Abstract
Recent evidence indicates that a central bottleneck causes much of the slowing that occurs when two tasks are performed at the same time. This bottleneck might reflect a structural limitation inherent in the cognitive architecture. Alternatively, the bottleneck might reflect strategic (i.e., voluntary) postponement, induced by instructions to emphasize one task over the other. To distinguish structural limitations from strategic postponement, we examine a new paradigm in which subjects are told to place equal emphasis on both tasks and to emit both responses at about the same time. An experiment using this paradigm demonstrated patterns of interference that cannot easily be attributed to strategic postponement, preparation effects, or conflicts in response production. The data conform closely to the predictions of structural central bottleneck models.
Article PDF
References
Borger, R. (1963). The refractory period and serial choice-reactions.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,15, 1–12.
Carrier, M., &Pashler, H. (1995). Attentional limitations in memory retrieval.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,21, 1339–1348.
Coltheart, M., &Coltheart, V. (1972). On Rumelhart’s model of visual information-processing.Canadian Journal of Psychology,26, 292–295.
Cooper, L., &Shepard, R. N. (1973). Chronometric studies of the rotation of mental images. In W. G. Chase (Ed.),Visual information processing (pp. 75–176). New York: Academic Press.
De Jong, R. (1993). Multiple bottlenecks in overlapping task performance.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,19, 965–989.
Fagot, C., &Pashler, H. (1992). Making two responses to a single object: Implications for the central attentional bottleneck.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,18, 1058–1079.
Gladstones, W., Regan, M., &Lee, R. (1989). Division of attention: The single-channel hypothesis revisited.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,41A, 1–17.
Gottsdanker, R. (1980). The ubiquitous role of preparation. In G. E. Stelmach & J. Requin (Eds.), Tutorials in motor behavior (pp. 315–371). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Kalsbeek, J., &Sykes, R. (1967). Objective measurement of mental load.Acta Psychologica,27, 253–261.
Keele, S. W. (1973).Attention and human performance. Pacific Palisades, CA: Goodyear.
Koch, R. (1995, Month?).Hick’s law and the psychological refractory Period. Paper presented at the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam.
McCann, R., &Johnston, J. (1992). Locus of the single-channel bottleneck in dual-task interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,18, 471–484.
Meyer, D. E., &Kieras, D. E. (1997a). A computational theory of human multiple-task performance: The EPIC information-processing architecture and strategic response deferment model.Psychological Review,104, 1–65.
Meyer, D. E., &Kieras, D. E. (1997b). A computational theory of human multiple-task performance: Part 2. Accounts of psychological refractory phenomena.Psychological Review,107, 749–791.
Miller, J. O. (1982). Divided attention: Evidence for coactivation with redundant signals.Cognitive Psychology,14, 247–279.
Pashler, H. (1984). Processing stages in overlapping tasks: Evidence for a central bottleneck.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,10, 358–377.
Pashler, H. (1994a). Dual-task interference in simple tasks: Data and theory.Psychological Bulletin,16, 220–244.
Pashler, H. (1994b). Graded capacity-sharing in dual-task interference?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,20, 330–342.
Pashler, H., &Johnston, J. C. (1989). Chronometric evidence for central postponement in temporally overlapping tasks.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,41A, 19–45.
Roberts, S., &Pashler, H. (2000). How persuasive is a good fit? A comment on theory-testing.Psychological Review,107, 358–367.
Ruthruff, E., Miller, J. O., &Lachmann, T. (1995). Does mental rotation require central mechanisms?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,21, 552–570.
Schweickert, R. (1978). A critical path generalization of the additive factor method: Analysis of a Stroop task.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,18, 105–139.
Schweickert, R., &Townsend, J. T. (1989). A trichotomy: Interactions of factors prolonging sequential and concurrent mental processes in stochastic discrete mental (PERT) networks.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,33, 328–347.
Sternberg, S. (1969). The discovery of processing stages: Extensions of Donder’s method.Acta Psychologica,30, 276–315.
Vincent, S. B. (1912). The function of the viborissae in the behavior of the white rat.Behavioral Monographs,1 (No. 5).
Welford, A. T. (1952). The “psychological refractory period” and the timing of high-speed performance—A review and a theory.British Journal of Psychology,43, 2–19.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
During the course of this research, E.R. received support from National Research Service Award 1F31-MH10922 and from a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship. The research was also supported by Grant 1-R29-MH45584 from the National Institute of Mental Health to H.E.P.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ruthruff, E., Pashler, H.E. & Klaassen, A. Processing bottlenecks in dual-task performance: Structural limitation or strategic postponement?. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 8, 73–80 (2001). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196141
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196141