Cost of Dual-Task Performance in Tactile Perception Is Greater for Competing Tasks of the Same Type

Perception ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-538
Author(s):  
Dacey Nguyen ◽  
James Brown ◽  
David Alais
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Tactile Modality ◽  
The Right ◽  
Secondary Stimulus

This study examines dual-task performance in the tactile modality and tests whether dual-task cost depends on task type. Experiment 1 involved competing tasks of the same type, using a primary localisation task on the left hand and a secondary localisation task on the right hand. In Experiment 2, the primary task on the left hand remained the same, while an intensity discrimination task was used as the secondary task on the right hand. Subjects in both experiments completed three conditions: the primary task alone, a dual-task condition, and the primary task with the secondary stimulus present but no response required. Across both experiments, performance on the primary task was best when it was presented alone, and there was a performance decrement when the secondary stimulus was present but not responded to. Performance on the primary task was further decreased when participants had to respond to the secondary stimulus, and the decrease was larger when the secondary task was localisation rather than discrimination. This result indicates that task type in the tactile modality may modulate the attentional cost of dual-task performance and implies partially shared resources underlie localisation and intensity discrimination.

scholarly journals Adjustment of cognitive control to the frequency of dual-task interference

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Olszanowski ◽  
Natalia Szostak
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
High Level ◽  
Dual Task Interference

This study explored whether the control mechanisms recruited for optimising performance are similar for dual-task and interference-task settings. We tested whether the frequency of appearance of a secondary task resulted in an adjustment of anticipatory and reflexive forms of attentional control, as has been observed with other interference tasks (e.g. stroop and flanker). The results of two experiments demonstrated a proportion congruency effect (PCE): when a secondary task frequently appeared, primary task performance was slower. Additionally, there was a relative slowdown of dual-task performance in blocks wherein the secondary task appeared infrequently compared to blocks wherein it appeared frequently. However, this slowdown occurred when the primary task entailed a low level of control (Experiment 1) but was absent when it demanded a high level of control (Experiment 2). Overall, the results suggest that level of control can be adjusted to task demands related to the frequency of the secondary task.

Does Secondary Task Measure Outcome Conflict or Resource Allocation?

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (18) ◽  
pp. 1398-1402
Author(s):  
Pamela S. Tsang ◽  
Tonya L. Shaner
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Tracking Error ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Memory Probe ◽  
Temporal Predictability ◽  
Task Measure

The secondary task technique was used to test two alternative explanations of dual task decrement: outcome conflict and resource allocation. Subjects time-shared a continuous tracking task and a discrete Sternberg memory task. The memory probes were presented under three temporal predictability conditions. Dual task performance decrements in both the tracking and memory tasks suggested that the two tasks competed for some common resources, processes, or mechanisms. Although performance decrements were consistent with both the outcome conflict and resource allocation explanations, the two explanations propose different mechanisms by which the primary task could be protected from interference from the concurrent secondary task. The primary task performance could be protected by resource allocation or by strategic sequencing of the processing of the two tasks in order to avoid outcome conflict. In addition to examining the global trial means, moment-by-moment tracking error time-locked to the memory probe was also analyzed. There was little indication that the primary task was protected by resequencing of the processing of the two tasks. This together with the suggestion that predictable memory probes led to better protected primary task performance than less predictable memory probes lend support for the resource explanation.

Attentional Asymmetries during Concurrent Bimanual Performance

1981 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Peters
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Bimanual Movements ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Bimanual Performance ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Attentional Strategies ◽  
The Right ◽  
Independent Tasks

An asymmetry of attention was observed when subjects attempted to perform concurrent, relatively independent tasks with the two hands: right-handed subjects performed very much better on a dual task which required them to follow the beat of a metronome with the left while tapping as quickly as they could with the right than with the converse arrangement. It is suggested that attentional strategies which have evolved to allow guidance of interdependent skilled bimanual activities are also used when subjects attempt to perform relatively independent concurrent bimanual movements, which are not observed in the naturally occurring motor repertoire. Thus, interactions between hand, hand preference and nature of task are an important factor in dual task performance.

Controlling for Individual Differences in a Dual-Task Setting: Equating the Baselines of Single Task Performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (13) ◽  
pp. 916-920
Author(s):  
Bradley Chase ◽  
Holly M. Irwin-Chase ◽  
Jaclyn T. Sonico
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Visual Task ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
The Individual

Individual differences in human performance is an issue that confounds many studies and has not been properly controlled in the ergonomics/human factors literature. This paper examines the concept of individual differences in performance primarily from the perspective of cognitive performance. A study was designed to test the effect of a secondary visual task on a primary visual task. In one condition, participants performed the dual task, while assigning no weight to the secondary task. In the second condition, the primary task was performed simultaneously with the secondary task. The effect of the added workload was measured via the effect on primary task performance. In the baseline portion of the task participants had their baseline (80–90% accuracy) of performance collected by adjusting the stimulus duration. The individual participant stimulus duration was then used as the experimental stimulus duration and the effect of secondary task performance on primary task performance was measured.

Change Detection on Periphery and Dual-Task Performance

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (17) ◽  
pp. 1645-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mon-Chu Chen ◽  
Filipe Fortes ◽  
Roberta Klatzky ◽  
William Long
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Detection Rate ◽  
Peripheral Vision ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Peripheral Stimulus ◽  
Dual Task Performance

A variation of the Wickens' Task was performed to examine the assumption that people can detect certain stimuli on their periphery without decreasing the performance of the primary task. Participants were instructed to respond to a change in a peripheral stimulus without shifting their gaze from a primary task in the center of their visual field. Our data suggests that both type and magnitude of change have a significant effect on detection rate and reaction time. The data also suggests that the performance of the primary task did not decay after the change of the stimuli occurred. Based on these findings, we argue that people can detect various types of changes without shifting gaze and without degrading task performance. Therefore, an interface particularly designed for peripheral vision is possible, and it will potentially provide benefits to both productivity and safety.

The Assessment of Workload: Dual Task Methodology

1983 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur D. Fisk ◽  
William L. Derrick ◽  
Walter Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Operator Workload

The present paper outlines three major assumptions often implicitly assumed in dual task experiments conducted to assess operator workload. These assumptions are shown to be incorrect. Three criteria which should be met in dual task experiments that draw inferences from secondary task decrements are discussed. An experiment, meeting the proposed criteria, was conducted which demonstrated that when the criteria are met secondary task performance can be predictive of primary task difficulty. However, the data also indicate that a simple assessment of effort alone will not predict total task performance.

Use of the Secondary Task Technique for Tracking User Attention

2006 ◽  
pp. 673-679
Author(s):  
Robert S. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Mental Effort ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Finger Tapping ◽  
Mobile Telephones ◽  
Problem Solving Process ◽  
Attention Demands

The notion that the human information processing system has a limit in resource capacity has been used for over 100 years as the basis for the investigation of a variety of constructs and processes, such as mental workload, mental effort, attention, elaboration, information overload, and such. The dual task or secondary task technique presumes that the consumption of processing capacity by one task will leave less capacity available for the processing of a second concurrent task. When both tasks attempt to consume more capacity than is available, the performance of one or both tasks must suffer, and this will presumably result in the observation of degraded task performance. Consider, for example, the amount of mental effort devoted to solving a difficult arithmetic problem. If a person is asked to tap a pattern with a finger while solving the problem, we might be able to discover the more difficult parts of the problem solving process by observing changes in the performance of the secondary task of finger tapping. While a participant is reading a chapter of text in a book or on a Web browser, we might be able to use this same technique to find the more interesting, involving, or confusing passages of the text. Many implementations of the secondary task technique have been used for more than a century, such as the maintenance of hand pressure (Lechner, Bradbury, & Bradley, 1998; Welch, 1898), the maintenance of finger tapping patterns (Friedman, Polson, & Dafoe, 1988; Jastrow, 1892; Kantowitz & Knight, 1976), the performance of mental arithmetic (Bahrick, Noble, & Fitts, 1954; Wogalter & Usher, 1999), and the speed of reaction time to an occasional flash of light, a beep, or a clicking sound (e.g., Bourdin, Teasdale, & Nourgier, 1998; Owen, Lord, & Cooper, 1995; Posener & Bois, 1971). In using the secondary task technique, the participant is asked to perform a secondary task, such as tapping a finger in a pattern, while performing the primary task of interest. By tracking changes in secondary task performance (e.g., observing erratic finger tapping), we can track changes in processing resources being consumed by the primary task. This technique has been used in a wide variety of disciplines and situations. It has been used in advertising to study the effects of more or less suspenseful parts of a TV program on commercials (Owen et al., 1995) and in studying the effects of time-compressed audio commercials (Moore, Hausknecht, & Thamodaran, 1986). It has been used in sports to detect attention demands during horseshoe pitching (Prezuhy & Etnier, 2001) and rock climbing (Bourdin et al., 1998), while others have used it to study attention associated with posture control in patients who are older or suffering from brain disease (e.g., Maylor & Wing, 1996; Muller, Redfern, Furman, & Jennings, 2004). Murray, Holland, and Beason (1998) used a dual task study to detect the attention demands of speaking in people who suffer from aphasia after a stroke. Others have used the secondary task technique to study the attention demands of automobile driving (e.g., Baron & Kalsher, 1998), including the effects of distractions such as mobile telephones (Patten, Kircher, Ostlund, & Nilsson, 2004) and the potential of a fragrance to improve alertness (Schieber, Werner, & Larsen, 2000). Koukounas and McCabe (2001) and Koukounas and Over (1999) have used it to study the allocation of attention resources during sexual arousal. The notion of decreased secondary task performance due to a limited-capacity processing system is not simply a laboratory curiosity. Consider, for example, the crash of a Jetstream 3101 airplane as it was approaching for landing, killing all on board.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Single Task, Dual Task Performance and Impulsiveness Personality Traits of Young Adults in the Community

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 470
Author(s):  
Myoung-Ok Park
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Dual Task Performance

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between single, dual task performance and impulsiveness personality traits of young adults in the community. (2) Methods: As a cross-sectional study, the Korean version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11-Revised test, which is an impulsiveness indicator test tool, was conducted on a total of 62 healthy young adults in the community. In order to assess the task performance ability, single task, motor dual task, and cognitive-motor dual task of Timed up and go (TUG) test were conducted. (3) Results: In order to identify the mean difference of the three types of TUG task performance according to the total score of impulsiveness test of all subjects, one-way ANOVA analysis was performed. As a result, there was no statistically significant difference by each task type. Upon investigating the correlation between the three subtypes (cognitive impulsiveness, motor impulsiveness, non-planned impulsiveness) of impulsiveness and total score and TUG task performance, cognitive impulsiveness and TUG-cognitive task performance showed statistically significant correlation. (4) Conclusions: There was an association with the degree of cognitive impulsiveness when performing motor task and cognitive task simultaneously.

scholarly journals Dual Task Interference During Gait in People With Parkinson Disease: Effects of Motor Versus Cognitive Secondary Tasks

2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 888-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone O'Shea ◽  
Meg E Morris ◽  
Robert Iansek
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Stride Length ◽  
Gait Cycle ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Task Interference ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Dual Task Interference

Abstract Background and Purpose. Exacerbation of movement disorders while doing 2 tasks (dual task performance) is a characteristic feature of Parkinson disease (PD). The aim of this investigation was to identify whether the type of secondary task (motor or cognitive) determined the severity of dual task interference. Subjects and Methods. Footstep patterns for 15 people with PD and 15 comparison subjects without PD were compared when they walked: (1) at a self-selected speed, (2) while simultaneously performing a motor task (coin transference), and (3) while simultaneously performing a cognitive task (digit subtraction). Gait speed, stride length, cadence, and the percentage of the gait cycle in double-limb stance (DS) were examined with a computerized stride analyzer. Results. When there was no second task, the mean stride length was less in the group with PD (1.29 m) than in the comparison group (1.51 m), and the mean gait speed was less in the group with PD (71.47 m/min) than in the comparison group (87.29 m/min). The mean cadence was less in the group with PD (110.79 steps/min) than in the comparison group (115.81 steps/min). The percentage of the gait cycle in DS was greater in the group with PD (33.38%) than in the comparison group (31.21%). Both groups reduced their stride length and speed when they had to change from unitask performance to dual task performance and DS increased. For the group with PD, cadence also decreased. For both groups, the type of secondary task had a negligible effect on the performance decrement. Discussion and Conclusion. Although the performance of simultaneous motor or cognitive tasks compromised gait in people with PD, the type of secondary task was not a major determinant of the severity of dual task interference.

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