Richard Schweickert | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Task switching and response correspondence in the psychological refractory period paradigm.

Three experiments examined the effects of task switching and response correspondence in a psychological refractory period paradigm. A letter task (vowel-consonant) and a digit task (odd-even) were combined to form 4 possible dual-task pairs in each trial: letter-letter, letter-digit, digit-digit, and digit-letter. Foreknowledge of task transition (repeat or switch) and task identity (letter or digit) was varied across experiments: no foreknowledge in Experiment 1, partial foreknowledge (task transition only) in Experiment 2, and full foreknowledge in Experiment 3. For all experiments, the switch cost for Task 2 was additive with stimulus onset asynchrony, and the response-correspondence effect for Task 2 was numerically smaller in the switch condition than in the repeat condition. These outcomes suggest that reconfiguration for Task 2 takes place after the central processing of Task 1 and that the crosstalk correspondence effect is due to response activation by way of stimulus-response associations.

Cognition↗

PubMed2003

Steps toward building mathematical and computer models from cognitive task analyses.

Typically, detailed quantitative and computer models of human operators performing real world tasks cannot easily be developed. We propose a technique that more easily allows for that development. We propose that when a cognitive task analysis has been carried out, a computer simulation model useful for approximations of task completion time is often within reach. The first step is to construct an activity network or order-of-processing diagram from the task analysis. Second, activity durations are found in the literature or approximated through multidimensional scaling. Finally, equations are written for calculating task completion time, or a program is written for simulations to estimate this time. Resulting models can be useful for optimizing system design. The approach is illustrated with an activity network by W. D. Gray, B. E. John, and M. E. Atwood (1993) for a telephone operator task. Simulations demonstrate the feasibility of using multidimensional scaling to obtain approximate activity durations. The approach is also illustrated with an order-of-processing diagram representing drivers reading roadside message displays. We point out that if a more detailed picture of unobservable mental processes in a task is needed, techniques have been developed for this through analysis of response times. Actual or potential applications of this research include system design, human-computer interaction, message comprehension, and simulation of information-processing tasks.

Cognition↗

PubMed2001

EDITORIAL.

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Journal Article↗