Individual Differences in Timesharing Performance

Abstract

Individuals involved in training operators of complex systems have observed that trainees differ widely in the time they require to learn a multiple-task job and their terminal level of performance. Individual differences in performance under multiple-task conditions also have been noted to be larger than corresponding differences in single-task performance. These differences have been attributed to timesharing skills, skills required only in the multiple-task situation. Timesharing skills include such skills as parallel information processing, rapid intertask switching, and efficient response strategies.