Executive Control in Multitask Environments

描述(申请人提供)：拟议研究的目标是研究人类认知系统如何快速和灵活地对不断变化的环境和行为目标做出反应。这项研究结合了行为数据的收集和在洛根的视觉注意执行控制理论(ECTVA)中对这些数据的建模。本实验将使用任务转换方法，将两个或多个简单的认知任务(例如，视觉刺激的分类或定位)以紧密的时间顺序呈现。响应时间和准确性度量提供了有关在任务之间切换所涉及的进程的时间进程的信息。ECTVA中行为数据的数学建模允许开发任务切换中执行控制的正式模型。具体的实验路线将包括：1)研究任务相似性对任务转换的影响；2)比较涉及增加或删除任务组成部分的任务转换；3)检查顺序任务呈现与同时呈现任务。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed research is to study how the human cognitive system responds to changing environments and behavioral goals rapidly and with great flexibility. The research combines collection of behavioral data and modeling of this data within Logan's Executive Control Theory of Visual Attention (ECTVA). The proposed experiments will use task switching methodology where two or more simple cognitive tasks (e.g. categorization or location of visual stimuli) are presented in close temporal order. Response time and accuracy measures provide information about the time course of processes involved in switching between tasks. Mathematical modeling of the behavioral data in ECTVA allows for the development of a formal model of executive control in task switching. Specific lines of experimentation will included 1) investigation of task similarity effects on task switching, 2) comparison of task switches that involve adding or deleting task components, and 3) examination of sequential versus simultaneous task presentation.