Objective

The purpose was to explore how event segmentation theory (EST) can be used to determine optimal moments for an interruption relying on hierarchical task analysis (HTA) to identify coarse and fine event boundaries.

Background

Research on the effects of interruptions shows that they can be either disruptive or beneficial, depending on which aspects of an interruption are manipulated. Two important aspects that contribute to these conflicting results concern when and how often interruptions occur.

Method

Undergraduates completed a trip planning task divided into three subtasks. The within-subjects factor was interruption timing with three levels: none, coarse breakpoints, and fine breakpoints. The between-subjects factor was interruption frequency with two levels: one and three. The dependent measures included resumption lag, number of errors, mental workload, and frustration.

Results

Participants took longer to resume the primary task and reported higher mental workload when interruptions occurred at fine breakpoints. The effect of interruptions at coarse breakpoints was similar to completing the task without interruption. Interruption frequency had no effect on performance; however, participants spent significantly longer attending to interruptions in the initial task, and within a task, the first and second interruptions were attended to significantly longer than the third interruption.

Conclusion

The disruptiveness of an interruption is tied to the point within the task hierarchy where it occurs.

Application

The performance cost associated with interruptions must be considered within the task structure. Interruptions occurring at coarse breakpoints may not be disruptive or have a negative effect on mental workload.

中文翻译：

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检查任务中不同断点和频率的中断影响

客观的

目的是探索如何使用事件分割理论 (EST) 来确定中断的最佳时刻，依赖于分层任务分析 (HTA) 来识别粗略和精细的事件边界。

背景

对干扰影响的研究表明，干扰可能是破坏性的，也可能是有益的，这取决于干扰的哪些方面受到操纵。导致这些相互矛盾的结果的两个重要方面是中断发生的时间和频率。

方法

本科生完成了一项分为三个子任务的旅行计划任务。受试者内因素是三个级别的中断时间：无、粗断点和细断点。主体间因素是中断频率，有两个级别：一级和三级。相关措施包括恢复滞后、错误数量、精神负荷和挫败感。

结果

当在精细断点处发生中断时，参与者需要更长的时间来恢复主要任务并报告更高的精神负荷。在粗断点处中断的效果类似于不中断地完成任务。中断频率对性能没有影响；然而，参与者在初始任务中花费的时间明显更长，并且在任务中，第一次和第二次中断的时间明显长于第三次中断。

结论

中断的破坏性与它在任务层次结构中发生的位置有关。

应用

必须在任务结构中考虑与中断相关的性能成本。在粗断点处发生的中断可能不会造成破坏或对脑力负荷产生负面影响。