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Multitasking and Task Switching
In today's information-rich society, people frequently attempt to perform
many tasks at once. This often requires them to juggle their limited
resources in order to accomplish each of these tasks successfully. This
juggling is not always easy, and in many cases can lead to greater
inefficiency in performing each individual task. For example, using a
cellular telephone while driving can lead to both poor communication and
poor driving. In the brain, juggling multiple tasks ("Multitasking") is
performed by mental executive processes that manage the individual tasks
and determine how, when, and with what priorities they get performed.
These executive processes act like a choreographer who orchestrates many
individual dancers so that they can perform as a single unit, or an
air-traffic controller who schedules many airplanes that take off and land
on the same runway. If the individual dancers or airplanes are not
scheduled appropriately, the results can be catastrophic.
Multitasking can be difficult when a person must perform two tasks
simultaneously, but problems can also occur when a person switches from
performing one task to performing another. Performing two or more tasks in
rapid succession requires an individual to reorient to each new task,
which itself takes time and other attentional resources. In our research,
we have studied this aspect of multitasking using a task-switching
paradigm. In our task-switching experiments, participants either perform
a single task throughout a trial block, or alternate between two tasks
during the trial block. By comparing completion times of single-task and
dual-task blocks, we can measure the cost (in time) for the task-switching
processes. By conducting these experiments, we have been able to
understand how aspects of the individual tasks (such as task difficulty
and task familiarity) can affect these task-switching costs.
For More Information:
Rubinstein, J. S.,
Meyer, D. E., &
Evans, J. E. (2001). Executive Control of Cognitive
Processes in Task Switching. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763-797.
Kieras, D. E.,
Meyer, D. E., Ballas, J. A., & Lauber,
E. J. (2000). Modern Computational Perspectives on Executive
Mental Processes and Cognitive Control: Where to from
Here?. In S. Monsell & J. Driver (eds.) Control of
Cognitive Processes: Attention and Performance XVIII,
(pp. 681-712). Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 2000.
Meyer, D. E., Evans, J. E.,
Lauber, E. J., Gmeindl, L., Rubinstein, J.,
Junck, L., & Koeppe, R. A. (1998). The role of dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex for executive cognitive processes in task switching.
Poster presented at the meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society,
San Francisco, CA, April, 1998. Abstract published in Journal of
Cognitive Neuroscience, 1998, Vol. 10.
Meyer, D. E., Evans, J. E.,
Lauber, E. J., Rubinstein, J., Gmeindl, L.,
Junck, L., & Koeppe, R. A. (1997). Activation of brain mechanisms
for executive mental processes in cognitive task switching. Poster
presented at the meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Boston,
MA, March, 1997. Abstract published in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,
1997, Vol. 9.
Rubinstein,
J., Evans, J., & Meyer, D. E. (1994). Task switching in
patients with prefrontal cortex damage. Poster
presented at the meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience
Society, San Francisco, CA, March, 1994. Abstract published
in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1994, Vol. 6.
Our research on multi-tasking has appeared in a number of non-academic publications:
Life Inter-rupted: Plugged into it all, we're stressed to distraction
A Seattle Times article about cognitive overload and stresses of multitasking (Nov. 28, 2004).
Pressured to multitask, workers juggle a fragmented existence
A Boston Globe article about stresses of multitasking (Sept. 26, 2004).
We're all multitasking, but what's the cost?
A Los Angeles Times article about multitasking and health (July 19th, 2004).
Driving? Maybe you shouldn't be reading this
A New York Times article about the dangers of multitasking (July 13th, 2004).
Is multitasking more efficient? Shifting mental gears costs
time, especially when shifting to less familiar tasks: Studying The "Inner CEO" Can Improve Interface Design, Personnel
Training And Diagnosis Of Brain Damage.
An APA press release regarding Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans (2001) (August 5, 2001).
CNN TONIGHT: Multitasking Has Problems, Study Finds
A CNN T.V. Interview of David Meyer about Multitasking (August 5, 2001).
Study: Multitasking is counterproductive (Your boss may not like this one)
A CNN.com article on multi-tasking (August 7, 2001).
Problems associated with multitasking
[RealAudio version]
A National Public Radio Interview of David Meyer about Multitasking (August 6, 2001).
The Thief of Time:
Multitasking is Inefficient, Studies Show
An NPR.org report on multi-tasking (August 6, 2001).
Wasted Time: Study Says 'Multitasking' Inefficient
An ABCNews.com article on multi-tasking (August 7, 2001).
Multitasking Creates Health Problems
A UPI article about multi-tasking (August 5, 2001).
Stop all that multitasking, study suggests
A Toronto Star article about multi-tasking. (August 7, 2001)
Please turn off your radio before reading this
A Globe and Mail article about multi-tasking (August 6, 2001).
Some news stories related to our work on multi-tasking:
Study: All cell phones distract drivers
A CNN.com article about car phones, related to our multitasking work.
Chuck Hurley: Hands-free car phones not risk free
Another CNN.com article about car phones, related to our multitasking work.
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