Cognitive Control and Multitasking impair each other. You will learn about the Costs of multitasking and not paying attention. It will help you make better decisions in your life and avoid the consequences. Let's get started. Multitasking impairs your ability to think, pay attention, and stay on task.
Cognitive Control
Cognitive Control (CC) is a process that emerges from network processing of brain circuits. Unlike other mental processes, it is not mediated by a single network area. The brain's networks vary in their connectivity and functional organization in response to cognitive demands. These neural changes are believed to facilitate CC.
Cognitive control is related to executive functions and the prefrontal cortex. It is closely related to attention, motivation, and working memory. Several psychometric studies have uncovered both unity and diversity in the constructs associated with CC. The most commonly studied constructs include general CC, working memory updating, and mental set shifting. These constructs are viewed against the cellular neurobiology of the PFC.
Multitasking impairs cognitive control
Recent research has indicated that multitasking impairs cognitive control. Researchers at Stanford University say that people who are regularly multitasking have reduced control over their memory and cannot switch between tasks effectively. This is concerning for those who work on multiple devices or try to keep up with multiple e-mail conversations at once. In another study, university students who were exposed to multiple screen activities showed less brain density in the area of the brain responsible for empathy and cognitive control.
The process of control adjustment is a complex process that requires advanced cognitive skills. All human actions are accompanied by associated brain functions, and moving from one task to another requires complementary stages of goal shifting and rule activation. These interrelated cognitive processes establish priorities among tasks and allocate resources to them.
Costs of multitasking
It's hard to focus on one thing at a time without experiencing mental blocks. This can result in up to 40% of your time being spent switching from one cognitive task to another. While it may be fun to multitask, this type of behavior is not productive and can reduce your efficiency.
The costs of multitasking can be substantial. Often, these costs are only a few tenths of a second each time you switch between tasks, but when done repetitively, they can add up quickly. Even if multitasking might appear to be more efficient on the surface, it can end up taking much longer and causing more errors. One study estimated that it costs about 40 percent of your productive time.
Costs of not paying attention
Costs of not paying attention are the costs we incur when we do not pay attention to our primary tasks. In the context of serial processing of multiple mental sets, switching between internal and external mental sets requires attention that is not focused on the primary task. In other words, the detrimental effects of mind wandering reflect the costs we incur when we are not paying attention to our primary task.
