Productive, or spinning wheels? Researchers are examining the psychology of quickly shifting attention
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Are you a media multitasker? We know you're reading a blog, but what else are you doing right now? Take a quick inventory: Are you also listening to music? Monitoring the progress of a sports game on TV? Emailing your co-worker? Texting your friend? On hold with tech support? If your inventory has revealed a multitasking lifestyle, you are not alone. Media multitasking is increasingly common, to the extent that some have dubbed today’s teens "Generation M."
People often think of the ability to multitask as a positive attribute, to the degree that they will proudly tout their ability to multitask. Likewise it’s not uncommon to see job advertisements that place “ability to multitask” at the top of their list of required abilities. Technologies such as smartphones cater to this idea that we can (and should) maximize our efficiency by getting things done in parallel with each other. Why aren’t you paying your bills and checking traffic while you’re driving and talking on the phone with your mother? However, new research by EyalOphir, Clifford Nass, and Anthony D. Wagner at Stanford University suggests that people who multitask suffer from a problem: weaker self-control ability.
The researchers asked hundreds of college students fill out a survey on their use of 12 different types of media. Students reported not only the number of hours per week that they used each type of media, but also rated how often they used each type of media simultaneously with each other type of media. The researchers created a score for each person that reflected how much their lifestyle incorporated media-multitasking.
They then recruited people who had scores that were extremely high or low and asked them perform a series of tests designed to measure the ability to control one's attention, one's responses, and the contents of one's memory. They found that the high- and low- media-multitasking groups were equally able to control their responses, but that the heavy media-multitasking group had difficulties, compared to the low media-multitasking group, when asked to ignore information that was in the environment or in their recent memory. They also had greater trouble relative to their counterparts when asked to switch rapidly between two different tasks. This last finding was surprising, because psychologists know that multitasking involves switching rapidly between tasks rather than actually performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
It seems that chronic media-multitaskers are more susceptible to distractions. In contrast, people who do not usually engage in media-multitasking showed a greater ability to focus on important information. According to the researchers, this reflects two fundamentally different strategies of information processing. Those who engage in media-multitasking more frequently are "breadth-biased," preferring to explore any available information rather than restrict themselves. AsLin Lin at the University of North Texas puts it in a review of the article, they develop a habit of treating all information equally. On the other extreme are those who avoid breadth in favor of information that is relevant to an immediate goal.
So what does this mean for you, reading this blog while checking your stocks and playing solitaire? Are you in trouble? Should you curb your media congestion? Not necessarily. Breadth-bias may still serve a purpose in our media-heavy society. While the researchers focused on a type of control known as "top-down" attention, meaning that control is initiated by higher-level mental processes such as cognition in service of a specific goal, they suggest that heavy media-multitaskers might be better at "bottom-up" attention. In this type of control, cues from the external world drive your attention through lower-level mental processes such as perception and habit. In our fast-paced and technologically advancing society, it may be that having a single goal on which to focus our efforts is a luxury. We may often be better served by a control strategy that is cued by the demands of our surroundings. Look around yourself - do you see notes and to-do lists? Piles of objects meant to remind you about tasks and goals? These sorts of reminders are a great way to take advantage of bottom-up attentional control, and this type of control might in fact be more influential in our lives than we realize.
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28 Comments
Add CommentThanks. Does this mean also that the quality of concentration when a multitasker is concentrating, is less focused and less effective than a non-multitasker?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt isn't really a question of which is better. It's which is more adaptive for a given situation and can the human using that mode switch to the more effective strategy when most appropriate. Blink teaches us a lot about ways we make decisions. When you need to deal with some things, you should ponder and with other things you need to react based on emotional calculus. Interesting article, but I think looking for which is better is not the best attitude with which to approach this subject.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs I signed in to comment it also occurred to me that you could look at ability to plan and whether it decreases with high multitasking habituation.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismaybe someone should study a profession when multitasking is necessary to function like cooking. I think a chef's ability to switch between tasks would be better then someone who procrastinates with lots of different media running at the same time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder whether the relative inability to concentrate without distractions is often a CAUSE of multitasking, rather than a result or a mere correlation. I have adult ADD (grew up with it undiagnosed), and this description sounds like my life- especially the difficulty in switching tasks, which is very cumbersome in today's busy, high-tech workplace.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI believe women multitask better than men when they realize their instinctive responsiveness is tuned to the more impulsive nature of the needs of young children. Clearly, multitasking causes stress if we must swat flies while reading a book or swapping our attention out from a movie during a deluge of advertising before the conclusion of a drama. The ability to concentrate is also interrupted by neighboring multitaskers. The pace of task switching is what determines how long and effectively a problem can be absorbed before it is laid to rest again, either to disappear or reappear as a fresh view of itself as a solution. A paced way toward variable rate multitasking is essential for survival, improved mental health and a goal-directed conscience. Being young (in mind) means testing these limits in ever changing context.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI AM AGREE THE IDAE OF arynix
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am agree about arynix's idea
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with Arynix's idea
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere's a significant difference between simple and complex multi-tasking, both in terms of how well we perform and how much our body/physiology is stressed during each state. I came to call complex multi-tasking, continuous partial attention, a name that would really distinguish between simple and complex multi-tasking (continuous partial attention being complex multi-tasking).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter a decade of observation and research, I've come to wonder if, at the heart of all this is something _really_ basic: BREATHING. Breathing is the most powerful regulator of attention, stress, emotion.... In the last 20 years, we've increased our time in front of screens (television, mobile devices, computers) and about 80% of us show signs of what I call "email apnea" or "screen apnea:" temporary cessation of breath or shallow breathing while in front of any screen. Connecting the dots here: Breathing is a primary regulator of our autonomic nervous system, and thus, key in regulating both attention and emotion. Roughly 80% of us shallow breathe or breath hold in front of screens. For me, this begged the question: how much is our compromised breathing contributing to our issues with attention?
How can we best manage attention: breathing. It's easier said than done. Breathing that can re-set the autonomic nervous system from fight or flight (sympathetic) to rest and digest (parasympathetic) gives us the physiological support to manage attention and emotion. The simplest tricks -- in and out through the nose only, exhale twice as long as the inhale. There are many who offer good information on breathing and breathing techniques from breathing.com to perfectbreathing.com to coherence.com.
Good to read a balanced article about this topic. There were many articles about a similar piece of research a couple of months ago which concluded in a very superficial way that multitasking diminishes your ability to focus.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn opposite conclusion could be drawn from the brain exercises in Luminosity which invite you concentrate on a task while providing images and noises which can be either supportive or deliberately distracting. Over time brain power improves with these kinds of exercises.
I work in a small open plan office with constant interruptions and people around me talk throughout much of the day which of course makes it very difficult to work effectively. My solution to this problem is to put on my headphones and play classical music which resets my mind onto a different frequency enabling me to better concentrate. By the definition of this quoted study this is "multitasking."
The problem with multitasking is not doing two things at once, but doing two SIMILAR things at once which compete for attention in the same part of the brain. But listening to certain sounds while writing or doodling or knitting while listening can actually improve attention and focus.
I've listened to 'education experts' tout the idea that teachers should harness this proclivity of today's students to multitask, in high schools, saying that the 'kids' listen to rock on their nanos while texting their friends and blogging or chat grouping. Simultaneously they do their schoolwork, which could easily be calculus, and watch tv online. My argument is that during periods where high levels of attention are required, the constant switching of attention does not allow the mind to grasp difficult concepts. The growth of dendrites as part of the thinking process may very well be diluted eventually resulting in 'confused' synaptic connections. Multitasking is of use when preconditioning has occurred and a task is menial not when some creative thinking is required or when learning. Daily, I see kids 'Google it' rather than solve it. I don't think that ICT is solely to blame as I see the constant intrusion of the media, programs that allow no space for reflection, Ads that do the same, the 'too fast to digest' methods of presentation all serve to precondition one's mind toward this scattered method of thinking.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a fascinating topic. I recently gave a presentation on maximizing time and the impact of multi-tasking. There are many studies out there that suggest that it takes your brain 4 times longer to process info when you're multi-tasking. That said - I like the distinction in this article about the different types of tasks and how they impact multi-tasking.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen we're in automatic pilot (not required to really process and think) we can often do two things at once. But when it requires real thinking (strategy, problem solving, prioritizing etc) that thinking is related to the PFC in the brain which has more of a difficult time processing more than one thing effectively. So I think it's about tasks.
I'm also curious if anyone has information on different age groups and multi-tasking. I have heard quotes about technology "natives" (under 12?) vs "immigrants" (the rest of us) that suggest that natives have "rewired the brain" since they only know a world with technology as we know it now. Anyone have any info on that?
Great topic. I just did a talk on maximizing time and multi-tasking is a big piece of that. What I found over and over again is that studies suggest that it takes the brain 4xs longer to multi-task. Yet based on this post, I wonder if it depends on the task.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen we're in automatic pilot we can easily do 2 things at once. But most of our jobs require more thinking that requires using the PFC in the brain (problem solving, prioritizing etc) and my understanding is that part can really only do one thing at a time....well.
What I tell clients that I work with on this subject is to have large and focused priorities and to be conscious of how each task during the day relates to those big priorities. We often work out of habit vs what we NEED to focus on. And related to Linda's point above, we also need to take the time between a situation and response to pause and reflect on what's the most conscious way to move forward. Breathing is the best way to stop and do this. Thanks Linda.
Also, does anyone have any data on the "natives" (under 12) vs "immigrants (rest of us) and our ability to multi-task?
Heidi
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've done just about every job there is (outside the financial biz). One thing I've found in the past thirty years of working life is that I "hyperfocus" far more readily and effectively than I "multitask" on tasks that involve creativity and logical thinking (I do process logic slower if employed in a linear fashion than a non-linear--maybe that's why I'm an author with titles in the video game biz). If it's a menial task like getting dressed or hygiene protocols, those are easy. Cooking, not so much. I'm also a former gourmet chef (trained at a fancy-pants culinary institute) and I found that I worked better creatively hyperfocusing on the creation of a dish and delegating the multi-taskable tasks to others. When I wasn't creating, I could multitask food prep activities easily.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI dunno what any of that actually <i>means</i> but perhaps it indicates the task involved and the person's wiring impacts what and how can be multi-tasked.
As for the frequently cited "ability to multitask essential" requirement for contemporary jobs, perhaps that's why I no longer work for others outside of an indie contractor format. I need to control what is multi and what is hyperfocus tasked so I can work effectively. Once someone else with different wiring and different priorities gets involved in the executive decisions, I'm done. But on my own, I've always been on time, high quality and an effective creative-team facilitator.
Continuity, derive from the Latin Vocabulary, incorporated in the scientific logical theory of relativity, (antonym) without interruption.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is stability and correlations, in the theory of strings, parallel with our relation of the mind, called Concentration.
The ability of our mind to concentrate in continuous strings, or parsed strings, (or the inability to stay continuously with the same activity of our thought)
There is more and more evidence in the Human behaviours, as procrastination, to postpone doing something, especially as a regular practice.
Nevertheless, “Practice makes perfect” and all Humans have the ability to change their inability to concentrate, or get back to any thought or activity of the mind, if interruption occurs.
Comparing the intelligence of the Mind, with the Intelligence of the creation of the Universe, it is wonder how the continuous infinitive strings have, and are changing the existing theory of relativity, and expanding our understanding of the Universe.
Should I say more? Infinity is continuous, Intelligence cannot be destroyed, Matter cannot be destroyed, and expanding is infinitive, is it not magic!
Linda Stone's comment is very interesting - though I only read the first line of each paragraph. I went back and read some of the rest of it and then....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn my opinion the secret to successful multi-tasking is repetition. The first few times we do a complicated task, we have to concentrate on completing it correctly. After that, we don't have to give as much of our attention to getting that particular task done, and can add other tasks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis was my first thought wen I read "It seems that chronic media-multitaskers are more susceptible to distractions." Perhaps the converse is the truth: people who are more susceptible to distractions are more apt to multi-task.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm definitely someone who falls within the category of "distractible" (i.e., reactive). It's made me good at some aspect of my role as a communications professional -- in crisis communications/issues management, it's very helpful to be able to think quickly to develop a response.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowever, it isn't so good when it comes to tasks that require longer, more sustained focus and effort, such as long-term planning. And then when it comes to personal interests, such as knitting, I've found myself spending more time surfing the web looking at possible patterns to knit/yarns to buy than I doing actual knitting. And I'd have a tendency towards "startitis" -- I'd start many knitting projects, but wouldn't finish all of them.
I've conquered the issue with knitting by restricting myself to one project at a time. I can't start the new project until I've finished the one I'm working on. Since I started using the approach in May 2009, I have finished 6 knitting projects -- more than I'd ever done in one year before. That included finishing up a pair of socks I'd started two years ago. Sometimes it's tough to slog through to the end of a project, esp. when there is boring 'finishing' work (sewing, etc.) to do. But I motivate myself with the thought of what I can knit next. I still spend time surfing and looking at pattern and yarns, in search of my new projects, but I'm finishing things too.
This has been so successful in knitting, that I'm going to try to apply it to other aspects of my life, esp. work.
"simple math expressions yield intricate visual patterns"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI understand the largest number of thoughts a person can hold simultaneously is three(3).
Let's hope these are complex.
ok
I think the ultimate multi-taskers are Musicians - particularly drummers and organists. It would be interesting to see what goes on in their minds.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a really interesting article. What I was wondering is if the...I was wondering....I.... hmmm. I know I was wondering something.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWomen do not multitask better than men. Perhaps they are typically required to handle more than one task when you consider the stay at home Mum, but that doesn't meant that men don't have to balance umpteen tasks mentally while performing one job. Case in point is graphic design; it is a constant mental balance between the client's brief, technical requirements, aesthetic, billing, software demands, time management and output. And by constant, I mean at every stage, all the time. "The client said...how should this operate...the printer needs...which menu option will fix...how long is this taking...which color palette am I using...when is this due...Save As..." etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm sure some women feel that they are doing more at once, but the idea of multitasking being gender specific is as old as the notion that we multitask at all, rather than task-divide.
Women do not multitask better than men. Perhaps they are typically required to handle more than one task when you consider the stay at home Mum, but that doesn't meant that men don't have to balance umpteen tasks mentally while performing one job. Case in point is graphic design; it is a constant mental balance between the client's brief, technical requirements, aesthetic, billing, software demands, time management and output. And by constant, I mean at every stage, all the time. "The client said...how should this operate...the printer needs...which menu option will fix...how long is this taking...which color palette am I using...when is this due...Save As..." etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm sure some women feel that they are doing more at once, but the idea of multitasking being gender specific is as old as the notion that we multitask at all, rather than task-divide.
Women do not multitask better than men. Perhaps they are typically required to handle more than one task when you consider the stay at home Mum, but that doesn't meant that men don't have to balance umpteen tasks mentally while performing one job. Case in point is graphic design; it is a constant mental balance between the client's brief, technical requirements, aesthetic, billing, software demands, time management and output. And by constant, I mean at every stage, all the time. "The client said...how should this operate...the printer needs...which menu option will fix...how long is this taking...which color palette am I using...when is this due...Save As..." etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm sure some women feel that they are doing more at once, but the idea of multitasking being gender specific is as old as the notion that we multitask at all, rather than task-divide.
I think you have it backwards: "Breadth-biased" thinkers are not evolving, due to the demands of electronic multitasking. Rather, we are born that way and therefore are more likely to enjoy multitasking in the first place. Until the advent of the internet I had no good analogy to give my friends as to how my thought process worked. I am not a "sequential" thinker, and, until recently, the only other choice was to be labeled a "random" thinker. Pooh. I am not a random thinker; I am a "thematic thinker," which I suppose you would call a "breadth-based" thinker. I can now explain my thought process by using the analogy of internet links. I'm going along on one topic, but I see a link and I click over to that related topic. Others would finish the first topic first. In school, children are admonished to "stay on task." That's not so easy for people like me, or my son. I took one of his ritalin pills one time to see what it did for me. I couldn't believe it. I walked out the door with the intent of going shopping, and all I thought about from the door to the car was the act of walking to the car! I didn't notice the cobwebs on the lawn, or the smell of the grass, or the breeze, or the mist on my face. What impoverishment! I never took a ritalin again.
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