SCRIPTKELL: A tool for measuring cognitive effort and time processing in writing and other complex cognitive activities

Cognitive dissonance induced by writing a counterattitudinal essay facilitates performance on simple tasks but not on complex tasks that involve working memory

“…They were instructed to react as rapidly as possible whenever they detected a signal, by clicking on a computer mouse with their non-writing hand. The ScriptKell program (Piolat, Olive, Roussey, Thunin, & Ziegler, 1999) was used to emit the auditory signal and to record the reaction times (RTs). As is usual with secondary reaction time tasks (Olive et al, 2002;Piolat & Olive, 2000), in the first phase of the experiment, participants were asked to perform the auditory probe task in a single-task situation.…”

The use of Tholos software for combining measures of mental workload: Toward theoretical and methodological improvements

“…For the dualtask paradigm, the distribution of the signal is selected generally so as to ensure that it does not interfere with the primary task. The researcher must instruct the participant to focus on the main task rather than on the additional task, which could interfere with the primary task (Piolat et al, 1999). With regard to subjective measures, most researchers assume that intrusiveness is not a problem, particularly because data is collected after the task is complete.…”

“…As noted, to limit its intrusiveness, the dual-task paradigm requires careful examination of the disruption to the primary task: The distribution of auditory signals has to be arranged so as to prevent the participants from focusing on the additional task. Piolat et al (1999) also stressed that determination of signal distribution must be based on the research objectives and on the characteristics of the primary task. So when using Tholos, the experimenter must specify a range of distribution for the auditory signal (see Figure 1) and not a fixed interval.…”

“…Piolat, Olive, Roussey, Thunin, and Ziegler (1999) suggested selecting a probe from a different pool of resources in order to avoid interfering with the participant's main task. Although some researchers (e.g., Fisk, Derrick, & Schneider, 1987) have challenged the assumptions made by this method, many others (e.g., Chevalier & Kicka, 2006;Kellogg, 1990;Levy & Ransdell, 1995;Piolat et al, 1999) have used it successfully in a range of tasks, including design, text writing, and information searching.…”

Review: MacArthur, C.A, Graham, S. & Fitzgerald, J. (Editors) (2006). The handbook of writing research. New York: Guilford Press | ISBN-1: 59385-190-1

“…From a methodological point of view, several on-line techniques have been developed and applied in the last ten years. Keystroke recording toos (Strömqvist, Holmqvist, Johansson, Karlsson, & Wengelin, 2006;van Waes & Leitjen, 2007), handwriting recording and eye movement (Alamargot, Chesnet, Dansac & Ros, 2006), or even dual-task methodologies (Olive, Kellogg & Piolat, 2002;Piolat, Olive, Roussey, Thunin & Ziegler, 1999) have also permitted researchers to design and conduct new fundamental investigations of writing. The Handbook of Writing Research covers very different facets of writing and so it provides discussions of the processes, products, and contexts of writing that will be helpful for writing teachers, writing and literacy researchers and students for understanding the composition process.…”