12/11/2023 0 Comments Serial processing![]() ![]() Capabilities and Limitations of the Cognitive System for Multitasking Serial Processing Due to Limited Resources To provide a more complete picture on the debate of parallel versus serial processing, we will also discuss under which circumstances adopting a more parallel processing strategy represents the favorable multitasking solution. We will further elaborate on the question of why people pursue the common aspiration of doing more than one task at a time (engaging in parallel processing) with the intention of increasing their performance efficiency, while serial processing is in fact more efficient. For this, we restrict this review on multitasking situations, in which two speeded choice-reaction tasks have to be performed at the same time, i.e., dual tasks (for reviews of sequential multitasking, i.e., task switching, see Monsell, 2003 Kiesel et al., 2010 Koch et al., 2010). In this review we will outline this debate, specifically focusing on the characteristics of serial versus parallel processing options and how they are theoretically conceptualized as well as empirically assessed in multitasking. Others argue that parallel processing is generally possible (e.g., by means of capacity sharing, Tombu and Jolicoeur, 2003), but that serial processing reflects the more efficient and thus primarily pursued multitasking strategy (e.g., Logan and Gordon, 2001 Miller et al., 2009). Such a conceptualization of multitasking excludes the possibility of parallel (i.e., simultaneous) cognitive processing of multiple task components 1. Most researchers explain typical performance decrements in multitasking with a structural capacity limitation, a so-called processing bottleneck (e.g., Pashler, 1998), at which certain cognitive processes proceed serially (i.e., one at a time only). Based on the current literature, we answer two key questions of multitasking: (1) What constitutes efficient and adaptive multitasking? (2) Which processes determine multitasking efficiency? However in multitasking, severe performance costs occur when combining even the simplest cognitive tasks for simultaneous execution. Does the human mind have the structural and functional means for efficient multitasking? The architectural properties of the nervous system allow for widely distributed simultaneous neural processing in billions of neurons. Growing demands on information processing due to increasing multimedia interactions call for higher efficiency. We conclude that efficient multitasking is reflected by the ability of individuals to adjust multitasking performance to environmental demands by flexibly shifting between different processing strategies of multiple task-component scheduling.Ī central aim in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience research on multitasking is to understand and optimize the underlying processes in order to increase efficiency when dealing with multiple tasks at the same time. We review empirical evidence and demonstrate that shifting between more parallel and more serial task processing critically depends on the conditions under which multiple tasks are performed. Therefore, questions focusing exclusively on either task-processing mode are too simplified. ![]() Parallel and serial processing of multiple tasks are not mutually exclusive. In addition, we highlight how methodological differences and theoretical conceptions determine the extent to which parallel processing in multitasking can be detected, to guide their employment in future research. This review features a discussion of theoretical considerations and empirical evidence regarding parallel versus serial task processing in multitasking. ![]() In the context of performance optimizations in multitasking, a central debate has unfolded in multitasking research around whether cognitive processes related to different tasks proceed only sequentially (one at a time), or can operate in parallel (simultaneously). 2Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.1Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. ![]()
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