Inter-individual Differences in Multitasking: Prioritisation and Conceptualisation as Determinants of Efficient Multitasking

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Stefan Künzell; Professor Dr. Markus Raab
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2015 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 274921906

Multitasking is the simultaneous execution of two tasks. In our research proposal we analyse the flexibility of performance in dual tasking. For this purpose we will combine a sensorimotor and a cognitive task. In the first funding period we found out that dual-task costs are reduced if tasks are predictable, both by perception and by knowledge. However, performance improved in the predictable tasks only; the other task remained uninfluenced, except when features of the tasks were mutually dependent. We assume two reasons for these findings. If only one task is predictable, this task could be prioritised. In the case of mutual dependence, the tasks could be conceptualised as a single (super)task. In our proposal for the second funding period, we investigate these two strategies. In Project A, we analyse the influence of individual determinants of prioritisation in dual tasking and in Project B we analyse the influence of task conceptualisation on dual task performance. In our research series we use the typing-while-tracking paradigm for our experiments, where participants have to type a line of digits with their left hand while keeping a moving cursor in the middle of a target with their right hand. In Project A, Phase 1, we manipulate behavioural consequences by varying a payoff function and analyse if individual differences in risk tendency, approach–avoidance motivation, starting preferences, or sustained attention influence individual prioritisation of a task. In Phase 2, following decision field theory, we develop and validate a model that predicts prioritisation from these individual differences. In Project B, Phase 1, we analyse the influence of task conceptualisation on dual-task performance by manipulating instructions (one or two tasks) and feedback (integrated or separate). In Phase 2 we test if conceptualisation is a useful strategy for coping with multitasking demands and look for individual differences in conceptualisation abilities. In the common Phase 3 we examine if task-specific prioritisation and conceptualisation can be improved by practice and if multitasking demands can be tailored to personal preferences. To sum up, our proposed project will lead to improved understanding of individual differences in multitasking performance. From a theoretic point of view, our research helps answer the question if impaired human multitasking behaviour is inevitable due to structural constraints or if humans can adapt flexibly to multitasking demands.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1772: Human performance under multiple cognitive task requirements: From basic mechanisms to optimized task scheduling
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Co-Investigator: Rita de Oliveira, Ph.D.