This edited collection combines contributions from academics and human factor specialists upon the theme of multiple-task performance - the ability of the mind to control several actions simultaneously.
This book deals with theories of multiple-task performance and focuses on learning and performance. It is primarily for professionals in human factors, psychology, or engineering who are interested in multiple-task performance but have no formal training in the area.
This book concentrates on the last twenty years of research in the area of goal setting and performance at work. The editors and contributors believe goals affect action, and this volume has a lineup of international contributors who look at the recent theories and implications in this area for IO psychologists and human resource management academics and graduate students.
Multitasking refers to performance of multiple tasks. The most prominent types of multitasking are situations including either temporal overlap of the execution of multiple tasks (i.e., dual tasking) or executing multiple tasks in varying sequences (i.e., task switching). In the literature, numerous attempts have aimed at theorizing about the specific characteristics of executive functions that control interference between simultaneously and/or sequentially active component of task-sets in these situations. However, these approaches have been rather vague regarding explanatory concepts (e.g., task-set inhibition, preparation, shielding, capacity limitation), widely lacking theories on detailed mechanisms and/ or empirical evidence for specific subcomponents. The present research topic aims at providing a selection of contributions on the details of executive functioning in dual-task and task switching situations. The contributions specify these executive functions by focusing on (1) fractionating assumed mechanisms into constituent subcomponents, (2) their variations by age or in clinical subpopulations, and/ or (3) their plasticity as a response to practice and training.
The empirical and theoretical analysis of executive control processes, dormant for many years, has grown to become one of the most fertile areas of research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Because executive functions are thought to have a pervasive role in maintaining optimal information processing across many processing situations, issues related to executive control cut across many traditional research divides. Unique among many other areas of research in cognition, questions about the influence of ageing have figured prominently in executive control research. There is accumulating evidence of age-related changes in frontal/executive functions. The union of research on executive functioning with research on the cognitive effects of ageing could provide the theoretical framework for understanding the widespread influence of ageing on cognition. This special issue brings together well-known researchers in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience who approach the question of executive control using a wide range of methods from traditional behavioural studies, quantitative and computational modelling, and functional neuroimaging. The emphasis of these contributions is on a concise overview and integration of relevant theoretical ideas and empirical findings. By bringing together a diverse group of contributors, this special issue can serve researchers and students both as a summary of current research and as a starting point toward further explorations on the relations between executive control and the cognitive influences of ageing.
It has become accepted in the neuroscience community that perception and performance are quintessentially multisensory by nature. Using the full palette of modern brain imaging and neuroscience methods, The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes details current understanding in the neural bases for these phenomena as studied across species, stages of development, and clinical statuses. Organized thematically into nine sub-sections, the book is a collection of contributions by leading scientists in the field. Chapters build generally from basic to applied, allowing readers to ascertain how fundamental science informs the clinical and applied sciences. Topics discussed include: Anatomy, essential for understanding the neural substrates of multisensory processing Neurophysiological bases and how multisensory stimuli can dramatically change the encoding processes for sensory information Combinatorial principles and modeling, focusing on efforts to gain a better mechanistic handle on multisensory operations and their network dynamics Development and plasticity Clinical manifestations and how perception and action are affected by altered sensory experience Attention and spatial representations The last sections of the book focus on naturalistic multisensory processes in three separate contexts: motion signals, multisensory contributions to the perception and generation of communication signals, and how the perception of flavor is generated. The text provides a solid introduction for newcomers and a strong overview of the current state of the field for experts.
Eye witness testimony, training, driving, and display design: these are just a few of the real-world domains in which depend on undivided attention. Emphasizing the link between theory and application, Applied Attention Theory provides a deep understanding of how theories of attention, developed from laboratory-based psychological research, can inform our understanding of everyday human performance in a wide number of applications and environments. The basic theories discussed concern divided, focused, and selective attention, and areas of application include mental workload measurement, multi-tasking, distracted driving, complex display design, education, and the training of attentional skills. Includes an extensive reference list and citations to both basic and applied work Provides intuitive descriptions of attentional phenomena in the world beyond the laboratory Discusses applications of attention theory to diverse areas such as graph design, distracted driving, and process control Offers an engineering orientation as well as a psychological orientation to research Highlights the critical role of effort in single task behavior, such as decision and choice, to the extent that humans tend to be effort-conserving in their choice of activities Examines how multiple tasks are managed in a discrete fashion