2013/02/11 by Reem Alzahabi, Mark W. Becker · 207 citations
Decision Sciences · Engineering · Psychology · #Association (psychology) #Cognition #Cognitive psychology #Cognitive resource theory #Computer science #Creativity in Education and Neuroscience #Dual (grammatical number) #Engineering #Human multitasking #Psychology #Task (project management) #Task switching #Technology Adoption and User Behaviour #Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes #Working memory
paper · doi:10.1037/a0031208
published in Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance 39(5), 1485-1495 (American Psychological Association)
openalex publication_date 2013/02/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
The recent rise in media use has prompted researchers to investigate its influence on users' basic cognitive processes, such as attention and cognitive control. However, most of these investigations have failed to consider that the rise in media use has been accompanied by an even more dramatic rise in media multitasking (engaging with multiple forms of media simultaneously). Here we investigate how one's ability to switch between 2 tasks and to perform 2 tasks simultaneously is associated with media multitasking experience. Participants saw displays comprised of a number-letter pair and classified the number as odd or even and/or the letter as a consonant or vowel. In task-switching blocks, a cue indicated which classification to perform on each trial. In dual-task blocks, participants performed both classifications. Heavy and light media multitaskers showed comparable performance in the dual-task. Across 2 experiments, heavy media multitaskers were better able to switch between tasks in the task-switching paradigm. Thus, while media multitasking was not associated with increased ability to process 2 tasks in parallel, it was associated with an increased ability to shift between discrete tasks.