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Benefits of repeated alternations – Task-specific vs. task-general sequential adjustments of dual-task order control

Authors :
Tilo Strobach
Jens Kürten
Lynn Huestegge
Source :
Acta Psychologica, Vol 236, Iss , Pp 103921- (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
Elsevier, 2023.

Abstract

An important cognitive requirement in multitasking is the decision of how multiple tasks should be temporally scheduled (task order control). Specifically, task order switches (vs. repetitions) yield performance costs (i.e., task-order switch costs), suggesting that task order scheduling is a vital part of configuring a task set. Recently, it has been shown that this process takes specific task-related characteristics into account: task order switches were easier when switching to a preferred (vs. non-preferred) task order. Here, we ask whether another determinant of task order control, namely the phenomenon that a task order switch in a previous trial facilitates a task order switch in a current trial (i.e., a sequential modulation of task order switch effect) also takes task-specific characteristics into account. Based on three experiments involving task order switches between a preferred (dominant oculomotor task prior to non-dominant manual/pedal task) and a non-preferred (vice versa) order, we replicated the finding that task order switching (in Trial N) is facilitated after a previous switch (vs. repetition in Trial N - 1) in task order. There was no substantial evidence in favor of a significant difference when switching to the preferred vs. non-preferred order and in the analyses of the dominant oculomotor task and the non-dominant manual task. This indicates different mechanisms underlying the control of immediate task order configuration (indexed by task order switch costs) and the sequential modulation of these costs based on the task order transition type in the previous trial.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00016918
Volume :
236
Issue :
103921-
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Acta Psychologica
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f1e83f302e344d82977734892e47a18d
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103921