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What else are you doing while reading this?
Researchers at the Federal Aviation Administration and the University of Michigan report that doing two or more things at once may decrease efficiency and actually take extra time switching from one task to another. In the most severe cases, it can even mean the difference between life and death.
"[People] get tired when they're trying to multitask," and in some cases a person could ultimately create more work for himself, according to one of the lead authors, David Meyer, of the university's psychology department.
In the study, four groups of young adults carried out a series of tasks and switched between different tasks, some complicated, such as solving math problems, and some more familiar, such as identifying geometric shapes.
The researchers found that time was lost in just switching from one task to another, and that time costs increased with the complexity of the tasks. The subjects got "up to speed" faster when they switched to tasks that were familiar.
When people, say, juggle browsing the Web and using other computer programs, or talk on the phone while driving, they are using their "executive control" processes in their brain, the researchers said. Those processes can be likened to the mental CEO, the part of the brain associated with establishing priorities among tasks and allocating resources to them.
"For each aspect of human performance - perceiving, thinking and acting - people have specific mental resources whose effective use requires supervision through executive mental control," said Meyer in materials provided with the report.
So called "multitasking" is becoming increasingly common because of cell phones and computers, the researchers point out, but it may just be adding wasted time and inefficiency to our days.
A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cell phone, Meyer said.
The authors say the research should make employers and employees think twice before implementing multitasking.
(Agencies)
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在阅读这篇文章的时候你手头还在忙着什么别的事情？
美国联邦航天署和密歇根大学研究人员发表的报告显示，一个人同时做两件或更多的事情会降低工作效率，而从一件事情转换到另外一件事情的过程中也会花掉很多的时间。情况严重的话，"一心二用"甚至还可能导致丧命！
密歇根大学心理学系戴维-迈耶是研究牵头人之一，他指出："如果人们同时处理许多项任务，就会变得非常疲劳。" 有时候这么做非但不能节约时间反而会增大工作量。
在研究实验中，四组年轻人同时要完成一系列任务并在不同任务间进行转换。这些任务中，有些比较复杂，如完成数学题，有些则较为简单，如识别几何图形。
研究人员发现变换工作浪费了许多时间，而且越是复杂的任务之间的转换，浪费的时间越多。但是如果参加实验者换到自己较为熟悉的任务，则所用的时间要少得多。
研究人员指出，人们一边上网一边进行其他电脑程序操作，或者边开车边打电话时，他们的大脑处于"执行控制"过程中。这种过程好比是大脑活动的首席执行官，其功能在于确定哪些任务应优先解决，并为其分配大脑资源。
迈耶在其研究材料里说："人类的任何一项活动，观察，思考或行动，都需要脑力资源的配给。而这种资源的使用效率需要通过脑力执行控制过程来监督。"
研究人员还指出，随着手机和电脑的日益普及，人们同时处理多项任务的现象也将日趋普遍。但这也许是意味着我们将要浪费更多的时间和降低工作效率。
迈耶称，对一位驱车驾驶过程中打手机的司机而言，在任务转换过程中，半秒钟的时间延误就能决定他的生死存亡。
实验组织者称这项研究旨在让老板们和员工在选择同时处理多项任务时要三思而后行。
（中国日报网站译）
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Updated: 2001-08-13 01:00
