Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Task switching choice was examined building from a model of task overload management. An experiment using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) was undertaken to explore the influence of two parameters of the model, task priority and task difficulty. Participants were free to switch between the four component tasks, with the number of switches and task choice for conflicting events observed. A unique post-experiment survey measured subjective ratings of task attributes. We found that task difficulty, by reducing switching, and task priority, which determined whether increased task difficulty increased time in task, significantly influenced task switching predominantly in line with our predictions. The specific role of priority in multi-task management, and future directions including time-on-task related effects and the role of operator fatigue, are discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Altmann

E. M.

Trafton

J. G.

(2002). Memory for goals: An activation-based model. Cognitive Science, 26(1), 39–83.

Comstock

J. R.

Arnegard

R. J.

(1992). The Multi-Attribute Task Battery for human operator workload and strategic behavior research (Tech Memorandum 104174). Hampton, VA: NASA Langley Research Center.

Dismukes

(2010). Remembrance of things future: prospective memory in laboratory, workplace, and everyday settings. Reviews of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 1–86.

Freed

(2000). Reactive prioritization. In proceedings of the 2nd NASA International Workshop on Planning and Scheduling in Space. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Gopher

Brickner

Navon

(1982). Different difficulty manipulations interact differently with task emphasis: Evidence of multiple resources. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 8(1), 146-157.

Gopher

Weil

Siegel

(1989). Practice under changing priorities: An approach to the training of complex skills. Acta Psychologica, 71, 147–177.

Gutzwiller

R. S.

(2014). Switch choice in applied multi-task management. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Kool

McGuire

J. T.

Rosen

Z. B.

Botvinick

M. M.

(2010).Decision making and the avoidance of cognitive demand. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139(4), 665–682.

Kahneman

(2011). Thinking fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux.

10.

S. A.

Wickens

C. D.

Prinet

J. C.

Hutchins

S. D.

Sarter

Sebok

(2013). Supporting interruption management and multimodal interface design: Three meta-analyses of task performance as a function of interrupting task modality. Human Factors.

11.

Salvucci

D. D.

Taatgen

N. A.

(2011). The multi-tasking mind. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.

12.

Santiago-Espada

Myer

R. R.

Latorella

K. A.

Comstock

J. R.

(2011). The Multi-Attribute Task Battery II (MATBII): Software for human performance and workload research: A user’s guide. NASA Tech Memorandum 217164.

13.

Sheridan

T. B.

(1970). On how often the supervisor should sample. IEEE Transactions on Systems Science & Cybernetics, SSC-6(2),140-145.

14.

Trafton

Monk

(2007). Task interruptions. Reviews of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 111–126.

15.

Wickens

C. D.

(2008). Multiple resources and mental workload. Human Factors, 50(3), 449–455.

16.

Wickens

C. D.

(2013). Attention. In Lee

Kirlik

(Eds.), Handbook of Cognitive Engineering. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.

17.

Wickens

C. D.

(2014). Noticing events in the visual workplace: The SEEV and NSEEV models. In Hoffman

Parasuraman

(Eds.), Handbook of Applied Perception. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

18.

Wickens

C. D.

Gutzwiller

R. S.

Santamaria

(2014, under review). Discrete task switching in overload: A meta-analysis anda model.

19.

Wickens

C. D.

Laux

Hutchins

Sebok

(2014, HFES conference). Effects of sleep restriction, sleep inertia, and overload on complex cognitive performance before and after workload transition: A meta-analysis and two models.

20.

Wickens

C. D.

Hollands

J. G.

(2000). Engineering psychology and human performance. Upper Saddle River, MI: Prentice-Hall.

21.

Wickens

C. D.

Santamaria

Sebok

(2013). Acomputational model of task overload management and task switching. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society, 57(1), 763–767.

Workload overload modeling

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References