Behavioral performance and visual attention in communication multitasking: A comparison between instant messaging and online voice chat☆
Highlights
► Distributing work between audio-visual channels reduces performance degradation. ► Communicating via IM led to a 50% drop in a simultaneous visual task performance. ► Communicating via voice phone led to a smaller (30%) drop in the same task. ► A greater loss of eye fixations was found in IM than voice multitasking.
Introduction
Communication multitasking is becoming a way of life. In a recent national survey, 76% reported using instant messaging (IM) and 80% reported using telephone while working on other computer tasks (Carrier, Cheever, Rosen, Benitez, & Chang, 2009). Defined as using a communication medium or channel to accomplish a goal while simultaneously being engaged in another task with a different goal (Jeong and Fishbein, 2007, Meyer and Kieras, 1997, Ophir et al., 2009), communication multitasking has implications on human cognition (Ophir et al., 2009), work performance (Hembrooke and Gay, 2003, Wang and Tchernev, in press), and media campaigns (Voorveld, 2011).
Multitasking through text and voice communication is common while working on a computer (Carrier et al., 2009) and the effects of multitasking in the workplace has received attention. While some studies have examined the interruptive nature of IM (Cameron and Webster, 2005, Renneker and Godwin, 2003), it has been found that IM is perceived to be less disruptive compared to phone (Garrett & Danziger, 2007). Despite the attention on IM, to our knowledge, IM and voice communication have not been directly compared in multitasking situations. Therefore, in this study we examine performance on a visual task when participants are in synchronous communication via IM or online voice chat on a different task. In addition, our choice of IM and voice chat was motivated by theoretical interests on the allocation and management of cognitive resources when two tasks rely heavily on the visual modality in comparison to tasks that are distributed between the visual and auditory modalities (e.g., Basil, 1994, Grimes, 1991, Lang, 2000). In addition to task performance, real-time eye movement data were examined to explore visual attention while communication multitasking.
Section snippets
Multitasking theories
The success of multitasking depends on the nature of the tasks and the criteria used to assess performance. For example, texting or talking on the phone when driving has been shown to affect driving performance. On the other hand, playing the guitar and singing can enhance overall performance of a talented musician. In general, however, dual or multiple tasks have been found to impair performance on specific cognitive tasks in laboratory settings, under conditions of explicit or implicit time
Experimental design, procedures, and participants
A 2 (Task: Single, Multi) × 2 (Communication mode: IM, Voice) mixed design was used, with task as a within-individual factor and communication mode as a between-individual factor. Thirty-two students from a large Midwestern university participated in the study for course extra-credit and monetary bonus. They were between 20 and 26 years of age (M = 21.72, SD = 1.57) and 62.5% were female. On average, participants took between 30 and 40 min to complete the experiment.
Upon arrival at the lab, informed
Results
We began by analyzing individual differences between experimental conditions. No significant differences were observed for preference for multitasking, extraversion, and experience with communication technologies.
Discussion
Though it is widely perceived that multitasking saves time, some tasks take longer under multitasking situations (e.g., Bowman, Levine, Waite, & Gendron, 2010) and task performance suffers when more than one task has to be accomplished within a limited amount of time. The results from this study support this understanding. A significant drop in performance in visual pattern-matching was found when a communication task was carried out concurrently, with a greater drop among those who
References (31)
- et al.
Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading
Computers & Education
(2010) - et al.
Unintended consequences of emerging communication technology: Instant messaging in the workplace
Computers in Human Behavior
(2005) - et al.
Multitasking across generations: Multitasking choices and difficulty ratings in three generation of Americans
Computers in Human Behavior
(2009) - et al.
Effect of cellular telephone conversations and other potential interference on reaction time in a braking response
Accident Analysis and Prevention
(2003) Media multitasking and the effectiveness of combining online and radio advertising
Computers in Human Behavior
(2011)Multiple resource theory: II. Empirical examination of modality-specific attention to television scenes
Communication Research
(1994)Eye tracking methodology: Theory and practice
(2007)- et al.
IM = interruption management?: Instant messaging and disruption in the workplace
Journal of Computer Mediated Communication
(2007) Mild auditory-visual dissonance in television news may exceed viewer attentional capacity
Human Communication Research
(1991)- et al.
The lecture and the laptop: Multitasking in wireless learning environments
Journal of Computing in Higher Education
(2003)
MediaLab research software (version 2008)
Predictors of multitasking with media: Media factors and audience factors
Media Psychology
Paradigm shift to the integrative Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and conceptual issues
Attention and effort
Looking at looking: The amorphous fixation measure
Cited by (71)
What does existing NeuroIS research focus on?
2020, Information SystemsChilling Effects as a Result of Corporate Surveillance in Digital Communication: A Comparison Between American and Dutch Media Users
2024, International Journal of Communication"I Won't Go Speechless": Design Exploration on a Real-Time Text-To-Speech Speaking Tool for Videoconferencing
2023, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - ProceedingsThe impact of sequential versus simultaneous media exposure on online advertising effectiveness
2023, Journal of Marketing CommunicationsOlder Adults’ Interaction With Intelligent Virtual Assistants: The Role of Information Modality and Feedback
2023, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
- ☆
This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. SES 0818277 to the first author).