Voluntary Task Switching Patterns in Everyday Tasks of Different Motivational Levels

In everyday settings people frequently perform multiple tasks within brief periods of time, typically called multi-tasking, task switching or task interleaving. Experimental studies of these effects typically involve an external cue or interruption to signal that the participant must switch. In contrast, in real world task interleaving the person doing the task frequently initiates the switch (e.g., Czerwinski, Horvitz, & Wilhite, 2004). Why an individual decides to make a voluntary task switch is largely an unexplored topic; the present study was designed to investigate motivational factors in switching tasks. Participants were allowed to switch freely between three tasks of different levels of interest and frustration – playing a game, searching letter for the letter “e” in nonsense text, and reading about human factors psychology. After the session, they rated the tasks on scales of interest and frustration. The results suggest that the level of frustration produced by the task is a stronger motivator for switching tasks than is interest in the task.