Men have an advantage in concurrent multitasking, and that may be a result of the individual differences in cognitive abilities

Gender Differences in Multitasking Experience and Performance. Kelvin F. H. Lui, Ken H. M. Yip, Alan C.-N. Wong. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, September 16, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021820960707

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Abstract: There is a widespread stereotype that women are better at multitasking. Previous studies examining gender difference in multitasking used either a concurrent or sequential multitasking paradigm and offered mixed results. The present study examined a possibility that men were better at concurrent multitasking while women were better at task switching. In addition, men and women were also compared in terms of multitasking experience, measured by a computer monitoring software, a self-reported Media Use Questionnaire, a lab task switching paradigm, and a self-reported Multitasking Prevalence Inventory. Results showed a smaller concurrent multitasking (dual-task) cost for men than women and no gender difference in sequential multitasking (task switching) cost. Men had more experience in multitasking involving video games while women were more experienced in multitasking involving music, instant messaging, and web surfing. The gender difference in dual-task performance, however, was not mediated by the gender differences in multitasking experience but completely explained by difference in the processing speed. The findings suggest that men have an advantage in concurrent multitasking, and that may be a result of the individual differences in cognitive abilities.

Keywords gender difference, multitasking, dual-task performance, task switching, experience

Check also Moderate amounts of media multitasking are associated with optimal task performance and minimal mind wandering. Myoungju Shin, Astrid Linke, Eva Kemps. Computers in Human. Behavior, Volume 111, October 2020, 106422. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/05/moderate-amounts-of-media-multitasking.html