Interruption of the Tower of London task: support for a goal-activation approach.
Unexpected interruptions introduced during the execution phase of simple Tower of London problems incurred a time cost when the interrupted goal was retrieved, and this cost was exacerbated the longer the goal was suspended. Furthermore, time taken to retrieve goals was greater following a more complex interruption, indicating the processing limitations may be as important as time-based limitations in determining the ease of goal retrieval. Such findings cannot simply be attributed to task-switching costs and are evaluated in relation to current models of goal memory (E. M. Altmann & G. J. Trafton, 2002; J. R. Anderson & S. Douglass, 2001), which provide a useful basis for the investigation and interpretation of interruption effects.
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, Wales, United Kingdom. hodgettshm@cardiff.ac.uk
Helen M
HM
Hodgetts
Dylan M
DM
Jones
D001288:Attention; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D011340:Problem Solving; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology