Task switching and visual discrimination in pedestrian mobile multitasking: Influence of IT mobile task type

Abstract

With the growing use of smartphones in our daily life, mobile multitasking has become a widespread (and often dangerous) behavior. Research on mobile multitasking thus far only focuses on a limited number of IT tasks that can be performed with a smartphone: talking, listening to music, and texting. Thus, we do not know the extent to which these results generalize to other types of mobile multitasking behaviors such as reading while walking and gaming while walking. Also, we do not know the extent to which motor movement through physical space (i.e., walking vs. only standing) affects this phenomena. The current paper reports on an ongoing research that explores these questions. Our preliminary results suggest that mobile and standing multitasking leads to the inability to perceive incoming stimuli. Gaming appears to be the most dangerous mobile multitasking task for pedestrians.