A case for information theory-based modelling of human multitasking performance

Technological advances have led to increased prevalence of human multitasking. Traditionally, multitasking performance is measured for each individual task, utilising multiple performance metrics. Recently, the human operator informatic model (HOIM) has been developed as a quantitative model of human–machine interaction capable of measuring multitasking performance with a single metric. In this study, we investigated the performance effects of both a different number of tasks and five different task combinations while maintaining a constant level of overall difficulty. Results indicate that, at a constant difficulty level, neither number of tasks nor task combination significantly affects multitasking performance, indicating the reliability of input baud rate as a measure of system complexity. No task interaction effects were found among the different tasks. This study demonstrates the application of information theory for modelling of human multitasking performance and makes a case for the use of the HOIM in future studies of human information processing.