Abstract
This study examines the issue of compatibility between task requirements (integrated vs. independent) and control configurations (integrated vs. separated) in the context of a dual-task environment. In the two experiments reported here, subjects were required to time-share a continuous tracking task with a discrete response task. The results showed a greater number of tracking hesitations when these tasks were mapped to separate controls than when they were mapped to the same control, regardless of the level of task integration employed here. We conclude that integrated controls produce less hesitations for time-shared integrated tasks and displays, but can not make conclusions concerning the optimal control configuration for time-shared independent tasks. The results also highlight the multi-dimensional nature of the concept of task integration and suggest that display and temporal dimensions of the concept might outweigh the response dimension.
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