Abstract
The possibility of reducing task interference in complex aviation environments by taking advantage of the verbal-spatial short term memory dichotomy is explored in a dual-task paradigm. Eighteen subjects performed verbal and spatial retention memory tasks concurrently with intervening verbal and spatial cognitive tasks. Both number and processing code of the intervening tasks were manipulated. Support was found for code-specific interference such that concurrently performed tasks of the same code disrupted performance more than concurrent tasks of different codes. In addition spatial memory was found to be more fragile than verbal memory. Implications of the findings to mental workload reduction include task scheduling, presentation format, and assignment.
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