High and Low Media Multitaskers Differ on Cued But Not Voluntary Task Switching

Media multitasking (i.e., the use of multiple forms of media at the same time) is an increasingly common behavior. As media multitasking requires switching between different forms of media, there has been great interest in its relationship with the ability to switch between tasks. Clear patterns have not emerged in cued task switching, as studies have found that high media multitaskers switch more effectively, switch less effectively, or that there are no differences between high and low media multitaskers. The voluntary task switching paradigm provides an alternate and yet unexplored perspective that could reveal differences between high and low media multitaskers in terms of how effectively and how often they switch. In Experiment 1, high media multitaskers had a smaller cued task switching switch cost, but no difference in voluntary switch cost or switch rate. Experiment 2 explored whether voluntary task switching differences emerged at longer response stimulus intervals (RSIs). Again, no group difference was observed in voluntary switch cost or switch rate. We discuss the differences between what is assessed in cued and voluntary task switching paradigms and subsequent implications for media multitasking.