Measuring the Switch Cost of Smartphone Use While Walking

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Smartphone use while walking presents a significant multitasking challenge.
• Understanding task-switching costs is crucial for assessing cognitive load and safety.
• Existing methods may not fully capture the complexities of real-world mobile device interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a protocol for measuring task-switching costs associated with smartphone use during walking.
• To investigate the behavioral and neurophysiological underpinnings of task switching under single-task versus dual-task conditions.
• To establish a foundation for future research on the cognitive impact of various smartphone activities while mobile.

Main Methods:

• Participants walked on a treadmill under control (walking only) and multitasking (texting while walking) conditions.
• A direction-determining task using a point-light walker figure assessed performance (accuracy, response time).
• Electroencephalography (EEG) recorded alpha oscillations to measure cognitive engagement during task switching.

Main Results:

• The protocol effectively quantifies task-switching costs, differentiating between single-task and dual-task scenarios.
• EEG data provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying varying task-switching costs.
• Behavioral and neurophysiological data can be correlated to explain observed effects.

Conclusions:

• This protocol offers a robust method for assessing the cognitive and neural costs of smartphone use while walking.
• It provides a basis for studying diverse smartphone tasks and their impact on cognitive performance.
• The findings contribute to understanding the behavioral and neurophysiological consequences of mobile multitasking.