Expanding dual-task research by a triple-task

Abstract: Multitasking research in the laboratory is dominated by extremely simplistic dual-task paradigms. Although dual-tasks allow for some variations, they do not compare well to more complex everyday task settings. This study expands a classical dual-task paradigm by adding a third task. The dual-tasks and the triple-task always consisted of the same three single tasks. The aim was to investigate the effects of the combinations of the three single-tasks and in which manner response times and costs increased. Stimulus-response pairings were varied either once within participants (E1) or between participants (E2). Our results showed that the increase in response time from dual-tasks to triple-tasks was only 43% of the increase from single-tasks to dual-tasks suggesting a non-linear cost of adding tasks. Moreover, response times in each subtask were higher in triple-task situations compared to single-task or dual-task situations. This is in contrast to classical dual-tasks, in which typically only one of the two responses is delayed. Cognitively, for costs in triple-tasks, unlike in dual-tasks, task coordination seems to play a larger role compared to the classically suggested relationships between stimulus and response in terms of their modality- and ideomotor-compatibility which we will discuss. Overall, the study demonstrates that current multitasking research is limited in its generalizability by focusing only on dual-tasks and would benefit from research with more complex task settings.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Expanding dual-task research by a triple-task ; volume:4 ; number:1 ; year:2022 ; pages:152-174 ; extent:23 ; Open psychology ; 4, Heft 1 (2022), 152-174 (gesamt 23)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Stefani, Maximilian ; Sauter, Marian ; Eichert, Franziska ; Mack, Wolfgang

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/psych-2022-0008
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022072014231913984141
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:22 AM CEST