Priority influences task selection decisions in multi-task management

The role of task priority on task selection in multi-task management is unclear based on prior work, leading to a common finding of 'priority neglect'. However, properties such as urgency and conflict may influence whether operators weigh priority in their decision. We examined the role of instructed task prioritization, bolstered by more urgent and conflicting conditions, on how operators select among emergent, concurrent tasks when multitasking. Using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) multitasking platform we tested both an auditory communications task and a manual tracking task as the priority tasks. Results showed that instructed priority significantly increased target task selection under the conflicting task conditions for both tasks. Urgency itself may modulate whether instructions to prioritize affect task selection choices when multitasking, and therefore counter to prior results instructions may yet be useful for helping operators select a higher priority task under conflict, a generalizable effect to be further explored.

A Fundamental Cognitive Taxonomy for Cognition Aids

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to organize the literature on cognitive aids to allow comparison of findings across studies and link the applied work of aid development to psychological constructs and theories of cognition.

BACKGROUND

Numerous taxonomies have been developed, all of which label cognitive aids via their surface characteristics. This complicates integration of the literature, as a type of aid, such as a checklist, can provide many different forms of support (cf. prospective memory for steps and decision support for alternative diagnoses).

METHOD

In this synthesis of the literature, we address the disparate findings and organize them at their most basic level: Which cognitive processes does the aid need to support? Which processes do they support? Such processes include attention, perception, decision making, memory, and declarative knowledge.

RESULTS

Cognitive aids can be classified into the processes they support. Some studies focused on how an aid supports the cognitive processes demanded by the task (aid function). Other studies focused on supporting the processes needed to utilize the aid (aid usability).

CONCLUSION

Classifying cognitive aids according to the processes they support allows comparison across studies in the literature and a formalized way of planning the design of new cognitive aids. Once the literature is organized, theory-based guidelines and applied examples can be used by cognitive aid researchers and designers.

APPLICATION

Aids can be designed according to the cognitive processes they need to support. Designers can be clear about their focus, either examining how to support specific cognitive processes or improving the usability of the aid.

Task Switching in Rock Climbing: Validation of a Computational Model for Different Skill Levels

Thirty-two rock climbers, all self-identifying as capable of lead climbing (place protective gear in the rock, to mitigate the risks of falling), climbed an outdoor route while placing what they believed was the necessary amount of protection. Cameras recorded the percentage of time they spent climbing upward (productivity) relative to placing protection (safety). We then applied STOM (strategic task overload model) to predict percent time-on-task, using the differences in their ratings of task interest, task priority, and task difficulty as predictors. The model significantly predicted time on task for the participants categorized as experts, but not for those categorized as non-experts. Time on the climbing (versus protection) task for the expert group, but not the non-expert group, was also predicted by a derived measure inferred to assess risk tolerance in climbing.

The Status of the Strategic Task Overload Model (STOM) for Predicting Multi-Task Management

A model for task switching which focuses on the decision making of operators in overloaded multitask conditions is reviewed and new research presented. The STOM model is an ongoing effort and as such, work is now accumulating, which serves to validate the model as a useful predictive method, but also is uncovering uncertainties that require further investigation. Here we summarize the origins of the model, which was informed by past modeling efforts, a literature review and a meta-analysis. We then describe in detail the basic parameters of STOM and the current status of each, before discussing future directions and six uncertainties uncovered when building our understanding of task switching choice.