Everyday Multitasking Abilities in Older HIV+ Adults: Neurobehavioral Correlates and the Mediating Role of Metacognition

Media Multitasking in Mixed Reality Learning Situations: What Determines Its Effectiveness?

Background

Media multitasking (MMT) is common among adolescents, especially with the introduction of digital educational tools in mixed reality environments. However, there has been limited research on MMT in educational settings with electronic learning tools including augmented reality (AR).

Objective

To study MMT in conjunction with metacognition, technology attitudes, and effectiveness of learning activities for 13-14 year olds in a mixed reality learning situation.

Design

The experiment involved organizing learning activities in MMT format using digital tools, including AR. The MMT experimental group was given the option of searching the internet for information about a problem; the control group was given only a video, the e-textbook and AR application. Eye tracking measured task switching, while MMT efficiency was assessed by the number of completed tasks and test results. Metacognition was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), and attitudes toward digital devices were examined using the Technology Attitudes Questionnaire.

Results

Most of the adolescents (80%) preferred MMT, and no significant differences in test performance were found between the groups. Multitasking correlated with better cognitive control and metacognition scores and negatively correlated with technophobia. Learning activity effectiveness in mixed reality was assessed by the number and time of fixations on tasks in conjunction with metacognition and cognitive control. Interactive digital tools in education improve learning efficiency.

Conclusion

Adolescents' preference for multitasking does not reduce learning productivity, but it does not guarantee success either. This suggests an internalization process of using digital technologies among adolescents. As a result, MMT may be gradually mastered as a new tool that is necessary for adaptation and success in an increasingly complex technological reality. Cognitive control and metacognitive planning significantly contribute to MMT efficiency, highlighting the importance of a conscious MMT strategy for effective learning.

Know thyself: Executive functioning and sex predict self-appraisal of functional abilities in community-dwelling older adults

Objective: The capacity for accurate self-appraisals of age-related changes in cognitive and functional abilities is integral to the maintenance of independence in later life, yet there is little understanding of the factors that place nondemented older adults at risk for poor self-awareness. This study examined the potential contributions of executive functioning (EF), crystallized intelligence (IQ-Cr), and sex in predicting congruence between performance and self-appraisals of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in a group of community-dwelling older adults. Method: A group of 150 nondemented, community-dwelling older adults (White and majority highly educated) completed measures of EF and IQ-Cr. Participants also completed five timed IADL tasks and self-appraised their performance relative to others of similar age. Results: Sex [F(1,148)  =  7.75, p = .006, ηp2 = .05] and EF [(F(1,147) = 5.30, p = .02, ηp2 = .04)], but not IQ-Cr, predicted the relationship between performance and self-appraisals, such that those with lower EF and those of male sex overestimated their performance more than those with higher EF and females. Conclusions: Findings indicate that having average to below average EF abilities and being of male sex are risk factors for less accurate self-report of IADL abilities and as such might represent important considerations when assessing IADL abilities via self-report among largely independent, community-dwelling older adults.

Individual differences in everyday multitasking behavior and its relation to cognition and personality

Our ability to multitask-focus on multiple tasks simultaneously-is one of the most critical functions of our cognitive system. This capability has shown to have relations to cognition and personality in empirical studies, which have received much attention recently. This review article integrates the available findings to examine how individual differences in multitasking behavior are linked with different cognitive constructs and personality traits to conceptualize what multitasking behavior represents. In this review, we highlight the methodological differences and theoretical conceptions. Cognitive constructs including executive functions (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition), working memory, relational integration, divided attention, reasoning, and prospective memory were investigated. Concerning personality, the traits of polychronicity, impulsivity, and the five-factor model were considered. A total of 43 studies met the inclusion criteria and entered the review. The research synthesis directs us to propose two new conceptual models to explain multitasking behavior as a psychometric construct. The first model demonstrates that individual differences in multitasking behavior can be explained by cognitive abilities. The second model proposes that personality traits constitute a moderating effect on the relation between multitasking behavior and cognition. Finally, we provide possible future directions for the line of research.

Revisiting the dynamic comprehensive model of self-awareness: a scoping review and thematic analysis of its impact 20 years later

This study aimed to (1) describe the scope of research related to the Dynamic Comprehensive Model of Awareness (DCMA) (Toglia & Kirk, 2000); (2) identify themes and support for key model postulates; and (3) suggest future research directions related to this model. Using PRISMA scoping guidelines, 366 articles were reviewed, and 54 articles met our inclusion criteria. Selected studies were clustered into three themes: (1) the relationship between general and online self-awareness (50%); (2) interventions based on the model (41%); and (3) factors contributing to self-awareness (9%). Most studies were conducted with participants with acquired brain injury (BI) and traumatic BI (68%), most used a cross-sectional design (50%), and most intervention studies utilized a single-subject design (18%), followed by an experimental design (9%). This review provides evidence for the wide application of the DCMA across varying ages and populations. The need for a multidimensional assessment approach is recognized; however, stronger evidence that supports a uniform assessment of online self-awareness is needed. The intervention studies frequently described the importance of direct experience in developing self-awareness; however, few studies compared how intervention methods to influence general versus online self-awareness, or how cognitive capacity, self-efficacy, psychological factors, and context, influence the development of self-awareness.

An Empirical Mediation Analysis of Mechanisms Underlying HIV-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), characterized by alterations in the core components of cognitive function and age-related disease progression, persist in the post-cART era. However, the neurobehavioral mechanisms that mediate alterations in the core components of cognitive function and the progression of neurocognitive impairments have yet to be systematically evaluated. To address this knowledge gap, statistical mediation analysis was assessed, providing a critical opportunity to empirically evaluate putative neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying HAND. Neurocognitive assessments, conducted in HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) and control animals across the functional lifespan (i.e., Postnatal Day (PD) 30 to PD 600), tapped multiple cognitive domains including preattentive processes, learning, sustained attention, and long-term episodic memory. Three longitudinal mediation models were utilized to assess whether deficits in preattentive processes mediate alterations in learning, sustained attention and/or long-term episodic memory over time. Preattentive processes partially mediated the relationship between genotype and learning, genotype and sustained attention, and genotype and long-term episodic memory across the functional lifespan, explaining between 44% and 58% of the HIV-1 transgene effect. Understanding the neurobehavioral mechanisms mediating alterations in HAND may provide key targets for the development of a diagnostic biomarker, novel therapeutics, and cure/restoration strategies.

Conceptualizing and Assessing Everyday Functioning in the Context of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

Combination antiretroviral therapy has reduced the rates of severe HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), but the prevalence of milder forms of HAND that can affect everyday functioning remains high. As HIV-infected adults approach near-normal life expectancies, they may become increasingly susceptible to declines in everyday functioning secondary to a variety of physical and mental factors, including HAND. Although impairments in everyday functioning are a hallmark of HAND diagnoses and can adversely influence quality of life, there are no gold standard measures of this fundamentally important and complex construct. This chapter provides a brief review of the various self-report, clinician-rated, and performance-based methods by which everyday functioning is measured in the setting of HIV disease, including global activities of daily living and specific domains of medication adherence, financial management, automobile driving, and vocational functioning.