Evidence for a multicomponent hierarchical representation of dual tasks
- PDF / 491,753 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 80 Downloads / 187 Views
Evidence for a multicomponent hierarchical representation of dual tasks Patricia Hirsch 1
&
Clara Roesch 1 & Iring Koch 1
Accepted: 8 September 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Recent dual-task studies observed worse performance in task-pair switches than in task-pair repetitions and interpreted these taskpair switch costs as evidence that the identity of the two individual tasks performed within a dual task is jointly represented in a single mental representation, termed “task-pair set.” In the present study, we conducted two experiments to examine (a) whether task-pair switch costs are due to switching cues or/and task pairs and (b) at which time task-pair sets are activated during dual-task processing. In Experiment 1, we used two cues per task-pair and found typical dual-task interference, indicating that performance in the individual tasks performed within the dual task deteriorates as a function of increased temporal task overlap. Moreover, we observed cue switch costs, possibly reflecting perceptual cue priming. Importantly, there were also task-pair switch costs that occur even when controlling for cue switching. This suggests that task-pair switching per se produces a performance cost that cannot be reduced to costs of cue switching. In Experiment 2, we employed a go/no-go-like manipulation and observed task-pair switch costs after no-go trials where subjects prepared for a task-pair, but did not perform it. This indicates that task-pair sets are activated before performing a dual task. Together, the findings of the present study provide further evidence for a multicomponent hierarchical representation consisting of a task-pair set organized at a hierarchically higher level than the task sets of the individual tasks performed within a dual task. Keywords Task organization . Dual tasks . Global level of processing . Task pairs
Making notes while following a research talk, or having a conversation with passengers while driving a car—these are only a few examples that highlight how often we engage in performing two tasks in a temporal overlap and hence in dualtasking. Performance in such dual-task situations has been extensively studied to gain insights into the fundamental aspects of the cognitive architecture and the basic principles of human information processing (see, e.g., Koch, Poljac, Müller, & Kiesel, 2018, for a review). In general, two lines of dual-task research can be distinguished. The first, traditional and long-established, research line deals with the local level of dual-task processing. This level focuses on cognitive processes and information related to one of the two individual tasks performed within a dual task. Within the scope of this research line, it has been shown, for * Patricia Hirsch [email protected] 1
Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstr. 17-19, D-52066 Aachen, Germany
instance, that dual-tasking ordinarily results in performance costs which reflect worse performance in a specific task in sit
Data Loading...
