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Understanding the Viewing Behaviour and Knowledge Acquisition in Multitasking: An Eye-Tracking Study

Guven Akin, Aybuke LU (2024) PSYP01 20241
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Multitasking, increasingly prevalent with the rise of digital tools and fast-paced environments, has become integral to daily life. Although it enhances our ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, it also poses challenges to learning and information acquisition. This study investigates how multitasking impacts the formation of relational memories, focusing on the role of eye movements. Participants engaged in a dual-task paradigm where their primary task involved encoding associations among three task-relevant visual elements. Concurrently, during certain experimental phases, they were required to perform an attention-demanding secondary task. Results indicated no significant effect of multitasking on associative memory... (More)
Multitasking, increasingly prevalent with the rise of digital tools and fast-paced environments, has become integral to daily life. Although it enhances our ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, it also poses challenges to learning and information acquisition. This study investigates how multitasking impacts the formation of relational memories, focusing on the role of eye movements. Participants engaged in a dual-task paradigm where their primary task involved encoding associations among three task-relevant visual elements. Concurrently, during certain experimental phases, they were required to perform an attention-demanding secondary task. Results indicated no significant effect of multitasking on associative memory performance, nor on the number of gaze transitions between task-relevant elements, which support element binding required for efficient relational encoding. Nevertheless, multitasking significantly altered gaze behaviour during encoding. Participants exhibited fewer fixations and reduced viewing time on task-relevant elements, instead directing more attention to areas where the secondary task might appear and to task-irrelevant information. Notably, the reduction in viewing time during multitasking occurred primarily early in the encoding process, suggesting that multitasking shifts initial viewing behaviour towards a more exploratory rather than exploitative approach. Additionally, no significant relationship was found between individual differences in multitasking tendencies or personality traits and associative memory. These findings contribute to the existing literature by elucidating how multitasking contexts influence and adapt the dynamic interplay between gaze patterns and relational memory formation. (Less)
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author
Guven Akin, Aybuke LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYP01 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
multitasking, episodic memory, learning, viewing behaviour, personality traits
language
English
id
9175013
date added to LUP
2024-09-20 15:16:20
date last changed
2024-09-20 15:16:20
@misc{9175013,
  abstract     = {{Multitasking, increasingly prevalent with the rise of digital tools and fast-paced environments, has become integral to daily life. Although it enhances our ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, it also poses challenges to learning and information acquisition. This study investigates how multitasking impacts the formation of relational memories, focusing on the role of eye movements. Participants engaged in a dual-task paradigm where their primary task involved encoding associations among three task-relevant visual elements. Concurrently, during certain experimental phases, they were required to perform an attention-demanding secondary task. Results indicated no significant effect of multitasking on associative memory performance, nor on the number of gaze transitions between task-relevant elements, which support element binding required for efficient relational encoding. Nevertheless, multitasking significantly altered gaze behaviour during encoding. Participants exhibited fewer fixations and reduced viewing time on task-relevant elements, instead directing more attention to areas where the secondary task might appear and to task-irrelevant information. Notably, the reduction in viewing time during multitasking occurred primarily early in the encoding process, suggesting that multitasking shifts initial viewing behaviour towards a more exploratory rather than exploitative approach. Additionally, no significant relationship was found between individual differences in multitasking tendencies or personality traits and associative memory. These findings contribute to the existing literature by elucidating how multitasking contexts influence and adapt the dynamic interplay between gaze patterns and relational memory formation.}},
  author       = {{Guven Akin, Aybuke}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Understanding the Viewing Behaviour and Knowledge Acquisition in Multitasking: An Eye-Tracking Study}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}