Dual-Task Methodology

By KayeLynn Brown

As college students have you ever really thought of the most productive vs least productive ways to study and retain information? Trust me, we’re all in the same boat in one way or another. While adjusting to the college workload it can be stressful to find what works for you. What is important to note is trying to do several tasks at once is harmful to a student’s ability to learn and study information. If there’s one thing I would’ve liked to been told when I was an incoming freshman trying to learn all of this for myself – it would’ve been the greater amount or load of things you put on yourself and try to learn, will actually just hinder your ability to succeed. Dual-task methodology can help explain the reasoning behind this.

1.
What is dual-task methodology?

Dual-task methodology is a procedure in cognitive psychology that requires an individual to perform two tasks at the same time. This allows for comparison between performance of a single-task and dual task conditions (1). When two tasks compete for the same information processing portions of the brain, the tasks will interfere with each other. For example, if you procrastinate your work and try writing an essay in one class while trying to learn different information in a different subject for an exam, the tasks will stand in the way of one another. When performance scores on one or both of the tasks are lower when they are done at the same time rather than when done at different time shows that these tasks indeed obstruct one another. Studies done on the interpretation of dual-task methodology shows that human processing resources are both limited and shareable; they can also be subdivided into several different classes (1). So, what don’t you want to do when studying? – Overwhelm your brain with too many things!

2.
Why exactly is this relevant?

Researchers that have done studies on dual-task methodology show that the performance levels belong to the basic principles of divided attention, and also have strong applied relevance. It is important to know which tasks can be performed together more or less effectively and how they will contribute to overall workload (2). To a certain extent, a person can only do a limited number of tasks at once. This is dependent on several factors such as one’s level of skill, age, and nature of the tasks involved (3). It is useful to understand dual-task methodology because it allows for researchers to pinpoint which of the two tasks received less attention – therefore, correlation with their performance on the overall task (3). For example, if only one task showed a decline in performance, this conveyed task received less attention from the subject (i.e. was more difficult or less important). A person will not be able to perform well on both things if they require attention from the same part of the brain, whereas if the two tasks stimulate different parts of the brain it is likely that one will able to perform adequately on both. Studying effectively can help reduce this issue! Working the brain enough to remember it, but not doing too many things at once to hinder the learning process.

3.
A simplified dual-task methodology approach to thinking. . .

One of the things that hinders a person’s judgements, reasoning, ability to learn and understand information, and make decisions is that mistakes are common. We as humans can be misled by things such as heuristics like availability or representatives (4). One can also be confused by the validity of drawing a simple conclusion and easily misled by the belief bias for more complex ones. When making judgments, decisions, or trying to learn new things we can be influenced by emotions, context, and how the information is presented (4).

(4) Daniel Kahneman in his best-selling book Thinking Fast and Slow, illustrated the dual systems approach:

The dual systems approach states that there are two mental systems : a fast, automatic, intuitive system (system 1) and a slower, more deliberative, thoughtful system (system 2) which you would have used if you carefully took your time to think through the problem. There are distinct properties that each system has. System 1 is intuitive, fast, nonconscious, and automatic, whereas system 2 is reflective, slow, conscious, and controlled (4). System one is more linked to errors and when both systems are stimulated simultaneously, they interfere with one another and cognitive performance declines. The idea of two mental systems is an important one, because it explains many of the mistakes we make in terms of different mental systems or mechanisms (4). When trying to learn things it is best to utilize system 2, so the information really gets into your brain.

4. How understanding dual-task methodology is beneficial to learning and study habits.

During dual-task methods the secondary task mainly serves to influence cognitive load, and the primary task performance is observed. It is important to understand the performance of the secondary task to assess the cognitive load (5). In relation to task-related stimuli and response manners, there is evidence in dual-task performance studies that show that for spatial codes- a combo of visual input and manual output is more important to auditory input and vocal output (6).

In essence, it’s important not to overload yourself when trying to study and attempting to learn new things. If you have too many things trying to process through your brain at once, you will likely not retain the information how like you would like. So when you get that blank exam in front of you and you studied so many topics in unorganized ways, you’re going to end up flaking because your brain wasn’t allowed to process it in a way that was beneficial to retrieve the information. When you are trying to study and if the manner in which you are doing so doesn’t provide a cognitive load, your performance won’t be as great.

Let’s wrap this up!

Finally, that exam you’ve been dreading you think you have the perfect way to ace it. You want to present the information processing portion of your brain with ways that your brain will remember. Focus on the stuff you need to learn and make sure to limit the distractions. This is also highly dependent on your attention! Don’t overwhelm yourself and don’t do two contradicting things to learn the information, this results in interference. You got this, we all got this!

References

1. Koch, C. & Tsuchiya N. (2009). Dual task paradigm. Science Direct – The Neurology of Consciousness. Retrieved November 25, 2020 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/dual-task-paradigm
2. Sanders, A. (2001). Dual-task performance. Science Direct in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral. Retrieved November 25, 2020 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/dual-task-performance 
3. Huang, H., & Mercer, V. (2001). Dual-task methodology: applications in studies of cognitive and motor performance in adults and children. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved November 25, 2020 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17053670/
4. Goldstein, E. B. (2019). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. Boston, MA, USA: Cengage.
5. Herms, R. & Wirzberger, M. (2018). Schema-related cognitive load influences performance, speech, and physiology in a dual-task setting: a continuous multi-measure approach. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved November 26, 2020 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6286294/
6. PLoS One. (2020). Digital natives and dual task: Handling it but not immune against cognitive-locomotor interferences. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved November 26, 2020 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7236988/