Toward a unified theory of the multitasking continuum: From concurrent performance to task switching, interruption, and resumption

Abstract

Multitasking in user behavior can be represented along a continuum in terms of the time spent on one task before switching to another. In this paper, we present a theory of behavior along the multitasking continuum, from concurrent tasks with rapid switching to sequential tasks with longer time between switching. Our theory unifies several theoretical effects - The ACT-R cognitive architecture, the threaded cognition theory of concurrent multitasking, and the memory-for-goals theory of interruption and resumption - to better understand and predict multitasking behavior. We outline the theory and discuss how it accounts for numerous phenomena in the recent empirical literature. Copyright 2009 ACM.