Event-Related Brain Potentials and Resource Allocation: From Dual-Task Decrements to Dual-Task Integrality

Abstract

The use of event-related brain potentials (ERP) in the study of mental workload and resource allocation is discussed. A series of studies are reviewed which, taken together, suggest that the P300 component of the ERP provides a reliable measure of the perceptual/central processing demands of a task. Furthermore, the use of P300 in the assessment of mental workload offers the advantage of not requiring an overt response, thereby eliminating the possibility of secondary task intrusion into primary task performance. The concept of dual-task integrality is introduced and the resource demands of integral task pairs are inferred from measures of P300 amplitude. The findings are discussed in terms of resource models of mental workload.