Why the Multitasking Discussion is Not an Academic Exercise
I have written several pieces about the perils of multitasking, and why one of the most dangerous of all is the use of cell phones in cars.
I began to become concerned about this several years ago when a young woman in England was jailed after she killed someone while trying to drive a car while flirting with her boyfriend on her cell phone.
Now another tragedy has been reported by the BBC.
I am all for liberty and freedom: personal freedom is one of the most central planks of my philosophy.
Though these fatal cases are thankfully rare, is even one life more important than the “convenience” of using a cell phone? Because that is the real issue: none of us can effectively handle the ever-increasing numbers of sensory inputs that are demanding our attention. And why, exactly, does someone need to be talking while in control of a potentially lethal weapon?
And don’t let people tell you that it’s the only way to get everything done! Wouldn’t that mean that they cannot deal with their day, and that you don’t care about the people that they could be affecting? Wouldn’t that comment imply that it’s time to re-evaluate their lives?
Technorati tags: Attention Distraction
Yet Another Piece of Research on the Dangers of Multitasking
Time has published another article on one of my “favorite” topics: the dangers of multitasking. I’ve written several items about this pernicious problem.
The new study from UCLA, is in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The investigators recruited a group of volunteers, all of whom were in their 20s. They had them work on a simple categorization task, in which they were asked to sort a stack of cards into different piles depending on the shapes printed on them. The volunteers then repeated the experiment with a second set of cards, this time while also listening to a set of high- and low-pitched beeps through a headphone and counting up all the high-pitched ones. As they worked, the subjects also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging that enables us to follow brain blood flow.
In both versions of the test, the subjects did equally well on the categorization task, making about the same amount of errors. But when the investigators later asked the volunteers more-analytical questions, asking them details about the patterns of the cards and ways in which they could be categorized, the subjects showed a far more flexible understanding of those cards they had sorted without the distraction of the beeps.
When not distracted, the hippocampus of the brain, which is involved in creating short term memories and in constructing a map of external space, was actively engaged. When distracted by beeps, a less sophisticated part of the brain – the striatum – took over the task. This is one of the brain regions normally dedicated to mastering repetitive motor task or simple habits.
The practical consequence of this is that if you need to learn new information that requires analysis, you should not be doing anything else at the same time.
It may be that some people with attention deficit disorder will behave differently: there is some data that a proportion of them learn better if there are external distractors.
Technorati tags: Multitasking Attention Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Attention deficit disorder
An Online Resource for Attention Deficit Disorder
Regular readers will know that I am very interested in attention deficit disorder, and I have written a number of articles on it. (Just click on the Category over on the left hand side).
It a common clinical problem, thought to affect 5% of American adults and an even larger number of children. Yet there is even more to it, in that attentional problems may also be able to teach us a great deal about gender differences in the brain and in psychology. To say nothing of helping us learn methods for improving everyone’s abilities to concentrate, focus and pay attention, at a time when ever more objects and events are demanding our attention.
Additude magazine has as its mission statement "to provide clear, accurate, user-friendly information and advice for families and individuals affected by AD/HD." Even as a professional, I have found the quality of the magazine to be excellent, and they are certainly succeeding in their aims. They certainly do not focus on medication as anything more than one aspect of treatment.
If you are interested in ADD, I highly recommend this resource.
“Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.”
–Nadia Boulanger (French Conductor and Musician, 1887-1979)
Technorati tags: Attention Attention deficit disorder Gender differences
More on the Perils of Multi-Tasking
I have talked before about the perils of multi-tasking and partial attention.
New research by Professor David Strayer at the University of Utah has confirmed previous research indicating that speaking on a mobile phone is at least as dangerous as driving while over the legal alcohol limit. The research is published in the journal Human Factors. Cell phones are so distracting because of a phenomenon called "inattention blindness," where the drivers enter a kind of "virtual reality" with the person they’re talking to. In the research, the drivers who talked on phones remembered half as many of the objects they looked at compared to those who were driving without talking on phones. Furthermore, the drivers did not even realize that they weren’t really "seeing" everything in front of them on the road: they thought they were driving perfectly safely. So it is likely that using a cell phone – even a hands free model – is considerably more distracting even than eating or drinking while driving.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can safely juggle driving and your cell phone: you may drop one or the other.
“Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.”
— Henry David Thoreau (American Essayist and Philosopher, 1817-1862)
Technorati tags: Attention Distraction David Strayer Driving
Hyperfocus
“Success isn’t magic or hocus-pocus its simply learning how to focus.” –Jack Canfield (American Motivational Speaker, Author and Trainer, 1944-)
We have all been taught the importance of focusing to learn and to get jobs done. But there is also a problem that we call hyperfocus. This phenomenon has been known for centuries; in fact the Athenian Philosopher Socrates had it, and I’m going to put my hand up and admit that I have it too. When I am focused on a task I can easily become oblivious to the world and sit at my desk for many hours at a time without moving. I will not even hear the phone on my desk ring. And I have recently learned the hard way that sitting hunched over a hot computer for hours is not good for the spine. My chiropractor has given me strict instructions to break the spell of hyperfocus every hour and have a good stretch. (Thank you Teresa!). I’ve been giving that advice to other people for years, but doctors are, of course, the worst patients. Now my computer sends me a reminder every hour. Fortunately there can be an upside to hyperfocus, which I shall explain in a moment.
So what is hyperfocus? Interestingly, it is can be a feature of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). People with the disorder may not just exhibit distractibility, but may also have a tendency to focus very intently on things that interest them. The ability of a child to sit for hours playing complex video games does not at all rule out the diagnosis of ADD. I have known many people whose hyperfocus lead them to spend countless hours playing games or surfing the Internet, to the detriment of their relationships.
The real problem in ADD is not a short attention span; it is a poorly regulated attention system. It is thought that attentional problems are related to low levels of dopamine in key regions of the frontal systems of the brain, which is why people with ADD tend to be drawn to activities that provide instant feedback, and may also be part of the explanation for the disastrously high rates of substance abuse and impulsivity in untreated patients. Particularly in young people with ADD, they tend constantly to seek out things that are exciting and entertaining rather than schoolwork and chores.
So what to do about hyperfocus? I shall mention in a moment why, in its place, it can be helpful. But when it is interfering with things that have to get done, or causing other problems, here are some tips:
1. Use you computer’s alarm functions: I use a Macintosh, so I’ve been able to set up some fun distractions that come along once an hour.
2. Alarm watches: set the sound and/or vibration that it will be able to break through your hyperfocus. Experiment to find the decibels needed.
3. You can send yourself regular cell phone messages via email.
4. Most modern cell phones have good alarm functions that you can set to help yourself.
5. Kitchen timers are also very helpful.
Though there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support it, I have also had some successes with the Bach Flower Essence, Chestnut Bud, in reducing unwanted hyperfocus.
I firmly believe that most problems contain their solution. Therefore I try not to fight hyperfocus, but to harness it. For a child with hyperfocus, learning that is active and physical is far more likely to be successful than book learning. Many entrepreneurs have hyperfocus, because they like working intensely on projects that give them a quick and enjoyable payoff. They often find it difficult to work in corporate America, if they have to work at someone else’s speed and at times laid down by another person.
“Successful minds work like a gimlet, to a single point.” –Christian Nestell Bovée (American Lawyer and Writer, 1820-1904)
Technorati tags: attention, ADD, hyperfocus
Partial Attention
“To do two things at once – is to do neither.” — Publilius Syrus (Syrian-born Latin Writer, 1st Century B.C.E.)
Just yesterday I was counseling a successful young businesswoman who was telling me that she was planning to buy a Blackberry to add to her cell phone, laptop, PDA and pager. I strongly advised her not to buy one. Not because I have anything against Blackberries: they are wonderful pieces of equipment, and some people cannot do their jobs without them. My suggestion was based on something else entirely: Overload. Apart from being in business, she is also a mother of a young teething child and the last thing that she needs is yet another device to occupy her attention.
So I was delighted by the remarkable coincidence that this week’s Newsweek magazine is carrying an important article by Steven Levy, reporting on the recent emerging Technology Conference in San Diego that took "The Attention Economy" as its theme. He described an issue that has been worrying me for several years and which I shall be addressing when I am interviewed for Success.com in a couple of weeks time. A former Apple and Microsoft executive named Linda Stone described the epidemic of continuous partial attention.
We have all been multitasking since before our ancestors came down from the trees, but she discussed the way in which people’s attention is now constantly being distracted by a host of new inputs: email, text messaging, instant messaging and a hundred other things. And think of those news broadcasts that since 2001 have regularly had more than one item at a time on the screen. Many people have learned to give only partial attention to the task before them. The downside of this is that the appearance of competent multitasking (“Look mom, I can do ten things at once!”) is an illusion. If you are only working on a project with 10% of your attention, it is going to take much longer to get it done, and errors are far more likely to occur. What if needed is intense focus on one thing at a time.
In a speech, Linda Stone said that I prominent cause of continuous partial attention is "a desire to live as a node on the network." Some people can manage several inputs very well indeed. I often have more than one screen of input open at once, and Bill Gates is able to monitor four active screens at once. But when I’m really concentrating on producing high quality material for you, gentle reader, I turn off all the inputs until I am finished. In fact, checking my email is a reward for having finished the job at hand. While there are many advantages to being in perpetual contact, the balance has tipped more toward distraction, and, as Linda Stone put it, “a sense of constant crisis.”
I am also reminded of the phenomenon of “Flow” made popular by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. We feel that we are in a state of flow state when we are engaged in self-determined, goal-related, meaningful actions that are moving in the direction that we desire. Having our attention and energy pulled away from the flow is likely to interfere without ability not just to be productive, but also to enjoy life. There is, of course nothing wrong at all with being in continuous contact and communication with others people. But in order to be productive or to enjoy the moment, at some point you need to actually stop the conversation and focus on what you are doing.
Professor David Meyer from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is a research psychologist who has demonstrated that multitasking, far from increasing our productivity, actually makes us less productive. Some data from Europe has influenced lawmakers, after research indicated that driving and talking on a cell phone is a particularly bad multitasking combination that has been shown to cause even more accidents than drunk drivimg.
Remember the old saying: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”
Technorati tags: attention, multitasking, Productivity, Work, Stress
Modafinil and ADD
The Washington Post has just reported that the FDA has turned an application from the Pharmaceutical Company Cephalon to have modafinil approved for use in children with ADD, because of worries about a potentially serious skin reaction called Stevens-Johnson syndrome .
This is a real shame: we need more options for treating children and adults with ADD, and although I am a huge proponent of non-pharmacological methods of treatment, the fact is that a lot of people simply do not respond to the methods that we currently have available, and some do not even respond to the medications that are available.
Modafinil had looked very promising: in December 1998 the FDA approved modafinil under the brand name Provigil for treating adults with sleepiness associated with narcolepsy. Its main mechanism of action is to inhibit the reuptake of dopamine in key regions of the brain, effectively increasing the amount of dopamine available. It has been used off-label for excessive daytime sleepiness and last year a study form the University of Pennsylvania indicated that it might help some cocaine addicts fight their cravings. It is an open secret that a great many students and academics have been using it for years to enable them to study and work longer. I remember an article from someone who was due to lecture in India, immediately after his arrival from the United States. He admitted to taking modafinil to help him get through the ordeal.
The application to use modafinil in ADD is not dead. The FDA has said that they want a 3000 patients study to assess the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and the company will discuss that with them. But it will inevitably mean delays.
Attention Deficit, Money and Motivation
People often say that I’m someone who’s glass is always half full. Well, that’s not quite correct: I’m a huge realist, but I don’t like the idea of pathologizing everything that happens to us. One example of this is ADD.
Though untreated clinical ADD can lead to a great deal of distress and the ever-present risk of impulsive behaviors and substance abuse, I am also eager to examine the positive aspects of having attentional problems. Many of the young people and adults with ADD are also extremely successful in settings that don’t require the academic type of concentration. I have met entrepreneurs with ADD, as well as some highly creative people and athletes. A question has been whether ADD might confer some others gifts, benefits or advantages on people.
Although a year old, we recently came across an item that is not as well-known as it should be. Studies using fMRI have indicated that some of the regions of the brain that do not normally show much activity in young people with ADD become highly activated by monetary rewards.
This is not to say that giving young people money is the way to “conquer” ADD. Instead it suggest that rather than just thinking about people with ADD as just having an attention problem, we should also think of them as people who derive pleasure from different things than the bulk of the populations. Not having to spend all their time attending to linear learning may actually lead to greater freedom of imagination, creativity and emotional expression.
People with sever attentional problems can run into a lot of problems in relationships, even losing attention during sex. But it may be that may also be that minor degrees of loss of attentional focus may also enhance some people’s ability to feel empathy.
Technorati Tags: ADHD, ADD, reward, Motivation, Creativity
