EAGER: An Empirical Exploration of Contemplative Multitasking

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

While personal computers, the Internet, cell phones and other information services and technologies are unquestionably powerful resources for communication and for information access, there is growing concern that the widespread use of these tools may be negatively affecting individuals, groups, and even society as a whole. The press is filled with articles on information overload, multitasking, fragmented attention, and the accelerating pace of life. And there is a growing body of scientific literature that bears on these issues, demonstrating in particular that multitasking degrades human performance. New technologies are sometimes suggested as a way to alleviate the problem. This study explores a different but complementary approach: training users through meditation to work more effectively and less stressfully with existing information technologies. The PI will offer people training in meditation and then test their ability to perform a set of time-limited information-intensive tasks. While prior studies of the efficacy of meditation have provided experimental evidence that such training helps people maintain focus and reduce interference resulting from distraction, no one has yet attempted to demonstrate such effects specifically in relation to the use of information technology. The PI's goal in this study is to do just this. Human resources personnel in San Francisco and Seattle will be recruited to attend eight weeks of training in either meditation or relaxation. Participants will be given a test of their multitasking abilities (involving the use of e-mail, instant messaging, phones, and face-to-face conversation in an office-like setting) both before and after the training, and their performance will be evaluated along four dimensions: accuracy; time to completion; satisfaction and well-being; and memory for the task. Project outcomes will thus make a contribution both to the growing body of scientific literature demonstrating that multitasking degrades human performance, as well as to the largely separate literature demonstrating that meditation training can help people maintain focus and reduce interference resulting from distraction, and will serve as a bridge between them. Broader Impacts: There is growing evidence that rampant multitasking and accelerated modes of working can result in health problems and diminished effectiveness. If it can be demonstrated that meditation training diminishes some of these negative effects, then the door will be open to creating ameliorative training for both students and adult workers.