WHO:	Hal Pashler , Professor of Psychology, University of California San Diego
TOPIC:	Dual-Task Interference and Cognitive Architecture
ABSTRACT:	Most people claim to be able to perform ìeasyî cognitive tasks simultaneously. However, objective measurement often reveals interference when even seemingly trivial tasks are paired, so long as distinct decisions or planning of distinct responses is required. Experiments manipulating the duration of different stages in dual-task experiments indicate stubbornly serial processing in central stages, including but not limited to response selection. This queuing limitation can be dissociated from sensory or perceptual attention and does not seem well characterized by concepts like "central executive", nor does it seem to be a shareable resource. Recent controversy over the role of strategies in producing central queuing will be discussed, along with recent findings on dual memory retrievals and evidence suggesting that anatomical overlap is not a necessary condition for obligatory queuing. s
WHEN:	10/27/2003 12:15:00 AM
WHERE:	Meliora 269

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