While for many of us driving and talking on a cell phone may seem second nature and appear not to carry any associated effort or loss of concentration, research from psychologists of the University of Utah has concluded that 97.5% of us are wrong.
The experiment, conducted on 200 test subjects identified a group of people labeled as “supertaskers”. These lads have the ability to perform both tasks wirthout impairment of abilities.
“According to cognitive theory, these individuals ought not to exist”, says Watson, one of the researchers. “Yet, clearly they do, so we use the supertasker term as a convenient way to describe their exceptional multitasking ability. Given the number of individuals who routinely talk on the phone while driving, one would have hoped that there would be a greater percentage of supertaskers. And while we’d probably all like to think we are the exception to the rule, the odds are overwhelmingly against it. In fact, the odds of being a supertasker are about as good as your chances of flipping a coin and getting five heads in a row.”
Performance was measured in four areas —braking, reaction time, following distance, memory, and math execution-. According to the results, doing both things at the same time, for us humans with no super powers, the level of impairment is comparable to the one seen in drunken drivers.
The reason why some people are able to multi-task is yet to be seen, but there’s strong support for a genetic basis. The scientists are now studying jet fighter pilots who are believed to possess great multi-tasking capabilities.
Source, University of Utah (PDF)
Image credit, Passen Law Group
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