While multitasking with media has increased dramatically in recent years (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010), the association between media multitasking and cognitive performance is poorly understood. In addition, the literature on the relationship between media multitasking and task-switching, one measure of cognitive control, has produced mixed results (Alzahabi & Becker, 2013, Minear, et al., 2013; Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009). The goal of this work was to examine the relationship between media multitasking and task-switching performance. However, in order to do so, we began by first examining the structure of task-switching and identifying the factors that contribute to switch costs. We used an individual differences approach to evaluate how the different putative mechanisms (advanced preparation, passive decay, attentional filtering, and response conflict resolution) are related to task-switching performance. Participants performed a series of three different task-switching paradigms, each designed to isolate the effects of a specific putative mechanism (e.g., advanced preparation). For each paradigm, participants completed three blocks of trials, each with a different classification task and different stimuli (animal/furniture, number/letter, and plant/transportation classification tasks). The use of these three different types of classifications within the same paradigms allowed us to perform a latent variable analysis using structural equation modeling to examine the fit of a model that captures the inter-relationship between these putative factors within an individual. Participants also completed a series of surveys to measure media multitasking and (fluid and crystallized) intelligence. The results suggest that task-switching performance is related to two somewhat independent factors, namely an advanced preparation factor and passive decay factor. This two-factor model provided best fit for both reaction time and error data. We found no support for the putative attentional filtering and response conflict resolution factors being related to an individual's task-switching performance. In addition, multitasking with media was related to a faster ability to prepare for tasks, resulting in faster task-switching performance without a cost to accuracy. Fluid intelligence was associated with slower task-switching ability, but higher task-switching accuracy. This indicates that fluid intelligence may allow one to recognize the need to prepare for a task-switch, causing one to slow down and effectively prepare for a task-switch, which in turn, improves accuracy. Media multitasking and intelligence were both less related to passive decay factors. These findings are consistent with a two-component model of task-switching (Sohn & Anderson, 2001), as well as an automatic/executive framework of cognitive control (Shneider & Shiffrin, 1977).
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