The term “multitasking” comes from computer science, as a description of the processes of parallel computing computers running multiple programs at the same time. It was common, a few decades ago, to think about brain like a computerbut neuroscientific studies seem to go in the opposite direction: multitasking for cognitive tasks that involve attention could not be supported from our brain. For this type of task, in fact, multitasking can cause a loss of efficiency and an increase in the error rate.
What multitasking really is
In computer language, multitasking is the ability of a computer to handle multiple operations at the same time. We too are often in multitasking mode in daily life: for example, we can drive and listen to music at the same time without problems. With the development of neuroscience in fact, it was understood that some of our abilities actually worked at the same time, but that for all those tasks that involve theAttention we cannot rely on “parallel” operation in the same way. The type of attention we need to carry out specific cognitive tasks is called selective attentionand it is also the attention associated with conscious processes. It is the attention we use when we try to listen to what a person is telling us in a noisy place, in a cocktail bar or at the station: we isolate the sensory stimulus of the person’s voice and ignore the noise. To carry out multiple tasks at the same time we instead use thedivided attentiona sort of manager who tries to distribute resources of attention on various inputs, measuring it according to the request of each task. In reality, what happens when we try to perform multiple cognitive tasks at the same time is that these are not processed simultaneously, but rather there is a continuous task switchinga shift of attention from one task to another involving a loss of efficiencytriggering continuous temporary interruptions that they compromise the quality of attention and the execution of tasks. In fact, every time the brain returns to dedicate itself to the task it was carrying out after being interrupted or after having dedicated itself to something else, it needs to refocus on the previous point and pick up the thread with a small “recap” of information. It is a phenomenon that takes the name of “switching cost”, and which is measured in terms of time lost in switching from one cognitive activity to another.
The negative effects of multitasking on cognitive performance
To check whether the practice of multitasking can actually lead to problems advantagessome scholars from Stanford University have carried out a series of experiments on a group of “heavy chronic multitaskers“, comparing them with a group of “lightweight multitaskers” in information processing tasks. It turned out that the first I am more susceptible to distraction when there are slight environmental interferences irrelevant to the task, while the seconds they were able to maintain sustained attention more easily, and this determined better results in solving assigned tasks. The switching cost required to switch from one task to another increases the overall cognitive load, and leads to more errors.
THE’negative effect of multitasking is also visible on the long term. The practice of continuous refocusing that multitasking requires, according to some studies, can tend to decrease over time there capacity general of the brain of concentrate in a profound and prolonged way, resulting in perceived frustration and triggering of states of anxiety And reduction in sleep quality.
The advantages of working on one task at a time
The perception of being more productive when we get more things done is precisely in the fact that it is easier to perceive the quantity of things we are doing, rather than quality with which we carry them forward. On the contrary, some studies show that lwork in “focus” mode on just one task at a time in a sustained manner increases the quality of the work done e reduces overall time necessary to complete the task.
Multitasking also seems to affect the ability to comprehension: it is not surprising to know that a study by the University of California has shown that students who alternate studying a text and using a smartphone are able to understand and retain much less information in memory compared to those who focus solely on studying.
