Associative activation during interrupted task performance: a mixed methods approach to understanding the overall quality effects of interruptions

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this research were to (1) explore whether goal-activation models of procedurally based interrupted task performance can be applied to content production, and if not, (2) develop a new theoretical account, and (3) provide support for that theory. Experiment 1 found that interruptions during planning resulted in less developed plans, and that available theoretical models could not account for performance. Experiment 2 leveraged Verbal Protocol Analysis to explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying interrupted task performance on a content production task. We found support for a combination of processes: (1) cues and environmental context, and (2) task activation levels. These results suggested a spreading activation account of interrupted task performance. Experiment 3 provided further support for spreading activation by comparing short and long interruptions. These results have broad implications for moving our understanding of interrupted task performance forward by expanding our understanding to non-procedural task performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Interruptions
• interrupted task performance
• associate activation
• spreading activation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicole E. Werner

Nicole E. Werner is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also an affiliate faculty in the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement in the College of Engineering, the Department of Medicine, and the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center in the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, and a Discovery Fellow in the Living Environments Lab in the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Her research focuses on the design of work systems to improve the cognitive work of patients and their distributed caregiving networks across the patient journey. She earned her PhD degree in psychology, human factors and applied cognition from George Mason University.

Cyrus K. Foroughi

Dr Cyrus K. Foroughi received his PhD degree in human factors from George Mason University in 2016. He is currently a postdoctoral research scientist for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he is responsible for improving human–system interactions. The goal for his current research is to improve the interactions between humans and automated supervisory control systems. His research interests include interruptions, expertise, automation, and individual differences.

Carryl Baldwin

Dr Carryl Baldwin is an associate professor and director of the Human Factors and Applied Cognition program at George Mason University. She has over 20 years of experience investigating human factor issues in mental workload, surface and air transportation, and cognitive aging. Her primary research interests are in the area of applied auditory cognition. Much of her work involves the use of neurophysiological measures (i.e. EEG, ERP, ECG, and eye tracking) to examine the effort expended when people perform multiple modality dual tasks as a function of changes in sensory or environmental conditions and how these impact the cognitive aspects of the task.

Robert Youmans

Robert J. Youmans is a cognitive psychologist who leads the User Experience Research Sciences team at YouTube, a division of Google, Inc. Prior to joining Google, Rob was the director of the Creative Design and User Experience (CDUX) Laboratory at George Mason University (2011–2014), and an assistant professor of applied cognition at California State University, Northridge (2007–2011). Rob earned his PhD degree in cognitive psychology with a doctoral minor in industrial design at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2007) for his research on links between physical prototyping and creative design. His MA degree in experimental psychology was awarded in 2003 by Wake Forest University for his research investigating human decision-making.

Deborah A. Boehm-Davis

Dr Deborah Boehm-Davis is a dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and University Professor in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University. She worked on applied cognitive research at General Electric, NASA Ames Research Center, and Bell Laboratories prior to joining George Mason University. She also served as a senior policy advisor for human factors at the Food and Drug Administration. She has served as a president of the Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, and of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. She has been an associate editor for Human Factors and the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies; she currently serves on the editorial board of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the Psychonomics Society and the International Ergonomics Association. She holds a BA degree in psychology from Douglass College, Rutgers University, and an MA and PhD degrees in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.