Contemplative Multitasking: An Oxymoron?
Professor Al Kaszniak's AMRIG Presentation from September 29, 2010
Summary: Fueled by multiple new communication technologies and the "more, better, faster" demands of our modern economy, multitasking in home and work environments is
increasingly common. However, multitasking carries with it the speed and accuracy costs of frequent task-switching, as well as the experience of stress
and fatigue. In this presentation, some of the recent research on multitasking will be reviewed, followed by description of initial results from a recent
pre-post experiment (Levy, Kaszniak, Wobrock, & Ostergren, 2010; funded by NSF) comparing brief (8 week) meditation training, progressive muscle
relaxation/autogenic imagery training, and a wait-list control on self-reported distress, mood, and energy, as well as measured memory, before and after
complex, ecologically-valid multitasking demands. Implications of these initial results are discussed in relation to the possibilities for more contemplative
approaches to work and technology.