If I asked you how many things you are able to do at one
time, what would you say? 1? 2? More?
Well, if you said anything more than one, you are wrong.
What about multi-tasking? Ah, that is where this all begins. Let’s start off by
recognizing that multi-tasking is, in fact, not a thing. We are not capable of
dividing our attention between multiple tasks without our work suffering. Perhaps
you are watching a movie while reading this blog post or checking your phone
for a text message. Now as you finish reading this sentence, can you think back
and tell me exactly what just happened in your movie? I didn’t think so.
Research has shown that no matter the source of the various
tasks, multitasking is not only impossible, but it can also be detrimental.
According to research done at Stanford University in 2009 (see reference link
at the bottom of the post), even if all of the multitasking is related, such as
all media tasks, the allegedly successful “multi-tasker” is easily distracted, lacks
focus, and cannot control his/her memory. These consequences to multi-tasking
can even become fatal when it comes to the ever-so-popular topic of texting
while driving. We all say we don’t do it and we all blame teenagers and how naïve
and inexperienced they are as drivers as well as how caught up they are with
the media era. However, I can say from personal experience that every time I
have come close to being hit by a car (while in the crosswalk, mind you), it
has been an adult or even a parent
behind the wheel barely avoiding an accident
with my unprotected, pedestrian body.
Furthering the texting while driving example, let’s run
through this together to see what happens to our attention when we do something
like that. So as you are driving, you are focusing on the road (I hope!). Then
you hear that ever-so-obnoxious ding of your cell phone in the passenger seat,
you reach over to pick it up, and look down to see what the notification was
for. Ooh a text message! Now that you realize your mom, dad, brother, sister,
boyfriend, girlfriend, or whoever REALLY wants to get in contact with you and
say “what’s up,” you decide you need to reply A.S.A.P. When you look down at
your phone to reply to the message, you no longer pay attention to the road.
You have no idea if a turn is coming up, or a crosswalk, or a tree, or a dead
end. You have absolutely no idea, even if you think you have a photographic
memory of the road and are absolutely flawless at estimating distance
travelled. As you realize that you have no idea where your car is currently
going and wonder if you’re about to run off the road, you look back up at the
road and change your attention to driving. However, in doing this you have
probably just forgotten what that text message said and what you were planning to
respond. Uh-oh. Now you have to try to remember what it was you were going to
say and as you work towards recalling this very information, you once again
stray your attention away from the road. It is absolutely impossible for you to
focus all, or even half, of your attention on each task simultaneously.
However, because the switch in focus happens so quickly we believe that we are
in fact good at multi-tasking and that we are paying full attention.
So the next time you have to sit down and write an essay or
do your math homework, or even write a blog post, turn off "27 Dresses," ignore
your phone, complete the task at hand and then move on. Your brain will thank
you, your grades will thank you, and really, what’s the harm? I’m sure Jill or
Bob or whoever it is will still want to know "what’s up" in an hour or so. And now you understand how divided attention works (or doesn't work!). I promised to teach you something new in each post, after all.
Stanford research link: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august24/multitask-research-study-082409.html
Hi Kaci,
ReplyDeleteTexting and driving is such a good example to show that we are not capable of multi-tasking. This term has become so popular lately and I think that we use it more to show how much we can accomplish over a short period of time instead of in the same moment in time. I have become pretty good at recognizing when my attention shifts and bring it back to where it belongs. However, this does not change the fact that I have missed something while trying. One example that comes to mind is when I am on the phone at work and someone comes to my desk and tries to talk to me. I try to tell them that I will be with them in just a moment and suddenly realize that I have missed what the person on the phone has just said. It is very frustrating. Of course there is a chance at upsetting the person on the phone but luckily in this case, it is not likely to cause injury or death as is possible with driving and texting.
Our lives are busier than ever and multitasking has taken on a whole new meaning. Not so long ago our automobiles offered an uncomplicated environment to reflect and ponder our day. Today the use of cell phones while driving a vehicle is a huge contender for a driver’s attention. I can clearly see that talking or texting on a cell phone and driving an automobile can be lethal by placing a higher demand on our cognitive abilities and taxing our capacity to focus and pay attention. Your blog does indicate that research has shown that there are risk for the “multi-tasker” when it comes to texting and driving such as lack of focus and cannot control his/her memory. I wanted to point out some specific risks that may help the agreement against texting and driving. One of the major risks is that it reduces memory recollection. Drivers using a cell phone were unable to recall objects and details in the driving environment due to memory encoding or retrieval difficulties. This can lead to inattention blindness. There is a reduction in reaction time and they are ten times more likely to miss a stop sign and respond in braking. All these skills are cognitive in nature and with multitasking the brain has to work in overdrive. We know that driver’s behavior is equal to performance and it impacts the risk of injuries and mishaps. Multitasking while driving whether it is eating, grooming ourselves or cellphone use diverts the driver’s attention, it is dangerous and it is a growing problem in this society. My only question is this, as multitasking because more of everyday practice will our brains learns how to compensate?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! I am embarrassed to say that my "multi-tasking" skills is one of the highlights on my resume! I was surprised to learn this week that it is basically impossible to multi-task and that our brain actually stops one task to focus on the other task at hand. Texting and driving is a great example of a dangerous place for divided attention.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so from what everyone is saying in this blog is that it is basically impossible to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. Or is it? I understand that when "multi-tasking" is being done we seem to be able to divide our attention between more than on task and the argument is that our brain are pays the price for doing so. I don't feel that we are really paying much of a price. Let's take a look at it. When you do divide attention you most likely miss some details or become less efficient because you're not 100 percent focused on one thing. The brain can only focus on one task at a time, and we find ourselves shifting our focus to something else very quickly. By switching our focus we lose details and they simply slip away. I am not sure that is high price to pay for what we can accomplish. Take for example how well marching bands perform. I have always been fascinated by their performances at half time during football games. And the every famous Macy's Day parade or the players at Disney World main street. Now, that is multitasking at its best! They are walking in a detailed pattern, playing an instrument, reading notes and noting the positions of fellow band players. I am sure at times looking into the massive crowds of people that have gather for the event hoping to notice a familiar face or two. Believe me, I never gave much thought to it before this class, but they perform extremely efficient and their brains are certainly focusing on more that one task at a time and there is a great deal of detail in there movement and music that they play. I also thought about some other activities that were similar and came up with synchronize swimming. I realize that both of these groups devote hours upon hours of practice to be able to achieve such result, but I don't see details slipping away and getting lost. I would be interested in what others have to say on this, all comments welcomed.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to marching bands and things of that sort, I would say that is muscle memory not multitasking. Many of them (or the good ones anyways) have memorized their notes and are not trying to multitask by reading the notes and playing at the same time. However, even those who do - the two things are related, hand in hand, and work together; they don't require a divide in attention. Musicians are trained to play the notes as they read them; it's less multitasking and more musical skill/ability and practice. In all reality, successfully multitasking is not a thing. I was a cheerleader, for example, and while I could perform a cheer or routine while looking around at the crowd, that was totally due to muscle memory. However, if anyone in my stunt group lost focus trying to do something else while doing the stunt - the stunt failed.
DeleteThis is how I see it, at least.