Concurrent multitasking: From neural activity to human cognition

Multitasking has become an important part of our daily lives. This delicate juggling act between several activities occurs when people drive, when they are working, and even when they should be paying attention in the classroom. While multitasking is typically considered as something to avoid, there are instances where we are perfectly capable at performing multiple activities concurrently. It is therefore important that we understand how multitasking works, so that we can predict when engaging in multitasking is a good or bad idea.

In this dissertation we examine how our brains are able to multitask, and how multitasking affects task performance. Through a series of behavioral and neuroimaging experiments we investigate what the cognitive mechanisms of concurrent multitasking are, when multitasking negatively or positively influences performance, and whether people choose to avoid multitasking situations that compromise their task performance.