Performance consequences of interruptions while executing sequential tasks from memory

在完成给定任务的过程中发生中断会严重影响中断任务的性能。在实际设置中，如果任务要求以预定义的顺序顺序应用各种步骤，例如应用安全关键任务的程序，则这是一个特别的问题。在这种情况下，中断可能会导致某些操作执行得太晚、执行顺序错误或被完全省略。来自航空或医学等领域的报告显示，类似这样的性能后果曾多次涉及严重事故和事件。关于中断的理论模型将中断引起的认知需求概念化为一种(预期)记忆任务，即在处理中断时，必须使主要任务的动作目标在记忆中保持活跃，并且必须在中断后正确地重新激活。然而，目前关于中断的相关特征和认知过程的知识仍然有限，这些认知过程决定了一个主要任务在中断后能够以多快的速度和多正确的方式恢复。对于最近才被认为是中断研究一部分的中断顺序任务(过程)尤其如此。本项目旨在调查中断对顺序任务完成的性能影响在多大程度上取决于中断任务的某些特征。具体地说，中断任务的三个方面将被考虑，这三个方面似乎从理论和实践的角度来看是相关的：中断的时间和时间，中断任务的(认知)需求的复杂性和类型，以及中断是否需要立即将注意力从主要任务中撤回。这项研究使用的主要任务要求它通过应用八个不同的工作步骤来应对复杂的视觉刺激，这些步骤涉及到解决刺激的某些特征的问题。工作步骤必须以预定义的顺序从存储器中执行。关键字WORTKLAU支持记忆问题及其顺序。因此，该任务模拟了应用领域中处理记忆过程的典型需求。该任务的英文版本于2014年首次引入，作为中断研究的研究范式，并已针对该项目进行了调整和修改。通过分析中断前后不同工作步骤的处理时间和错误率，可以详细地刻画中断的性能后果，也可以精确地描述中断的时间动态。预计该项目将为任务中断的性能后果提供新的见解，这与我们的理论理解以及有效中断管理的实践指导都有关。

Interruptions during the fulfillment of a given task can significantly impair the performance of the interrupted task. In practical settings, this represents a particular problem if a task requires the sequential application of various steps in a predefined order, such as the application of procedures for safety-critical tasks. In this case, interruptions might cause that certain operations are performed too late, are performed in the wrong order, or are omitted entirely. Reports from domains like aviation or medicine show, that performance consequences like this have repeatedly been involved in severe accidents and incidents. Theoretical models dealing with interruptions conceptualize the cognitive demands caused by interruptions as a (prospective) memory task, in which action goals of the primary task have to be kept active in memory while working on the interruption, and have to be reactivated correctly after the interruption. However, the current knowledge about the relevant characteristics of an interruption and the cognitive processes which determine how fast and correct a primary task can be resumed after an interruption is still limited. This is especially true for interrupted sequential tasks (procedures) which have been considered as part of the interruption research only recently.The current project aims at investigating to what extent the performance consequences of interruptions on the fulfillment of sequential tasks depend on certain characteristics of the interruption task. Specifically, three aspects of interruption tasks will be considered which seem to be relevant from a theoretical and practical point of view: the length and the timing of interruptions, the complexity and type of (cognitive) demands of the interruption task, and whether or not an interruption demands an immediate withdrawal of attention from the primary task. The primary task used for this research requires it to respond to a complex visual stimulus by applying eight different work steps in terms of questions addressing certain characteristics of the stimulus. The work steps have to be carried out from memory in a predefined order. Memorizing the questions and their sequence is supported by the keyword WORTKLAU. Thereby, the task simulates typical requirements for the processing of memorized procedures in applied domains. An English version the task was first introduced as research paradigm for interruption research in 2014, and has been adapted and modified for this project. By analyzing processing times and errors rates for different work steps before and after an interruption, performance consequences of interruptions can be characterized in detail and can also be described precisely in their time dynamics. It is expected that the project provides new insights into performance consequences of task interruptions, which are relevant for both, our theoretical understanding, as well as practical guidance for effective interruption management.