Project Details
Projekt
Prediction-based mechanisms of separation of representations in sequential actions in multitasking
Subject Area
General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
Term
from 2015 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 274870128
Based on theoretical proposals of, for instance, Hazeltine, Ruthruff, and Remington (2006), we assume that one important functional role of the bottleneck in multitasking paradigms is to separate the processing streams of the simultaneously conducted tasks (separation-of-representation account). This assumption is supported by findings of Schumacher and Schwarb (2009), who investigated the effects of dual task load on implicit sequence learning. They only found sequence learning if the experimental condition provided temporal delays or priority separation between the auditory-vocal and the visual-manual task. Building on these promising findings, the general goal of the proposed two series of experiments is to test the separation-of-representation account in the context of implicit sequence learning. The first series of experiments focus on the question of whether and how the dual task bottleneck can contribute to supporting implicit sequence learning. The second series then turns the question around by asking whether and how implicit sequence learning might support dual-task performance. Thus, even though acquisition and usage of sequence knowledge has drawn relatively little attention in the literature on multitasking, we argue for a methodological and conceptual linking of problems tackled in the literature on sequence learning and problems addressed in multitasking. This would contribute to our understanding of the functional role of the limitations usually found in multitasking situations.Our research questions centrally contribute to a priority program which is aimed at an integration of multitasking research from a cognitive psychology vs. movement science perspective. With its basis in movement science the study of implicit sequence learning is located at the junction of these perspectives which operationally can be characterized by employing discrete responses vs. continuous movements. Our project underlines that sequencing aspects are relevant for understanding dual task performance and can be studied by expanding established setups of dual task research in the cognitive psychology tradition. This reduces the conceptual leap to the sequencing aspects involved in the control of continuous movements under dual task demands, supporting to establish an interdisciplinary research field.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
Subproject of
SPP 1772:
Human performance under multiple cognitive task requirements: From basic mechanisms to optimized task scheduling
Cooperation Partner
Professor Dr. Stefan Panzer
