title: Threaded cognition: an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking.
abstract: The authors propose the idea of threaded cognition, an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking--that is, performing 2 or more tasks at once. Threaded cognition posits that streams of thought can be represented as threads of processing coordinated by a serial procedural resource and executed across other available resources (e.g., perceptual and motor resources). The theory specifies a parsimonious mechanism that allows for concurrent execution, resource acquisition, and resolution of resource conflicts, without the need for specialized executive processes. By instantiating this mechanism as a computational model, threaded cognition provides explicit predictions of how multitasking behavior can result in interference, or lack thereof, for a given set of tasks. The authors illustrate the theory in model simulations of several representative domains ranging from simple laboratory tasks such as dual-choice tasks to complex real-world domains such as driving and driver distraction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa 19104, USA. salvucci@cs.drexel.edu
authors.forename: Dario D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Salvucci
authors.forename: Niels A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Taatgen
mesh_terms: D001334:Automobile Driving; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011597:Psychomotor Performance