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Behavioral performance and visual attention in communication multitasking: A comparison between instant messaging and online voice chat

Abstract: Participants carried out a visual pattern-matching task on a computer while communicating with a confederate either via instant messaging (IM) or online voice chat. Communicating with a confederate led to a 50% drop in visual pattern-matching performance in the IM condition and a 30% drop...

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Published in:Computers in Human Behavior Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 968 - 976
Main Authors: Wang, Zheng, David, Prabu, Srivastava, Jatin, Powers, Stacie, Brady, Christine, D’Angelo, Jonathan, Moreland, Jennifer
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier B.V. May2012
Subjects:
Human behavior
Instant messaging
Online chat
Media literacy
Visual communication
Attention
Communication
Literacy
Speech
Task performance
Computer multitasking
Comparative studies
Pattern perception
Automobile driving
Computer graphics
Thought & thinking
Visual perception
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:Abstract: Participants carried out a visual pattern-matching task on a computer while communicating with a confederate either via instant messaging (IM) or online voice chat. Communicating with a confederate led to a 50% drop in visual pattern-matching performance in the IM condition and a 30% drop in the voice condition. Visual fixations on pattern-matching were fewer and shorter during the communication task and a greater loss of fixations was found in the IM condition than the voice condition. The results, examined within a threaded cognition framework, suggest that distributing the work between the audio and visual channels reduces performance degradation. Implications for media literacy and distracted-driving are discussed.