CONCURRENT VERBAL ACTIVITY

The capacity of the human to engage in 2 independent verbal activities at the same time is assumed to be related to the degree of attention required by the tasks. A hierarchical classification of tasks is investigated from simple emissive activities, through reproduction of an input, to problem solving. 44 Ss were tested. A relationship is found between type of task and concurrent performance. Similarity of elements in the 2 activities is not found to be important in the concurrent tasks studied. Instruction to rehearse is found to improve retention even though the vocal mechanism is at the same time reading aloud rapidly. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.