Task organization in multitasking: Determinants and characteristics of individual preferences for serial versus overlapping task processing and different strategies of response organization

多任务处理中的任务组织：串行与重叠任务处理的个人偏好的决定因素和特征以及响应组织的不同策略

• 批准号: 274870725
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Dietrich Manzey
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Fachgebiet Arbeits-, Ingenieur- und Organisationspsychologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Priority Programmes
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2014-12-31 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/274870725?language=en
• 关键词: Task; organization; multitasking; Determinants; characteristics

The current project addresses individual differences in coping with multiple task requirements. During the first funding period two experimental paradigms have been developed which enable to describe individual preferences on two different levels of task organization when performing two cognitive tasks concurrently. The first one is referred to as task-switching with preview (TSWP) and is used to study individual preferences for different modes of process organization, i.e. serial versus overlapping task processing. The second one is referred to as free concurrent dual-tasking (FCDT) and enables for differentiating between different sorts of response organization when coping concurrently with two tasks. Based on the first paradigm evidence was found, that individuals differ systematically in their preferred mode of processing. While some individuals prefer to work strictly serially on two tasks, others use options of overlapping (parallel) processing in order to optimize multitasking performance. Similar differences emerged on the level of response organization. Here three types of behavioral strategies could be distinguished which are referred to as blocking, switching and response-grouping. Moreover, evidence was found that the chosen mode of processing is adapted to task-demands (i.e. the risk of crosstalk between tasks to be performed concurrently). In contrast, the chosen response strategy seems to reflect a more rigid individual bias which remains constant independent of the strength of resource competition between tasks. The current project capitalizes on these findings and shall contribute to a better understanding of the characteristics, underlying determinants and links of the individual preferences on the two levels of task-organization in multitasking. With the use of the two paradigms mentioned above, the following specific objectives will be addressed in a series of proposed laboratory experiments: (1) Identification of possible links between preferred modes of processing and strategies of response organization. (2) Clarifying the nature of overlapping processing, i.e. what exactly is processed in an overlapping manner by individuals identified as overlapping processors in the TSWP paradigm and when this overlapping processing takes place. (3) Investigating the involvement of top-down and bottom-up control in preferred modes of processing and strategies of response organization. (4) Investigating context effects (e.g. general memory load, induced cognitive style of thinking, motivational state) on the use and efficiency of different response organization strategies in the FCDT paradigm. In addition, a number of cooperative studies with other partners in the project are planned which, among others, will address links to individual differences of cognitive and behavioral control found in other multitasking paradigms used in cognitive psychology and movement sciences.

当前的项目解决了应对多个任务要求的个人差异。在第一个资金期间，已经开发了两个实验范式，可以在同时执行两个认知任务时描述两个不同级别的任务组织的偏好。第一个被称为预览（TSWP）的任务切换，并用于研究各种过程组织模式的个人偏好，即串行和重叠任务处理。第二个被称为免费并发双任务（FCDT），并在处理两个任务时，可以区分不同类型的响应组织。基于第一个范式证据，发现个人在首选的处理方式中系统地差异。尽管有些人更喜欢在两个任务上严格串行工作，而另一些人则使用重叠（并行）处理的选项，以优化多任务性能。响应组织级别出现了类似的差异。在这里，可以区分三种类型的行为策略，称为阻止，切换和响应组。此外，有证据表明，所选的处理方式适用于任务要求（即，在要同时执行任务之间串扰的风险）。相比之下，所选的响应策略似乎反映了更严格的个体偏见，该偏见仍然始终与任务之间的资源竞争力量无关。当前的项目将利用这些发现，并有助于更好地理解特征，基本的决定因素和个人偏好在多任务处理中的两个任务组织级别上的联系。随着上述两个范式的使用，将在一系列建议的实验室实验中解决以下特定目标：（1）识别首选处理方式与响应组织策略之间可能的联系。 （2）阐明重叠处理的性质，即，在TSWP范式中确定为重叠处理器的个人以及何时进行重叠处理时，以重叠的方式处理了什么。 （3）调查自上而下和自下而上控制的参与，这是首选的处理方式和响应组织策略。 （4）研究上下文效应（例如一般记忆负载，引起的思维方式，动机状态）对FCDT范式中不同响应组织策略的使用和效率的研究。此外，还计划了与项目中其他合作伙伴进行的许多合作研究，其中除其他外，还将解决与认知心理学和运动科学中其他多任务范式中认知和行为控制的个体差异的联系。