Summary: A new study shows that multitasking is not a single, universal skill but a combination of broad cognitive abilities and task-specific skills. Researchers assessed 224 participants across nine different multitasking paradigms, including concurrent tasks, task-switching, and complex multitasking simulations.
The results indicate that task-switching performance mainly reflects a general multitasking ability that transfers across situations, whereas concurrent and complex multitasking also rely on distinct, situation-specific skills such as working memory and prioritisation. These findings clarify previous inconsistencies in the literature, including contradictory reports of gender differences in multitasking performance.
Key Facts:
- Three multitasking types: The research separates multitasking into concurrent multitasking, task-switching, and complex multitasking.
- Split skill set: Task-switching depends mainly on a general cognitive ability, while concurrent and complex multitasking draw on both general and task-specific skills.
- Explains prior contradictions: Conflicting findings about gender and other group differences likely reflect differences in the kinds of multitasking tasks used in prior studies rather than a single underlying difference.
Source: University of Surrey
Everyday examples — from checking messages while on a call to managing a busy kitchen — show how we try to do multiple things at once. This new research suggests there is no single “multitasking gene” or skill; instead, effective multitasking depends on a mix of general cognitive resources and skills specific to the type of task.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Surrey and published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, tested 224 university students across nine carefully chosen paradigms. The tasks were grouped into three categories designed to represent common forms of multitasking:
- Concurrent multitasking: Performing two or more tasks at the same time (for example, conversing while driving).
- Task switching: Rapidly shifting attention between tasks (for example, interrupting writing to answer an email and then returning to the original task).
- Complex multitasking: Managing multiple tasks that require planning, prioritisation, and flexible strategy (for example, coordinating a busy kitchen or project workload).
By analysing individual differences across these varied tasks, the team found that a single multitasking ability could not explain performance across all paradigms. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a model with both a general multitasking factor and additional, task-specific factors was needed to account for the observed differences.
Specifically, performance on task-switching tasks was largely explained by a general multitasking ability shared with other task types. In contrast, concurrent and complex multitasking required not only that general ability but also additional specific skills. For example, complex multitasking showed a stronger dependence on working memory capacity—the ability to hold and manipulate information in mind while juggling competing demands.
This distinction helps reconcile prior, apparently conflicting findings. Some earlier studies that reported women outperforming men used paradigms that emphasised task-switching, while other studies that suggested men performed better often used concurrent multitasking tasks. The new findings imply these discrepancies reflect the different cognitive demands of the tasks rather than a simple, universal gender difference in multitasking ability.
Dr Alan Wong, Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for the MSc in Psychology in Game Design & Digital Innovation at the University of Surrey, said: “These findings show that multitasking is not a one-size-fits-all skill. To understand and improve multitasking, we need to consider both the broad capabilities that apply across tasks and the specialised skills needed for specific situations.”
Dr Yetta Kwailing Wong, Lecturer at the University of Surrey, added: “Training aimed at improving multitasking should not focus on a single task type. A diverse set of challenges is required to build both the general multitasking capacity and the specialised skills needed in real-world scenarios.”
About this neuroscience research news
Author: Georgina Gould
Source: University of Surrey
Contact: Georgina Gould – University of Surrey
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access. “Bridging concurrent multitasking, task switching, and complex multitasking: The general and specific skills involved” by Alan Wong et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001332)
Abstract
Bridging concurrent multitasking, task switching, and complex multitasking: The general and specific skills involved
Multitasking research has used a wide range of paradigms, from simple concurrent and task-switching tasks to more complex simulations that better reflect real life. Understanding how these paradigms relate is key to identifying shared cognitive mechanisms, developing a unified theory of multitasking, and clarifying how multitasking connects with other cognitive functions.
Using an individual-differences approach, the study had 224 university students complete nine paradigms—three for each multitasking category. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a model including both a general multitasking factor and additional specific factors. Task-switching performance was largely explained by the general ability shared across paradigms, whereas concurrent and complex multitasking additionally depended on task-specific abilities.
These results reconcile conflicting findings from earlier studies of group differences in multitasking and highlight the limits of generalising from a single paradigm. Given the multifaceted nature of multitasking, assessment and training should include a broad set of paradigm types to capture both general and specific abilities.