Are women better than men at multi-tasking?

Stoet, Gijsbert; O’Connor, Daryl B.; Conner, Mark; Laws, Keith R.

doi:10.1186/2050-7283-1-18

Cited by 107 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Also, observed in this study is that slightly fewer female students (48%) multitask compared to their male counterparts (52%). This may not necessarily mean that female students multitask less but may only be in the case of agreement with [33], who found that females do handle multitasking better than males.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

“…An important conclusion from the study was that females would endorse greater frequency of texting compared to males. Indeed, [33]found that females do handle multitasking better than males. Also, [34] found that females were more susceptible to multitask compared to males and the female that engage in multitasking are more likely to have difficulties with academics [35].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Information and Communication Technology-induced Multitasking on Academic Performance of University Students in Uganda

Jehopio¹,

Wesonga²,

Candia³

2017

IJCATR

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Numerous researches on information and communication technology (ICT)-induced multitasking among students document a number of unfavourable consequences, such as heightened distraction and less attention, hampered learning and hindered productivity at the expense of better academic performance. This study focused on the effect of information and communication technology induced multitasking on academic performance of university students in Uganda. To this end, primary data were collected during the month of May 2016 using stratified cluster sample design. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data from 312 students of Makerere University who participated in the study. Through structural equation modelling (SEM), it was demonstrated that ICT-induced multitasking does not affect academic performance directly but through self-regulation, attention span, emotional control and productivity focus. Nonetheless, multitasking does not always have negative consequences. To a majority of students, multitasking provides emotional satisfaction and enjoyment, which do correlate positively with good academic performance. Indeed, multitasking can be an effective use of time when well-regulated and an efficient tool in problem solving. Multitasking may only be indicative of the changing nature of norms. Traditionally, one was expected to give and receive undivided attention when talking in a face-to-face conversation with another; yet new norms are evolving for the networked society, such as responding to text messages promptly. To buffer the negative effect of ICT-induced multitasking on academic performance, one needs a facility with a good degree of self-regulation, attention span, emotional control and productivity focus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Information and Communication Technology-induced Multitasking on Academic Performance of University Students in Uganda

Jehopio¹,

Wesonga²,

Candia³

2017

IJCATR

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“…Finally, some might point to the problem of the unequal gender ratio between VGPs and nVGPs. Although it is true that women are known to be better than men at task switching (e.g., Stoet, O'Connor, Conner, & Laws, 2013), we believe that the unbalanced gender ratio does not weaken our conclusions. Specifically, in our fullsample regression analyses, gender significantly predicted both switch and mixing costs, with men performing better than women on both types of costs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Age matters: The effect of onset age of video game play on task-switching abilities

Hartanto

Toh

Yang

2016

Atten Percept Psychophys

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Although prior research suggests that playing video games can improve cognitive abilities, recent empirical studies cast doubt on such findings (Unsworth et al., 2015). To reconcile these inconsistent findings, we focused on the link between video games and task switching. Furthermore, we conceptualized video-game expertise as the onset age of active video-game play rather than the frequency of recent gameplay, as it captures both how long a person has played video games and whether the individual began playing during periods of high cognitive plasticity. We found that the age of active onset better predicted switch and mixing costs than did frequency of recent gameplay; specifically, players who commenced playing video games at an earlier age reaped greater benefits in terms of task switching than did those who started at a later age. Moreover, improving switch costs required a more extensive period of video-game experience than did mixing costs; this finding suggests that certain cognitive abilities benefit from different amounts of video game experience.Keywords Task switching . Video game . Onset age of active video game play . Switch costs . Mixing costs . Executive functions Video games are a ubiquitous entertainment medium, with an estimated 40 % of adults and 83 % of teenagers in the United States playing them regularly (Williams, Yee, & Caplan, 2008). Video games often present players with challenging situations that necessitate strategic monitoring, coordination of multiple task demands, and goal prioritization. For instance, first-person shooter games require players to tactically navigate a three-dimensional environment while eliminating multiple enemy targets that appear at random. Similarly, realtime strategy games typically immerse players in war-like scenarios requiring simultaneous management of several tasks, such as constructing edifices and deploying combat units to secure areas of a map or to invade and destroy opponents' territories and units. Success in such games requires continual tracking of various goals and the ability to shift flexibly from one task to another in the face of changing environmental demands. Therefore, an interesting question arises as to whether extensive video-game experience could facilitate task-switching performance (e.g., Cain, Landau, & Shimamura, 2012;Green, Sugarman, Medford, Klobusicky, & Bavelier, 2012).Task switching is the ability to shift back and forth between multiple tasks or mental sets (Monsell, 2003). The efficiency of task switching can be empirically measured using taskswitching paradigms, which yield two performance indicators: switch costs and mixing costs (Rubin & Meiran, 2005). Switch costs refer to the slower responses observed in taskswitch trials than in task-repeat trials, whereas mixing costs refer to the slower responses in task-repeat trials in mixed-task blocks than in task-repeat trials in pure blocks (Rubin & Meiran). These two costs reflect distinct control mechanisms in task-switching performance: namely, switch costs are...

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“…Gender differences could be explained with different cognitive functioning of females and males. According to the previous research, women in general are much better in observing details than men, and also in multitasking -doing several things at the same time, while men in general having a tendency to focus on one task at the time, and be more aware while doing it (Stoet, O'Connor, Conner, & Laws, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Mindfulness: Age and gender differences on a Bosnian sample

Alispahić¹,

Hasanbegović-Anić²

2017

Psychol. Thought

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The goal of this research was to examine age and gender differences in mindfulness on Bosnian general population. The study was conducted on a sample of 441 participants from the general population, from twelve cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a measure of mindfulness we used Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire. Results showed that older participants' scores were higher than for younger participants for all aspects of mindfulness. There was found a statistically significant difference between the three age groups on the subscales of Acting with awareness F(2, 435) = 7.39, p < .01 and of Non-judging of inner experience F(2, 428) = 5.67, p < .01. We found statistically significant difference for the Acting with awareness between 20-32 age group (M = 28.57, SD = 5.66) and 33-49 age group (M = 31.01, SD = 5.00, t(292) = -3.91, p < .001), and between 20-32 age group and 50+ group (M = 30.14, SD = 5,86, t(290) = -2.32, p < .05). Also, there was a significant difference for the Non-judging between 20-32 age group (M = 24.77, SD = 5.80) and 33-49 age group (M = 26.65, SD = 5.09, t(288) = -2.94, p < .01), and between 20-32 age group and 50+ group (M = 26.49, SD = 4.90, t(287) = -2,71, p < .05). According to the t-test results, there was statistically significant gender difference between the subscales Observing (t(432) = -2.259, p < . 05) and Acting with awareness (t(432) = 2.197, p < .05), women scored higher than men on the subscale Observing, while men exhibited higher scores on the subscale Acting with awareness. Results of this research showed that there were found significant age and gender differences for some aspects of mindfulness in the sample of Bosnian general population.Keywords: mindfulness, age, gender, differences Psychological Thought, 2017, Vol. 10(1), 155-166, doi:10.5964/psyct.v10i1.224 Received: 2017-01-14. Accepted: 2017-03-02. Published (VoR): 2017-04-28.Handling Editors: Marius Drugas, University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania; Stanislava Stoyanova, South-West University "Neofit Rilski", Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria *Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Franje Rackog 1, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia. E-mail: sabina_alispahic@hotmail.com This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Mindfulness can be defined as the degree of awareness that is achieved by purposefully paying attention to the present moment, without judging it (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Since the launch of the first empirical research conducted on this topic (Kabat-Zinn, 1982) numerous studies have shown the positive effects of increased mindfulness -on life-satisfaction, vitality, self-esteem, empathy, optimism, integrity, or positive affect -and its contribution to reducing the difficulties with emotional dysregulation, depression, neuroticism, rumination, social anxiety, and...

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Are women better than men at multi-tasking?

Cited by 107 publications

References 29 publications

Effect of Information and Communication Technology-induced Multitasking on Academic Performance of University Students in Uganda

Effect of Information and Communication Technology-induced Multitasking on Academic Performance of University Students in Uganda

Age matters: The effect of onset age of video game play on task-switching abilities

Mindfulness: Age and gender differences on a Bosnian sample

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