Rosen et al (2011)

Aim

To examine to what extent does task switching effect an individual’s ability to recall information.

Participants

• 185 college students

• 80% female; 20% male

• mean age of 25

• 83% of participants were born between 1980 and 1989

Procedure

• Watched a 30 minute video-taped lecture

• Researchers would be texting them at the same time to which the participants should respond promptly

• Randomly assigned into one of the three groups

  • Minimal/no texting group (0)

  • Moderate texting group (4)

  • High texting group (8)

• After watching the lecture, they are immediately tested on the material

• Interviewed on:

  • Texting behaviours in educational settings

  • Attitudes toward texting during classes

  • Perceptions regarding the impact of texting on their learning abilities

Findings

• Test scores exhibited a significant negative correlation with the total volume of texts sent and received, indicating that higher text volumes corresponded to lower memory test scores

• Comparing performance, the group with minimal or no texting exposure outperformed the high texting group by 10.6% in memory scores.

• Participants who delayed responding to text messages for more than 4-5 minutes demonstrated substantially better performance in the test than those who responded promptly

Conclusion

Multitasking or task switching will negatively impactan individual’s performance or ability to recall. Therefore, students should be taught metacognitive strategies that focus on when it is appropriate to take a break and when it is important to focus without distractions in order to maximise their learning

Strengths

1. Cross-sectional study - experiment is replicable, findings are generalisable, fast to conduct

2. High ecological validity - students are in a realistic, familiar environment when being tested

3. 83% of students were born between 1980 and 1989 to ensure familiarity with texting

Weaknesses

1. Artificial element incorporated - researchers texting the students rather family/friends, impacting

2. Snapshot design - limits insights on long-term effects of task switching