Abstract
A review of interference effects in concurrent temporal/nontemporal dual-task studies suggests that prospective timing may be related to executive cognitive functions. Executive processes play a supervisory role in behavior by controlling attention, coordinating information, and scheduling actions. In the present research, a timing task was paired with an established executive task in a dual-task paradigm. The timing task required subjects to generate a series of 5-sec temporal productions, and the executive task was random number generation. These tasks were performed both separately and concurrently. Comparisons of single-task and dual-task conditions showed that (1) the randomization task interfered with timing by making temporal productions more variable and longer and (2) concurrent timing disrupted randomization performance by making responses less random. This pattern of bidirectional interference supports the idea that timing relies on the same attentional resources used by other executive-level tasks.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attneave, F. (1959).Applications of information theory to psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986).Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press.
Baddeley, A. D. (1990).Human memory: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Working memory.Science,255, 556–559.
Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory or working attention? In A. D. Baddeley & L. Weiskrantz (Eds.),Attention: Selection, awareness, and control (pp. 152–170). New York: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D. (1994). Working memory: The interface between memory and cognition. In D. L. Schacter & E. Tulving (Eds.),Memory systems 1994 (pp. 351–367). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Baddeley, A. D., &Della Sala, S. (1996). Working memory and executive control.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Series B,351, 1397–1404.
Baddeley, A. D., Emslie, H., Kolodny, J., &Duncan, J. (1998). Random generation and the executive control of working memory.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,51A, 819–852.
Baddeley, A. D., &Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). New York: Academic Press.
Bathurst, K., &Kee, D. W. (1994). Finger-tapping interference as produced by concurrent verbal and nonverbal tasks: An analysis of individual differences in left-handers.Brain & Cognition,24, 123–136.
Bortolussi, M. R., Kantowitz, B. H., &Hart, S. G. (1986). Measuring pilot workload in a motion base trainer: A comparison of four techniques.Applied Ergonomics,17, 278–283.
Brown, S. W. (1985). Time perception and attention: The effects of prospective versus retrospective paradigms and task demands on perceived duration.Perception & Psychophysics,38, 115–124.
Brown, S. W. (1997). Attentional resources in timing: Interference effects in concurrent temporal and nontemporal working memory tasks.Perception & Psychophysics,59, 1118–1140.
Brown, S. W. (1998). Automaticity versus timesharing in timing and tracking dual-task performance.Psychological Research,61, 71–81.
Brown, S. W., &Bennett, E. D. (2002). The role of practice and automaticity in temporal and nontemporal dual-task performance.Psychological Research,66, 80–89.
Brown, S. W., &Frieh, C. T. (2000). Information processing in the central executive: Effects of concurrent temporal production and memory updating tasks. In P. Desain & L. Windsor (Eds.),Rhythm perception and production (pp. 193–196). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Brown, S. W., &Stubbs, D. A. (1992). Attention and interference in prospective and retrospective timing.Perception,21, 545–557.
Brugger, P. (1997). Variables that influence the generation of random sequences: An update.Perceptual & Motor Skills,84, 627–661.
Burle, B., &Casini, L. (2001). Dissociation between activation and attention effects in time estimation: Implications for internal clock models.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,27, 195–205.
Casali, J. G., &Wierwille, W. W. (1983). A comparison of rating scale, secondary-task, physiological, and primary-task workload estimation techniques in a simulated flight task emphasizing communications load.Human Factors,25, 623–641.
Casali, J. G., &Wierwille, W. W. (1984). On the measurement of pilot perceptual workload: A comparison of assessment techniques addressing sensitivity and intrusion issues.Ergonomics,27, 1033–1050.
Casini, L., &Ivry, R. B. (1999). Effects of divided attention on temporal processing in patients with lesions of the cerebellum or frontal lobe.Neuropsychology,13, 10–21.
Casini, L., &Macar, F. (1997). Effects of attention manipulation on judgments of duration and of intensity in the visual modality.Memory & Cognition,25, 812–818.
Casini, L., Macar, F., &Grondin, S. (1992). Time estimation and attentional sharing. In F. Macar, V. Pouthas, & W. J. Friedman (Eds.),Time, action, and cognition: Towards bridging the gap (pp. 177–180). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Coull, J. T., Vidal, F., Nazarian, B., &Macar, F. (2004). Functional anatomy of the attentional modulation of time estimation.Science,303, 1506–1508.
De Rammelaere, S., Stuyven, E., &Vandierendonck, A. (1999). The contribution of working memory resources in the verification of simple mental arithmetic sums.Psychological Research,62, 72–77.
Evans, F. J. (1978). Monitoring attention deployment by random number generation: An index to measure subjective randomness.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,12, 35–38.
Evans, F. J., &Graham, C. (1980). Subjective random number generation and attention deployment during acquisition and overlearning of a motor skill.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,15, 391–394.
Fraisse, P. (1978). Time and rhythm perception. In E. C. Carterette & M. P. Friedman (Eds.),Handbook of perception: Vol. 8. Perceptual coding (pp. 203–254). New York: Academic Press.
Franssen, V., &Vandierendonck, A. (2002). Time estimation: Does the reference memory mediate the effect of knowledge of results?Acta Psychologica,109, 239–267.
Fürst, A. J., &Hitch, G. J. (2000). Separate roles for executive and phonological components of working memory in mental arithmetic.Memory & Cognition,28, 774–782.
Gilhooly, K. J., Logie, R. H., Wetherick, N. E., &Wynn, V. (1993). Working memory and strategies in syllogistic-reasoning tasks.Memory & Cognition,21, 115–124.
Ginsburg, N., &Karpiuk, P. (1994). Random generation: Analysis of the responses.Perceptual & Motor Skills,79, 1059–1067.
Grondin, S., &Macar, F. (1992). Dividing attention between temporal and nontemporal tasks: A performance operating characteristic— POC—analysis. In F. Macar, V. Pouthas, & W. J. Friedman (Eds.),Time, action, and cognition: Towards bridging the gap (pp. 119–128). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Heathcote, D. (1994). The role of visuo-spatial working memory in the mental addition of multi-digit addends.Current Psychology of Cognition,13, 207–245.
Hicks, R. E., &Allen, D. A. (1979). The repetition effect in judgments of temporal duration across minutes, days, and months.American Journal of Psychology,92, 323–333.
Hicks, R. E., Miller, G. W., Gaes, G., &Bierman, K. (1977). Concurrent processing demands and the experience of time-in-passing.American Journal of Psychology,90, 431–446.
Hicks, R. E., Miller, G. W., &Kinsbourne, M. (1976). Prospective and retrospective judgments of time as a function of amount of information processed.American Journal of Psychology,89, 719–730.
Hirst, W., &Kalmar, D. (1987). Characterizing attentional resources.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,116, 68–81.
Hiscock, M., Cheesman, J., Inch, R., Chipuer, H. M., &Graff, L. A. (1989). Rate and variability of finger tapping as measures of lateralized concurrent task effects.Brain & Cognition,10, 87–104.
Kantowitz, B. H., &Knight, J. L. (1974). Testing tapping timesharing.Journal of Experimental Psychology,103, 331–336.
Kantowitz, B. H., &Knight, J. L. (1976). Testing tapping timesharing: II. Auditory secondary task.Acta Psychologica,40, 343–362.
Kee, D. W., Morris, K., Bathurst, K., &Hellige, J. B. (1986). Lateralized interference in finger tapping: Comparisons of rate and variability measures under speed and consistency tapping instructions.Brain & Cognition,5, 268–279.
Klapp, S. T., Porter-Graham, K. A., &Hoifjeld, A. R. (1991). The relation of perception and motor action: Ideomotor compatibility and interference in divided attention.Journal of Motor Behavior,23, 155–162.
Lemaire, P., Abdi, H., &Fayol, M. (1996). The role of working memory resources in simple cognitive arithmetic.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,8, 73–103.
Logie, R. H., Zucco, G. M., &Baddeley, A. D. (1990). Interference with visual short-term memory.Acta Psychologica,75, 55–74.
Macar, F., Grondin, S., &Casini, L. (1994). Controlled attention sharing influences time estimation.Memory & Cognition,22, 673–686.
Navon, D., &Gopher, D. (1979). On the economy of the humanprocessing system.Psychological Review,86, 214–255.
Navon, D., &Gopher, D. (1980). Task difficulty, resources, and dualtask performance. In R. S. Nickerson (Ed.),Attention and performance VIII (pp. 297–315). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Neil, D., & Towse, J. (1997). RGCalc: Quantifying order in response sequences [Computer software]. Retrieved from www.pc.rhbnc.ac.uk /cdrg/rgcpage.html.
Nickerson, R. S. (2002). The production and perception of randomness.Psychological Review,109, 330–357.
Noël, M.-P., Désert, M., Aubrun, A., &Seron, X. (2001). Involvement of short-term memory in complex mental calculation.Memory & Cognition,29, 34–42.
O’Donnell, R. D., &Eggemeier, F. T. (1986). Workload assessment methodology. In K. R. Boff, L. Kaufman, & J. P. Thomas (Eds.),Handbook of perception and human performance: Vol. II. Cognitive processes and performance (pp. 42.1–42.49). New York: Wiley.
Ornstein, R. (1969).On the experience of time. New York: Penguin.
Robbins, T. W., Anderson, E. J., Barker, D. R., Bradley, A. C., Fearnyhough, C., Henson, R., et al. (1996). Working memory in chess.Memory & Cognition,24, 83–93.
Ross, D. A. (1969). Lengthening of time estimates in four different temporal patterns of visual light stimulation.Psychonomic Science,16, 194–195.
Seitz, K., &Schumann-Hengsteler, R. (2000). Mental multiplication and working memory.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,12, 552–570.
Shannon, C. E., &Weaver, W. (1949).The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Shinohara, K. (1999). Resource for temporal information processing in interval production.Perceptual & Motor Skills,88, 917–928.
Stuss, D. T., &Alexander, M. P. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view.Psychological Research,63, 289–298.
Stuyven, E., &Van der Goten, K. (1995). Stimulus independent thoughts and working memory: The role of the central executive.Psychologica Belgica,35, 241–251.
Teasdale, J. D., Dritschel, B. H., Taylor, M. J., Proctor, L., Lloyd, C. A., Nimmo-Smith, I., &Baddeley, A. D. (1995). Stimulusindependent thought depends on central executive resources.Memory & Cognition,23, 551–559.
Thomas, E. A. C., &Cantor, N. E. (1975). On the duality of simultaneous time and size perception.Perception & Psychophysics,18, 44–48.
Thomas, E. A. C., &Cantor, N. E. (1978). Interdependence between the processing of temporal and non-temporal information. In J. Requin (Ed.),Attention and performance VII (pp. 43–62). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Thomas, E. A. C., &Weaver, W. B. (1975). Cognitive processing and time perception.Perception & Psychophysics,17, 363–367.
Towse, J. N., &Neil, D. (1998). Analyzing human random generation behavior: A review of methods used and a computer program for describing performance.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers,30, 583–591.
Towse, J. N., &Valentine, J. D. (1997). Random generation of numbers: A search for underlying processes.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,9, 381–400.
Treisman, M. (1963). Temporal discrimination and the indifference interval: Implications for a model of the “internal clock.”Psychological Monographs: General & Applied,77(13, Whole No. 576).
Tsang, P. S., Shaner, T. L., &Vidulich, M. A. (1995). Resource scarcity and outcome conflict in time-sharing performance.Perception & Psychophysics,57, 365–378.
Vandierendonck, A., De Vooght, G., &Van der Goten, K. (1998). Does random time interval generation interfere with working memory executive functions?European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,10, 413–442.
Wickens, C. D. (1980). The structure of attentional resources. In R. S. Nickerson (Ed.),Attention and performance VIII (pp. 239–257). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Wickens, C. D. (1984). Processing resources in attention. In R. Parasuraman & D. R. Davies (Eds.),Varieties of attention (pp. 63–102). New York: Academic Press.
Wickens, C. D. (1986). Gain and energetics in information processing. In G. R. J. Hockey, A. W. K. Gaillard, & M. G. H. Coles (Eds.),Energetics and human information processing (pp. 373–389). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.
Wickens, C. D. (1991). Processing resources and attention. In D. L. Damos (Ed.),Multiple-task performance (pp. 3–34). London: Taylor & Francis.
Wickens, C. D. (1992).Engineering psychology and human performance (2nd ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
Wierwille, W. W., &Connor, S. A. (1983). Evaluation of 20 workload measures using a psychomotor task in a moving-base aircraft simulator.Human Factors,25, 1–16.
Wierwille, W. W., Rahimi, M., &Casali, J. G. (1985). Evaluation of 16 measures of mental workload using a simulated flight task emphasizing mediational activity.Human Factors,27, 489–502.
Zakay, D. (1989). Subjective time and resource allocation: An integrated model of time perception. In I. Levin & D. Zakay (Eds.),Time and human cognition: A life-span perspective (pp. 365–397). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Zakay, D. (1993). Time estimation methods: Do they influence prospective duration estimates?Perception,22, 91–101.
Zakay, D. (1998). Attention allocation policy influences prospective timing.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,5, 114–118.
Zakay, D., &Shub, J. (1998). Concurrent duration production as a workload measure.Ergonomics,41, 1115–1128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Note—This article was accepted by the previous editorial team, when Colin M. MacLeod was Editor.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brown, S.W. Timing and executive function: Bidirectional interference between concurrent temporal production and randomization tasks. Memory & Cognition 34, 1464–1471 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195911
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195911