Jan 6 2015

Quick Write: Rate yourself as a multi-tasker on a 1 to 10 scale and explain why you give yourself that rating. (10 is the best score and 1 is the lowest.) Share your answer with a partner and/or the class and explain why you gave yourself this score.


When it comes to multitasking I would rate myself an 8.5 because I am very good it but I am not a pro. I'd rather put all my attention to what I am doing than doing two + things at once, trying to give all my effort in each one. 

1. Describe the experiment that was designed to show whether distractions make us “dumber.”

136 subjects were asked to read a short passage and answer questions about it. There were three groups of subjects; one merely completed the test. The other two were told they “might be contacted for further instructions” at any moment via instant message.
2. What were the results of the experiment?
During Part 1 of the experiment the distraction of an interruption, combined with the brain drain of preparing for that interruption, made our test takers 20 percent dumber. That’s enough to turn a B-minus student (80 percent) into a failure (62 percent). But in Part 2 of the experiment, the results were not as bleak. This time, part of the group was told they would be interrupted again, but they were actually left alone to focus on the questions. Again, the Interrupted group underperformed the control group, but this time they closed the gap significantly, to a respectable 14 percent. Dr. Peer said this suggested that people who experience an interruption, and expect another, can learn to improve how they deal with it. But among the On High Alert group, there was a twist. Those who were warned of an interruption that never came improved by a whopping 43 percent, and even outperformed the control test takers who were left alone. This unexpected, counterintuitive finding requires further research, but Dr. Peer thinks there’s a simple explanation: participants learned from their experience, and their brains adapted.

3. What is the possible explanation for the “On High Alert” group performing even better than the control group who was left alone?

Yes. Once their brains adapted to the possibility of an interruption they were able to preform better than the control group that was left alone. 

4. Answer the Aim.
Aim: How does multi-tasking relate to brain drain and neuroplasticity? 

When you're multi-tasking your brain is not putting 100% of its effort into the task in front of it. Just like when you're working on completing a task but you're also trying to complete another task, it causes your brain to kind of slow down between each task making it work less efficiently and causes it to drain its own energy. This relates to neuroplasticity because once your brain adapts to a situation, it learns how to overcome it and be able to work more efficiently.

5. Check out this short article or research an article of your own. State a significant fact you learned from the supplemental reading on your blog

Part of the danger of current distractions is that they require you to use the same parts of your brain that you need when you learn and study. Your brain just can’t absorb a complex concept in class if you’re distracted by Facebook at the same time. In fact, those who accessed Facebook during the study had lower GPAs than those who avoided it.

6. Now how do you rate yourself as a multi-tasker and why?   

As a multi-tasker I would rate myself as an 8.5, I can multi-task pretty well but I just don't like to. I'd rather put all my attention to whats in front of me, and then go to the next task so I can put all my attention into that.