Threaded cognition: An integrated theory of concurrent multitasking.

Abstract

The authors propose the idea of threaded cognition, an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking--that is, performing 2 or more tasks at once. Threaded cognition posits that streams of thought can be represented as threads of processing coordinated by a serial procedural resource and executed across other available resources (e.g., perceptual and motor resources). The theory specifies a parsimonious mechanism that allows for concurrent execution, resource acquisition, and resolution of resource conflicts, without the need for specialized executive processes. By instantiating this mechanism as a computational model, threaded cognition provides explicit predictions of how multitasking behavior can result in interference, or lack thereof, for a given set of tasks. The authors illustrate the theory in model simulations of several representative domains ranging from simple laboratory tasks such as dual-choice tasks to complex real-world domains such as driving and driver distraction.

Can User-Paced, Menu-free Spoken Language Interfaces Improve Dual Task Handling While Driving?

“…A further improvement is achieved by a reduction of the use of declarative resources, which occurs for example when instructions for actions have to be retrieved from memory. As shown by Salvucci and Taatgen [3], a visual dialling task produced a higher level of interference with driving than did a comparable voicedialling task. Similarly, a study by Levy et al [20] showed that resource interference degrades performance.…”

“…In order to make predictions about how different interface solutions affect the driving task, we lean on the concepts provided by the theory of threaded cognition [3]. In this theory it is assumed that different tasks within a multitasking environment are made up of different threads.…”

“…Traditional means of interaction such as screens, buttons and touchscreens usually involve rather complex menu structures, input fields and controls. Using those means while performing a high workload spatial task such as driving decreases overall performance significantly as this type of interaction competes for our limited resources [1][2][3].…”

Peripheral interaction: characteristics and considerations

“…This is clarified in the theory of threaded cognition [18], which describes each activity a person is performing as a cognitive thread. Multiple threads can be active at the same time, for example, we can easily drive a car (thread one) and listen to the radio (thread two) at the same time, as also evident from multiple resource theory [19].…”

Cognitive modelling of early music reading skill acquisition for piano

“…The task was to read a note on a music score, and play it on the piano. The model did not intend to capture looking ahead behaviour (Fourie, 2004), the representation and processing of musical sounds (Chikhaoui, Pigot, Beaudoin, Pratte, Bellefeuille & Laudares, 2009), learning motor skills (Jabusch, Alpers, Kopiez, Vauth & Altenmüller, 2009), movement preparation (Palmer, 2005), and multitasking of music reading and motor movements as threaded cognitive tasks (Salvucci & Taatgen, 2008) were excluded from the models.…”