Human information processing is limited by attentional resources. That is, via attentional mechanisms humans select information that is relevant for their goals, and discard other information. While limitations of attentional processing have been investigated extensively in each sensory modality, there is debate as to whether sensory modalities access shared resources, or if instead distinct resources are dedicated to individual sensory modalities. Research addressing this question has used dual task designs, with two tasks performed either in a single sensory modality or in two separate modalities. The rationale is that, if two tasks performed in separate sensory modalities interfere less or not at all compared to two tasks performed in the same sensory modality, then attentional resources are distinct across the sensory modalities. If task interference is equal regardless of whether tasks are performed in separate sensory modalities or the same sensory modality, then attentional resources are shared across the sensory modalities. Due to their complexity, dual task designs face many methodological difficulties. In the present review, we discuss potential confounds and countermeasures. In particular, we discuss 1) compound interference measures to circumvent problems with participants dividing attention unequally across tasks, 2) staircase procedures to match difficulty levels of tasks and counteracting problems with interpreting results, 3) choosing tasks that continuously engage participants to minimize issues arising from task switching, and 4) reducing motor demands to avoid sources of task interference, which are independent of the involved sensory modalities.

中文翻译：

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共享或不同的注意力资源？双重任务设计，对策和指南中的混淆。

人工信息处理受到注意力资源的限制。也就是说，人们通过注意力机制选择与其目标相关的信息，并丢弃其他信息。虽然注意力加工的局限性已在每种感觉模态中进行了广泛研究，但关于感觉模态是否访问共享资源，还是相反的资源是否专门用于个体感觉模态，存在争议。针对这个问题的研究使用了双重任务设计，其中两个任务以单一的感觉方式或两个单独的方式执行。理由是，如果与以相同的感觉方式执行的两个任务相比，以单独的感觉方式执行的两个任务干扰较少或根本没有干扰，则注意资源在各个感觉模式中是不同的。如果任务干扰是相等的，而不管任务是在单独的感官模式中执行还是在相同的感官模式中进行，则注意资源将在所有感官模式之间共享。由于其复杂性，双重任务设计面临许多方法上的困难。在本综述中，我们讨论了潜在的混杂因素和对策。特别是，我们讨论了1）复合干预措施来规避问题，参与者将注意力不平均地分配给任务，2）阶梯程序以匹配任务的难度级别并用解释结果来抵消问题，3）选择持续参与参与者的任务以最小化问题的产生任务切换，以及4）减少运动需求，以避免任务干扰源，这些源独立于所涉及的感觉方式。