ABSTRACT
Research showed mixed findings regarding the relationships between daily multitasking experience and laboratory multitasking performance. One measurement issue was the low reliability and validity of using a single measurement for daily multitasking experience. Another measurement issue was the popular use of simple laboratory paradigms that may or may not capture well cognitive processes underlying real-life multitasking. The current study revisited the relationship between daily multitasking experience and multitasking performance with a better design. Multiple measurements were used to ensure good reliability and validity. This included a mobile phone task switching measurement-an arguably better proxy for daily multitasking experience and three realistic multitasking paradigms that mimic real life multitasking situations. The results showed that (1) phone switching was not significantly associated with the media multitasking index, suggesting that they were measuring different aspects of multitasking experience; (2) indicators of the multitasking performance were moderately correlated among themselves, suggesting that different realistic multitasking paradigms were measuring overlapping multitasking abilities; and, intriguingly, (3) no significant association between multitasking experience and performance indicators was found. One possibility is that people can only benefit from daily multitasking practice when they engaged in daily multitasking activities with an intention to improve the performance. Other possibilities and implications were also discussed.
Subject(s)
Task Performance and Analysis , Humans , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Background: Multitasking is a rapidly evolving construct and we are in dire need of a sound tool for measuring multitasking behaviors and abilities across socio-cultural contexts. To this end, this study has put forward a cultural adaptation (through back translation) of an already developed (Kushniryk, 2008) measure i.e., Communication Specific Multitasking Measurement Instrument. Objective: This study is intended to translate, adapt, and validate a multitasking measure i.e., Communication Specific Multitasking Measurement Instrument (CSMMI; Kushniryk, 2008) in the context of collectivist culture in Pakistan. Design: The study was composed of two parts. The first part was completed in two phases. Phase I employed back and forward translation methods to translate the multitasking measure into an indigenous language. Phase II provided empirical validity of the translated and adapted instrument (CSMMI) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on data collected from a sample of 230 married individuals. The second part of the study was designed to establish construct validity of the translated instrument using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a larger data set of married individuals. Results: EFA using a varimax rotation on all 19 items of CSMMI showed that the instrument is a three-dimensional measure. CFA confirmed that the translated and adapted instrument is also a three-dimensional measure on the larger data set. Analysis of the intraclass correlation and alpha coefficient provided sound evidence for validity and reliability of the measure (CSMMI). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the translated and adapted multitasking measure (CSMMI) is reliable and valid when applied to the culturally collectivist population of Pakistan. This also pertains to any other populations where the translation is adequately applicable.
ABSTRACT
Standing upright on stable and unstable surfaces requires postural control. Postural control declines as humans age, presenting greater risk of fall-related injury and other negative health outcomes. Secondary cognitive tasks can further impact balance, which highlights the importance of coordination between cognitive and motor processes. Past research indicates that this coordination relies on executive function (EF; the ability to control, maintain, and flexibly direct attention to achieve goals), which coincidentally declines as humans age. This suggests that secondary cognitive tasks requiring EF may exert a greater influence on balance compared to non-EF secondary tasks, and this interaction could be exaggerated among older adults. In the current study, we had younger and older adults complete two Surface Stability conditions (standing upright on stable vs. unstable surfaces) under varying Cognitive Load; participants completed EF (Shifting, Inhibiting, Updating) and non-EF (Processing Speed) secondary cognitive tasks on tablets, as well as a single task control scenario with no secondary cognitive task. Our primary balance measure of interest was sway area, which was measured with an array of wearable inertial measurement unit sensors. Replicating prior work, we found a main effect of Surface Stability with less sway on stable surfaces compared to unstable surfaces, and we found an interaction between Age and Surface Stability with older adults exhibiting significantly greater sway selectively on unstable surfaces compared to younger adults. New findings revealed a main effect of Cognitive Load on sway, with the single task condition having significantly less sway than two of the EF conditions (Updating and Shifting) and the non-EF condition (Processing Speed). We also found an interaction of Cognitive Load and Surface Stability on postural control, where Surface Stability impacted sway the most for the single task and two of the executive function conditions (Inhibition and Shifting). Interestingly, Age did not interact with Cognitive Load, suggesting that both age groups were equally impacted by secondary cognitive tasks, regardless the presence or type of secondary cognitive task. Taken together, these patterns suggest that cognitive demands vary in their impact on posture control across stable vs. unstable surfaces, and that EF involvement may not be the driving mechanism explaining cognitive-motor dual-task interference on balance.