target stimulus
- followed by test frames (20) shown very rapidly
- the task required carrying out two tasks, retaining target in memory and attending to distractor stimuli and comparing to memory set
p’s shown a target stimulus, (3) followed by test frames shown very rapidly-(letters) retain target in memory- compare distractor stimuli to memory set- results; 55% correct- rose to 90% at 900 trials-report a sense of automaticity, not a conscious experience anymore.
later experiments showed that if
both the target and the
distractors were letters and if targets
on some trials were distractors on
others, no automaticity was shown- shows task difficulty
what did mccleod demonstrate the impact of task modality?
- p’s had to identify tones by pointing at labels or identifying them verbally
- at same time they had to follow a contour of a line- requiring visual and manual resources
- more errors in contour task when the tone task required pointing
- the similar nature of the task is what makes them hard to do concurrently
what is a cost of divided attention?
breakdown of performance
what did strayer and johnson experiment withb mobile phones and driving?
-p’s required to press brakes in response to a red light
- using mobile phones were slower to respond and missed more red lights
- regardless if phone was hands free or not
-So, it’s not driving with one hand – it is that using a phone uses cognitive resources
that would normally be used for driving
what did redelmeier and tibshirani research?
- examined phone call records of 699 drivers involved in collisions
- using a phone was associated with quardrupling the risk if a collison (4.3 times more likely)
- hands free no safer than handheld
- risk was similar for drivers who differed in age and driving experience
what did caird et al research?
- meta analysis- 2000 p’s
- reaction times on events increased by 250ms when p’s used phones
- increased reaction time was observed in different settings (lab, driving simulation, on road research setting)
-effect was larger when drivers were talking than when they were listening
-Texting adversely affected eye movements, stimulus detection, reaction time, collisions, lane positioning, speed, headway.
what did dingus et al report?
increase in the prevalence of texting while driving?
what did atwood et al report?
those who text more art increased rate of crashing
what did monk et al report?
positive benefits for voice operated systems for phone functions
what is strayer et als cellphone study?
- group one= drive in a simulator and brake unexpectedly
- group two= drive and talk on hands free phone at the same time and brake unexpectedly
results; during low traffic group 2 took slightly longer to press brake, during high traffic group 2 took much longer to press the brake
what did pouyakian report?
ongoing effects after convo had ended
what did wandtner et al report with automated driving systems?
- investiagated response times to critical tasks when driving in highly automated systems and performing non-driving related tasks
- response times were quickest in control conditions and with an auditory vocal task
-response times were longer when non driving task was visual vocal and longer still when visual manual - even when highly automated systems there must be careful consideration of the tasks in which drivers should engage while ‘driving’
what did drews, pasupathi and strayer research in the effect of talking passengers?
- a convo with someone who is present is different than talking on the phone
- surrounding traffic becomes a topic and they both show situational awareness
- driving conditions have an impact on complexity of convo, reducing potential negative effects of a convo on driving
- a passenger who is too supportive by constantly commenting and directing attention in an ‘over controlling’ fashion has a potentially negative impact on performance
- Young drivers, less experienced, more likely to get into accidents, lots of people in car.
what is the unicycling clown?
- hyman et al
- not just driving but walking
- phone users walked more slowly, changed directions more frequently and were less likely to acknowledge other people
- also less likely to notice an unusual activity along their walking route
- mobile phone use may cause inattentional blindness even during a simple activity that should require few cognitive resources
what is task switching?
ability to shift attention between one task and another- very useful in unpredictable and complex world
what is a cost of task switching?
slower performance and decrease in accuracy after the switch
40% of someone’s productive time- think about many things, lose focus on one.
what are positives of multitasking?
- approach orientated or reward focused
- high sensation seeker- constant stimulation
- convinced you are good at it- more likely to engage in the behaviour
- have trouble focussing
what is multimedia multitasking?
-OFCOM report shows an increase in online activity with several hours per day spent online or consuming media in some form or other
-significant amount of media activity is spent using more than one form of media at the same time
-among 13-17 yr olds, 49% claimed to be using their phone when watching television
what did ophir et al research?
-questionnaire to identify ppl who engaged in high or low levels of multitasking
-two groups were then compared along established cognitive control dimensions
- cognitive control involves a group of processes that allow behaviour to vary adaptively depending on current goals, rather than remaining rigid and inflexible.
results show:
- heavy media multitaskers more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli and from irrelevant representations in memory
- heavy multimedia multitaskers performed worse on a test of task switching ability often rgarded as the ‘essence of multitasking’ = likely due to reduced ability to filter out interference from irrelevant task set
what did loh and kanai fMRI scans report?
- look at brain structures of 75 adults
- independent of individual personality traits
- multimedia multitaskers had smaller grey matter density in anterior cingulate cortex responsible for cognitive and emotional control functions
- reveals a link rather than a causality
- long term study would be needed to understand whether high concurrent media usage leads to changes in the brain structure or whether those with less dense grey matter are more attracted to media multitasking
- luo reported lower executive function in HMM users.
what is the iphone effect?
- misra et al
- examined relationship between presence of mobile devices and the quality of real life in person social interactions in a naturalistic field experiment.
- 200 p’s
- asked to spend 10 mins talking about a casual topic or a meaningful topic
- researcher did not listen or tape convo but observed
- after 10 mins asked to fill out a brief survey
- IV= presence of mobile phone, type of convo, partner closeness
-DV= feelings of interpersonal connectedness during the convo, empathetic concern scale measuring percevied effortto understand ones thoughts and feelings.
results=
-1/3 involved phone use
quality of convo in -presence of phone was rated as less fulfilling
- p’s with phone reported lower empathetic concern
- pattern of results was same for two types of convo
what did watson and strayer report about supertaskers?
– attentional control and goal maintenance play significant roles in multitasking
- OSPAN task involves maintaining the task goal of memorizing items and recalling them in the correct serial order while concurrently performing distracting math problems
- To identify individuals with extraordinary multitasking ability, they used a high-fidelity driving simulator to
pair the task of driving with an auditory version of the OSPAN task.
-They tested 200 undergraduates. All
had normal or corrected-to-normal
vision and a valid driver’s license.
results showed=
- at the group level dual task performance was inferior to single task perfomance for; brake reaction time, following distance, memory performance, OSPAN maths performance
- pattern of performance is consistent with well established pattern of dual task performance decrements associated with limited capacity attention
- interference was bidirectional with both driving and OSPAN measures suffering in dual task conditions
- Supertaskers may exist but they are rare and most people are not supertaskers.
-Unfortunately, many people have the belief that the laws of attention do not apply
to them
