Fortune favors the prepared mind : Encoding of contextual cues following warning of an interruption

hodgetts, Helen M; Morgan, Phillip; Jones, Dylan M

Abstract

Three experiments introduced interruptions during the execution phase of nine-move Tower of Hanoi problems and investigated how prior warning of interruption may reduce the time cost at resumption. A visual alert (a blinking dot) presented 2 sec before interruption onset was of little benefit to performance on the primary task, but an auditory alert (a short tone) significantly reduced task resumption times compared to no warning. There was no greater advantage for participants receiving the auditory alert 4 sec rather than 2 sec in advance of interruption. Results are discussed in terms of the goal activation model (Altmann & Trafton, 2002) and support the idea that the brief period between the warning for an interruption and its actual onset (termed the interruption lag) is a critical time during which contextual cues can be encoded to help prime subsequent retrieval of the suspended task goal.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 47th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society
• Start Date: Nov 16, 2006
• End Date: Nov 19, 2006
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2006
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 125
• Keywords: interruption, interruption lag, problem solving, Tower of Hanoi, resumption lag, memory for goals model
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1036026
• Publisher URL: http://www.psychonomic.org/past-future-meetings
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : 47th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society