Impact of asymmetric cognitive load and task priority manipulation on dual-task interference

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Factors

Background:

• Dual-task interference was traditionally viewed as a fixed limitation.
• Recent models propose dynamic management via goal-protection strategies like task shielding.
• Understanding strategic control's interaction with cognitive load and priorities is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how strategic control interacts with cognitive load and explicit task-priority instructions.
• To examine the effectiveness of task shielding under varying cognitive loads and priority manipulations.
• To determine if cognitive load modulates the implementation of goal-protection strategies.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-four healthy adults performed low and high cognitive load dual-task paradigms.
• Task difficulty components were manipulated within each paradigm.
• Task priority was directed towards low-difficulty, high-difficulty, or equally between components.
• Instructional compliance was verified via reaction time analysis.

Main Results:

• In high cognitive load, explicit priority instructions significantly altered dual-task interference.
• Prioritizing a task component reduced its performance decrement at the cost of the other task.
• Low cognitive load paradigms showed no significant interference differences across priority conditions.

Conclusions:

• Strategic control, including task shielding, is significantly affected by cognitive load.
• Task shielding and priority shifts are more likely to emerge under high cognitive load conditions.
• Sufficient cognitive load is necessary to necessitate proactive goal protection strategies in dual-tasking.