title: Deep thinking increases task-set shielding and reduces shifting flexibility in dual-task performance.
abstract: Performing two tasks concurrently is difficult, which has been taken to imply the existence of a structural processing bottleneck. Here we sought to assess whether and to what degree one's multitasking abilities depend on the cognitive-control style one engages in. Participants were primed with creativity tasks that either called for divergent thinking-which were suspected to induce a holistic, flexible task processing mode, or convergent thinking-which were assumed to induce a systematic, focused processing mode. Participants showed reduced cross-talk between tasks and increased task-component switching costs (dual-task costs) for the convergent-thinking group compared to both, a divergent-thinking group and a neutral control group. The results suggest that the cognitive-control style people engage in prior to the task predicts their multitasking performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany. fischer@psychologie.tu-dresden.de
authors.forename: Rico
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hommel
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D014936:Word Association Tests; D055815:Young Adult