The Multitasking Myth

In today's high-tech world, the ability to multitask is viewed an important, if not essential, skill.  However, recent research is casting it in a more negative light.  The bottom line of this research, as reported by Sarah Sparks in Education Week (May 16, 2012), is that "students with a fear of missing out on something important, pay 'continuous partial attention' to everything' that results in having difficulty concentrating deeply on anything....  Working memory depends strongly on how well you can control selective attention and ignore distractions...."

In one study conducted by Stanford University, "researchers compared the attention-switching abilities of people who said they multitask often with those of people who did so rarely.  It found that the frequent multitaskers were more easily distracted and performed worse on memory and attention tests than those who preferred to do one thing at a time."

In another Stanford study, researchers "tested preschoolers' self control by asking them to hold off eating one marshmallow for 15 minutes in exchange for two sweets at the end of the wait.  Fewer than one-third of the 4-year-olds tested had the self-control to wait, but those who did showed academic and social success in the years that followed." 

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