A dual-task paradigm is a procedure in experimental
neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...
that requires an individual to perform two tasks simultaneously, in order to compare
performance
A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Performance has evolved glo ...
with single-task conditions. When performance scores on one and/or both tasks are lower when they are done simultaneously compared to separately, these two tasks interfere with each other, and it is assumed that both tasks compete for the same class of
information processing
In cognitive psychology, information processing is an approach to the goal of understanding human thinking that treats cognition as essentially Computing, computational in nature, with the mind being the ''software'' and the brain being the ''hard ...
resources in the brain.
For instance, reciting poetry while riding a bike are two tasks that can be performed just as well separately as simultaneously. However, reciting poetry while writing an essay should deteriorate performance on at least one of these two tasks, because they interfere with each other.
The interpretation of dual-task paradigms follows the view that human processing resources are limited and shareable and that they can be subdivided into several classes.
[Wickens, C.D. 1991. Processing resources and attention. In Multiple Task Performance (ed. D.L. Damos), pp. 3–34. Taler & Francis, Ltd., Bristol.]
References
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External links
Scholarpedia article
Neuropsychology
Memory