The effect of task interruption and closure on perceived duration

Abstract

On the basis of a version of the Zeigarnik (1927) demonstration, the effect of task interruption and closure on perceived duration was examined. Subjects estimated the time it took to solve a list of 10 three-letter anagrams; this group thus experienced closure when they completed the task. A second group of subjects was presented with a 20-item set of anagrams, the flrst 10 of which were identical to the items solved by the flrst group. These subjects were interrupted after solving the flrst 10 items, then they estimated the time. A signiflcant difference in the perceived duration of the task was found between the two groups: subjects who were interrupted signiflcantly overestimated the time it took to solve the flrst 10 anagrams. These flndings indicate that task interruption has a lengthening effect on perceived duration. Gestalt notions of closure and motivation are discussed.

Evidence for spontaneous retrieval of suspended but not finished prospective memories

“…In West et al's study, the prospective memory cue appeared in the same context in which it would have otherwise been performed (i.e., the semantic judgment task). Finally, participants in the present study performed the prospective memory task before being instructed that it was finished; participants in West et al's study never performed the prospective memory action to the cue that they were told to forget (see Zeigarnik tasks; Schiffman & Greist-Bousquet, 1992). Therefore, whether prospective memories are quickly deactivated may not only depend to the task interference approach, the present methodology is an informative means to study spontaneous retrieval.…”

“…The lexical decision task occurred after performance of the prospective memory task (see the Zeigarnik task for comparison : Schiffman & Greist-Bousquet, 1992), thereby attenuating possible confusion for the participants about when the prospective memory task should be performed. By contrast, in the Einstein et al (2005, Experiment 5) paradigm, because the lexical decision task interrupted the image-rating task and occurred before prospective memory trials, it is possible that their participants were occasionally confused and monitored.…”

Perceived Time as a Measure of Mental Workload: Effects of Time Constraints and Task Success

“…Task success is important to investigate in relation to measures of mental workload because users dynamically adjust their mental efforts to perform successfully and because task success-unlike, for example, time constraints-is associated with the end product of the task and therefore does not become apparent until at the end of the task. In addition, some studies suggest that time perception may be affected by task success (Czerwinski, Horwitz, & Cutrell, 2001;Schiffman & Greist-Bousquet, 1992). Finally, task success is important to all goal-directed behavior.…”

Process in skill acquisition: motivation, interruptions, memory, affective states, and metacognition

“…Shiffman and Greist-Bousquet (1992) conducted a study where participants estimated completion times of interrupted and uninterrupted tasks. They found that the interruption of a task had a "lengthening effect on perceived time duration" (Shiffman & Greist-Bousquet, 1992, p. 9), suggesting that attention overload results in perceptions of increased time on task performance.…”