Keeping All the Plates Spinning: Understanding and Predicting Multitasking Performance

Quantitative modeling of user performance in multitasking environments

“…Some approaches defined multitasking as situations in which the human operator must make conscious shifts of attention between two or more tasks (Spink et al, 2008). In a study of the determinants of multitasking (Oswald, Hambrick, & Jones, 2007), a model for investigating potential predictor variables on a continuum from distal (indirect) to proximal (direct) causes was provided. Distal predictors include general dimensions of psychological functioning, including intelligence and personality, while proximal predictors include task-specific knowledge and strategies, and state variables like goal orientation, anxiety and perceived workload.…”

“…The ability of timesharing has been shown in many definitions of multitasking (Hambrick et al, 2010). Hambrick et al (2010) defined multitasking as situations in which the performer must make conscious shifts of attention between two or more tasks (see also Spink et al, 2008), Oswald et al (2007) described a model for investigating determinants of multitasking that orders potential predictor variables on a continuum from distal (indirect) to proximal (direct) causes.…”

Doing many things at a time: Lack of power decreases the ability to multitask

“…One strategy that people often use during multitasking is constantly switching between goals (Oswald, Hambrick, & Jones, ). Study 3 examined whether power affects this ability.…”

On the relation of working memory and multitasking: Memory span and synthetic work performance.

“…Multitasking is important for many aspects of human behavior, particularly in certain employment sectors (e.g., medical field, military, aviation) where multitasking is necessary for vocational success and multitasking failures pose serious safety-related consequences. In the current work, I adopted the definition of multitasking provided by Oswald, Hambrick, and Jones (2007), whereby multitasking requires: (a) performing multiple tasks; (b) consciously shifting from one task to another; and (c) performing the component tasks over a relatively short time span. There are numerous operational definitions possible for multitasking, but in the current study I used the SynWin multitask, an established measure of synthetic work (Elsmore, 1994;Hambrick et al, 2010Hambrick et al, , 2011Proctor, Wang, & Pick, 1998;Salthouse, Hambrick, Lukas, & Dell, 1996).…”