An Investigation of Varying Amounts of Component- Task Practice on Dual-Task Performance

Abstract

The effects of different amounts of single- and dual-task practice were evaluated on the fourth, final training trial and with two transfer trials-a dual-task setting with the same tracking task that was used during practice and a dual-task setting with two different component tasks. Results showed that single-task practice contributed little to subsequent dual-task performance, but that the amount of dual-task practice was a major determinant of subsequent dual-task performance. In addition, the amount of dual-task practice resulted in positive transfer to the dual-task setting with the same tracking task in a linear fashion. A post hoc analysis revealed that the effects of practice on the transfer tasks were partially dependent upon the subject ability levels.

Can practice eliminate the Psychological Refractory Period effect?

“…The same is true of most of the other tasks used in PRP studies. Furthermore, it is plausible that what matters most is joint practice on both tasks together (Hirst et al, 1980; Rieck, Ogden, & Anderson, 1980). Because most PRP studies have involved little dual-task practice, one cannot simply assume that the results would be similar with large amounts of dual-task practice.…”

Neural Gate Keeping: The Role of Interhemispheric Interactions in Resource Allocation and Selective Filtering.

“…In Experiment 1, we aimed to clarify the contribution of interhemispheric interactions to resource allocation by introducing the kind of secondary task that has been shown to produce substantial interference effects and has been used to simulate in younger adults the resource limitation thought to be associated with cognitive aging (McDowd, 1986;McDowd & Craik, 1988;Rabinowitz, Craik, & Ackerman, 1982;Rieck, Ogden, & Anderson, 1980). Experiment 1 increased resource demands by requiring tone counting during letter matching performance.…”

Automatic information processing and high-performance skills: Principles of consistency, part-task training, context, retention, and complex task performance.

“…Jennings and Chiles (1977) proposed that there is a "reliable source of variance that contributes to performance of complex tasks, but is independent of simple task performance on the constituent tasks." The concept of time-sharing abilities has been recently explored further by Rieck, Ogden, and Anderson (1980). They proposed that because there is evidence for single-task proficiency (e.g., Freedle, Zavala, & Fleishman, 1968) and time-sharing skills (e.g., Gopher & North, 1974), it should be possible to investigate the relative effectiveness of each type of practice.…”