Expertise, attention, and memory in sensorimotor skill execution: Impact of novel task constraints on dual-task performance and episodic memory

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 1211-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sian L. Beilock ◽  
Sarah A. Wierenga ◽  
Thomas H. Carr
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Task Constraints ◽  
Episodic Memories ◽  
Task Conditions

Two experiments explored the attention and memory processes governing sensorimotor skill. Experiment 1 compared novice and experienced golf putting performance in single-task (putting in isolation) and dual-task conditions (putting while performing an auditory word search task). At specific intervals, participants also produced episodic descriptions of specific putts. Experiment 2 assessed novice performance following training on the same putting task. In Experiment 1, experienced golfers did not differ in putting accuracy from single- to dual-task conditions and, compared to novices, had higher recognition memory for words heard while putting but diminished episodic memories of specific putts. However, when using an s-shaped arbitrarily weighted “funny putter” designed to disrupt the mechanics of skill execution, experienced golfers produced extensive episodic memories of specific putts but showed decreased dual-task putting accuracy and recognition memory for secondary task words. Trained novices produced results intermediate between the untrained novices and experienced golfers. As predicted by current theories of practice-based automaticity, expertise leads to proceduralized control that does not require constant attention. Resources are free to devote to secondary task demands, yet episodic memory for primary task performance is impoverished. Novel task constraints (e.g., a funny putter) increase attention to execution, compromising secondary task performance but enhancing memory for skill execution.

Flexibility in Resource Allocation and the Performance of Time-Sharing Tasks

1988 ◽  
Vol 32 (19) ◽  
pp. 1466-1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Spitz
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Time Sharing ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Mental Resources

The extent and nature of the ability to control the allocation of mental resources between the components of a dual task was investigated in three separate experiments. Using a variable priority (demand) methodology it was found that subjects could manipulate their performance level, however their ability to meet specific demand levels was limited. Training subjects under single or dual-task conditions using a wide range of task demand significantly improved dual task performance and degree of control over resource allocation as compared to performance following practice under a narrow range of task demands or under single task fixed demand conditions. Single task performance among all groups improved to the same degree. It was concluded that training subjects under a wide range of task demands increases the range of performance levels over which mental resources can be flexibly allocated for those tasks and improves time sharing performance. Implications for the design of training for complex task performance are discussed.

scholarly journals Adjustment of cognitive control to the frequency of dual-task interference

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Olszanowski ◽  
Natalia Szostak
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
High Level ◽  
Dual Task Interference

This study explored whether the control mechanisms recruited for optimising performance are similar for dual-task and interference-task settings. We tested whether the frequency of appearance of a secondary task resulted in an adjustment of anticipatory and reflexive forms of attentional control, as has been observed with other interference tasks (e.g. stroop and flanker). The results of two experiments demonstrated a proportion congruency effect (PCE): when a secondary task frequently appeared, primary task performance was slower. Additionally, there was a relative slowdown of dual-task performance in blocks wherein the secondary task appeared infrequently compared to blocks wherein it appeared frequently. However, this slowdown occurred when the primary task entailed a low level of control (Experiment 1) but was absent when it demanded a high level of control (Experiment 2). Overall, the results suggest that level of control can be adjusted to task demands related to the frequency of the secondary task.

Effects of Concurrent Manual Task Performance on Connected Speech Acoustics in Individuals With Parkinson Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 2099-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Whitfield ◽  
Zoe Kriegel ◽  
Adam M. Fullenkamp ◽  
Daryush D. Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Speech Acoustics ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Manual Task ◽  
Task Conditions

Purpose Prior investigations suggest that simultaneous performance of more than 1 motor-oriented task may exacerbate speech motor deficits in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the extent to which performing a low-demand manual task affected the connected speech in individuals with and without PD. Method Individuals with PD and neurologically healthy controls performed speech tasks (reading and extemporaneous speech tasks) and an oscillatory manual task (a counterclockwise circle-drawing task) in isolation (single-task condition) and concurrently (dual-task condition). Results Relative to speech task performance, no changes in speech acoustics were observed for either group when the low-demand motor task was performed with the concurrent reading tasks. Speakers with PD exhibited a significant decrease in pause duration between the single-task (speech only) and dual-task conditions for the extemporaneous speech task, whereas control participants did not exhibit changes in any speech production variable between the single- and dual-task conditions. Conclusions Overall, there were little to no changes in speech production when a low-demand oscillatory motor task was performed with concurrent reading. For the extemporaneous task, however, individuals with PD exhibited significant changes when the speech and manual tasks were performed concurrently, a pattern that was not observed for control speakers. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8637008

scholarly journals Association of Affect and Gait Performance in Dual-Task Walking in Non-Demented Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 287-287
Author(s):  
Deepan Guharajan ◽  
Roee Holtzer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Gait Velocity ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Aging populations are at increased risk to experience mobility disability, which is associated with falls, frailty, and mortality. Previous studies have not examined the concurrent associations of both positive and negative affect with gait velocity. We examined whether individual differences in positive and negative affect predicted dual-task performance decrements in velocity in a dual-task (DT) paradigm in non-demented older adults. We hypothesize that positive affect would be associated with lower DT costs, and negative affect would be associated with higher DT costs. Participants (N = 403; mean age, = 76.22 (6.55); females = 56%) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and a DT paradigm that involved three task conditions: Single-Task-Walk (STW), Alpha (cognitive interference requiring participants to recite alternate letters of the alphabet), and Dual-Task-Walk (DTW) requiring participant to perform the two single tasks concurrently. Gait velocity was assessed via an instrumented walkway. As expected, results of a linear mixed effects model (LME) showed a significant decline in gait velocity (cm/s) from STW to DTW (estimate = -11.79; 95%CI = -12.82 to -10.77). LME results further revealed that negative affect was associated with greater decline in gait velocity from STW to DTW (ie., worse DT cost) (estimate = -0.38; 95%CI = -0.73 to -0.03). Positive affect did not, however, predict DT costs in gait velocity (estimate = -0.09; 95%CI = -0.23 to 0.05). These findings suggest that increased negative affect interferes with the allocation of attentional resources to competing task demands inherent in the DT paradigm.

Does Secondary Task Measure Outcome Conflict or Resource Allocation?

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (18) ◽  
pp. 1398-1402
Author(s):  
Pamela S. Tsang ◽  
Tonya L. Shaner
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Tracking Error ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Memory Probe ◽  
Temporal Predictability ◽  
Task Measure

The secondary task technique was used to test two alternative explanations of dual task decrement: outcome conflict and resource allocation. Subjects time-shared a continuous tracking task and a discrete Sternberg memory task. The memory probes were presented under three temporal predictability conditions. Dual task performance decrements in both the tracking and memory tasks suggested that the two tasks competed for some common resources, processes, or mechanisms. Although performance decrements were consistent with both the outcome conflict and resource allocation explanations, the two explanations propose different mechanisms by which the primary task could be protected from interference from the concurrent secondary task. The primary task performance could be protected by resource allocation or by strategic sequencing of the processing of the two tasks in order to avoid outcome conflict. In addition to examining the global trial means, moment-by-moment tracking error time-locked to the memory probe was also analyzed. There was little indication that the primary task was protected by resequencing of the processing of the two tasks. This together with the suggestion that predictable memory probes led to better protected primary task performance than less predictable memory probes lend support for the resource explanation.

scholarly journals The Association between High Neuroticism-Low Extraversion and Dual-Task Performance during Walking While Talking in Non-demented Older Adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 519-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany C. LeMonda ◽  
Jeannette R. Mahoney ◽  
Joe Verghese ◽  
Roee Holtzer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Gait Velocity ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Dual Task Performance

AbstractThe Walking While Talking (WWT) dual-task paradigm is a mobility stress test that predicts major outcomes, including falls, frailty, disability, and mortality in aging. Certain personality traits, such as neuroticism, extraversion, and their combination, have been linked to both cognitive and motor outcomes. We examined whether individual differences in personality dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion predicted dual-task performance decrements (both motor and cognitive) on a WWT task in non-demented older adults. We hypothesized that the combined effect of high neuroticism-low extraversion would be related to greater dual-task costs in gait velocity and cognitive performance in non-demented older adults. Participants (N=295; age range,=65–95 years; female=164) completed the Big Five Inventory and WWT task involving concurrent gait and a serial 7’s subtraction task. Gait velocity was obtained using an instrumented walkway. The high neuroticism-low extraversion group incurred greater dual-task costs (i.e., worse performance) in both gait velocity {95% confidence interval (CI) [−17.68 to −3.07]} and cognitive performance (95% CI [−19.34 to −2.44]) compared to the low neuroticism-high extraversion group, suggesting that high neuroticism-low extraversion interferes with the allocation of attentional resources to competing task demands during the WWT task. Older individuals with high neuroticism-low extraversion may be at higher risk for falls, mobility decline and other adverse outcomes in aging. (JINS, 2015, 21, 519–530)

Channel Capacity and Locus of Interference under Dual Task Conditions

1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade R. Helm ◽  
Robert P. Fishburne ◽  
Wayne L. Waag
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Joint Function ◽  
Maximum Information ◽  
Attention Effect ◽  
Task Processing ◽  
Task Conditions

Two experiments were performed in order to determine subjects' maximum information-processing capacity under dual task conditions and to provide empirical evidence regarding the localization of the divided attention effect. The results suggest that performance on the primary task deteriorates as a joint function of both primary and secondary task processing loads. These data support the locus of interference being within the control-processing (memory-dependent) and response-selection stages of the processing system.

A Dual-Task Paradigm to Study the Interference Reduction in the Simon Task

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Suarez ◽  
Franck Vidal ◽  
Boris Burle ◽  
Laurence Casini
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Interference Effect ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Distribution Analysis ◽  
Secondary Tasks ◽  
Task Conditions

Analyzing RT distributions in the Simon task reveals that congruency effects decrease for the longest RTs. Four experiments were carried out to examine whether this decrease of the congruency effect with response speed was under a top-down control or due to bottom-up mechanisms. We specifically manipulated the availability of attentional resources by requiring participants to perform a Simon task concurrently to different secondary tasks. RT distribution analysis (in particular delta functions) was performed under both single-task and dual-task conditions. Results show that the reduction of the interference effect with time could be affected when the Simon task was performed concurrently with a secondary task. Nonetheless, the type of the secondary task seems to be a critical factor. Therefore, the data suggest that the mechanisms responsible for the reduction of the interference effect with time are under some attentional control but the exact nature of these mechanisms remains to be explored.

Controlling for Individual Differences in a Dual-Task Setting: Equating the Baselines of Single Task Performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (13) ◽  
pp. 916-920
Author(s):  
Bradley Chase ◽  
Holly M. Irwin-Chase ◽  
Jaclyn T. Sonico
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Visual Task ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
The Individual

Individual differences in human performance is an issue that confounds many studies and has not been properly controlled in the ergonomics/human factors literature. This paper examines the concept of individual differences in performance primarily from the perspective of cognitive performance. A study was designed to test the effect of a secondary visual task on a primary visual task. In one condition, participants performed the dual task, while assigning no weight to the secondary task. In the second condition, the primary task was performed simultaneously with the secondary task. The effect of the added workload was measured via the effect on primary task performance. In the baseline portion of the task participants had their baseline (80–90% accuracy) of performance collected by adjusting the stimulus duration. The individual participant stimulus duration was then used as the experimental stimulus duration and the effect of secondary task performance on primary task performance was measured.

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