Critical Reading Discussion

I'll replay on the forum the first part of the article, for making an example and show how I developed the exercise.

Examples

Key words

Important concepts - phrases

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1ST TEXT

When somebody can juggle lots of things at the same time, we often say that they are good “multitaskers.” All of us multitask once in a while. (Introduction)

But psychologists have been warning us about it for decades. Some say it’s harmful to productivity and others say you can’t do it at all. (thesis)

For example, talking on the phone while driving makes your driving worse, because you’re distracted. (Laws allowing hands-free cellphone use are misguided; distracted driving has nothing to do with whether you’re using your hands or not.) (Example with a problem situation)

But there are other studies that suggest multitasking may have benefits. One study showed that talking on the phone during long, monotonous drives might help keep drivers alert and awake. And other studies show that students sitting in a “boring” lecture may be better off doodling, because the combination of activities keeps their minds occupied. (Two arguing positions based in thesis)

As someone who works on broad models of how the mind works, these seemingly contradictory findings are intriguing. Is multitasking good, bad or impossible? (End of the first part, leads to the text body through a question that is going to be answered within the body explanations)

Think you’re great at multitasking? (Opening question, introduces the topic)

You’re probably wrong. According to a new study, people who believe they can multitask effectively — say, talk on a cell phone while driving — are the least likely to be able to do so. (thesis statement)

“Our data suggest the people talking on cell phones while driving are people who probably shouldn’t,” said one of the authors of the study, University of Utah psychologist David Sanbonmatsu, in a prepared statement.

For the study, Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues recruited 277 undergraduate students (156 men, 121 women). The students were asked to perform an attention-demanding task widely used in psychological experiments called Operation Span (OSPAN). It involves memorizing a series of letters while doing simple math calculations. (Program explanation)

The students were also asked to fill out standardized questionnaires that measure impulsiveness and sensation seeking. In addition, they were asked questions about their media use, including how often they used two or more types of media at the same time, and about their driving habits, particularly their use of cell phones while driving. The mean reported frequency of time spent on the phone while driving for these students was 13.3 percent. (A 2012 national survey revealed that 10 percent of young adults ages 16 to 24 years are on their phone at any one time.) (Important percentages)

One of the questionnaires asked the students to rank their multitasking ability relative to other students. Some 70 percent of them said they were (like Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon children) “above average” at multitasking. (Interesting statistics, knowing that they declared exactly the opposite of them)

Of course, it’s statistically impossible for 70 percent of people to be above average on anything. But, as Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues point out in their paper, “the inflated estimations relative to average were not the only indicators that participants’ perceptions of their multi-tasking ability were poorly grounded in reality.”

Indeed, the chronically multitasking students who had inflated estimates of their multitasking abilities were the least capable of doing it effectively. On the other hand, those students who tended not to multitask in “real life” were among the 25 percent who scored the highest on the study’s OSPAN test. They were much better able to keep their attention focused on the task at hand. 

The study also found, perhaps not surprisingly, that highly impulsive and sensation-seeking students reported engaging in more multi-tasking — with one exception. The students who most frequently talked on their cellphones while driving were not found to be more impulsive than their peers. Boredom rather than impulsivity may be why they turn to their phones while behind the wheel.

“Our data show people multitask because they have difficulty focusing on one task at a time. They get drawn into secondary tasks,” said Sanbonmatsu. “…They get bored and want that stimulation of talking while they are driving.” (Inference made as a result of surveys).