Information Overload: Can You Multitask?

Overview

Objectives/Goals I tested to see whether or not people can multitask and if they can, I want to know how it affects the quality and quantity of their work. Methods/Materials Using four similar, yet different tests (they have the same problems in a different order), a timer, speakers, and music, I gave people four tests. The first test, the control test, was taken in silence. The second test wastaken while listening to music. The third test was taken while I had a conversation with the subject and recorded the number of words which they said. The last test was taken while the subject was listening to music and had a conversation with me while I recorded the number of words that they say. Results I found that most people can actually multitask, but when talking, males have a greater lack of attention to multiple things. People did the best on test two, then test one, then test four, then test three. There was no correlation between the number of words someone said and how well they performed. Conclusions/Discussion I don't think I can say that one gender can multitask better than the other. I do think that certain people can multitask particularly well, but I do not know how to classify these people. It might be interesting to see whether or not age has an impact on one's ability to multitask.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Behavioral Sciences · Entry J0313

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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