Training Considerations to Overcome the Dangers of Multitasking

By Richard Meure

This piece originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of The Tactical Edge, published by the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). Republished here in collaboration with the NTOA.

Are you someone who thinks they can multitask? Maybe you have told yourself you will be more efficient at your job when you attempt to do two, three or more activities at once, such as write an email, answer a text and carry on a conversation with your partner.

Multitasking is not just limited to administrative chores. While in the field or conducting tactical operations, we find ourselves faced with many tasks that need to get accomplished either at the same time or fairly close together.

Unfortunately, no matter how good you are at those jobs individually, you cannot do multiple activities at the same time. The brain simply does not work that way. You are not truly multitasking. It is important to understand what actually is happening so you can better prepare yourself to get all your tasks accomplished, especially when the stakes are high and you are in a deadly force situation. This would not be the time to make a mistake.

What Happens in the Brain?

When we perceive stimuli by the use of our senses, primarily through vision and sound, the information travels various pathways and enters the limbic system of the brain for immediate processing. The first stop for this new information is the amygdala, where an immediate threat assessment is conducted. The amygdala consults with the hippocampus, which is responsible for storing any previous information that may have been collected and stored as memories. If a serious or unknown threat is detected that requires immediate action, the information is sent from the amygdala to the hypothalamus, which activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).¹

The SNS is responsible for unconscious actions, commonly referred to as our “fight or flight” response. This is what happens when we are startled by a sudden unknown sound or action and the mind perceives a possible threat that requires immediate action. The action usually begins with a flinch; once additional information is processed a plan is formulated. This entire process from detection to response can occur very quickly, usually within 100 to 300 milliseconds.

When the SNS is activated, it also produces stress. Stress can cause a variety of reactions in the body, including elevated heart rate, pulmonary dilation, decreased movement, loss of motor skills and the loss of some bodily functions. When under extremely stressful conditions, our cognitive systems can become overloaded.² This decreases our attentional resources, which in turn affects our decision-making abilities. This can prove detrimental when we are faced with multiple stressful events at the same time. More on this later when we discuss the concept of multitasking.

“When under extremely stressful conditions, our cognitive systems can become overloaded.² This decreases our attentional resources, which in turn affects our decision-making abilities. This can prove detrimental when we are faced with multiple stressful events at the same time.”

If the amygdala does not detect a threat worthy of activating the SNS, the information is then sent to the prefrontal cortex where it is processed and evaluated. The threat, or now a task, is assigned to either the right or left hemisphere of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), where it determines what action to take and in what order the response is initiated. When both hemispheres of the PFC are occupied and a third task is detected, the third task will try to bump one of the two original tasks to make room.³

Psychologist Rene Marois from Vanderbilt University refers to this as a “response selection bottleneck,” when the brain is asked to do several tasks at once.⁴ The brain must use up valuable time to prioritize which task is completed first. The tasks are then prioritized and placed in a queue to determine the order of completion. Researcher David Meyer, from the University of Michigan, calls this task prioritization “adaptive executive control.” If you attempt to switch between competing tasks, more time and energy is expended to complete the tasks.

The PFC is one of the more complex regions of the brain. It is responsible for all executive functions, planning, decision-making, storage and recall of short-term memories, and attention focus. The PFC also plays an important role in applying emotional brakes. This helps in dealing with our fears and our ability to judge right from wrong.

How Does This Apply to Multitasking?

When individuals believe they are completing two or more tasks at the same time, they tend to use the term multitasking. The term itself was not even in existence before the early 1960s, when computer scientists at IBM developed computers that were able to complete several different tasks at the same time. This was all based on how the computer was configured to operate. However, the human brain is not designed to operate like that. It is only able to focus its attention on one thing at a time.

Computers can process different tasks simultaneously while the human brain processes information sequentially.⁵ When someone attempts to do two different things simultaneously there is a conflict between the tasks, and the brain needs to switch its attention back and forth between them. This prevents a timely and potentially error-free completion of either one or both of the tasks.

When the tasks in question are relatively simple and superficial and there is little to no stress involved, the brain can easily “switch” between tasks. Talking with someone while you are walking is a common example of two simple tasks. Why? Because you have been doing both for the majority of your life and the two acts are so ingrained that you can easily switch between them to make it seem like you are doing two things at once. In other words, multitasking. Watch an infant learning to walk and then talk to them. Once their attention is directed at you and not on the process of walking, down they go.

When one or both tasks require a great deal of concentration or the ability to perform a complex motor skill under stressful conditions (i.e. scanning a threat area for an armed adversary while you are conducting an emergency reload while moving) you may not be able to do both without an error.

“When one or both tasks require a great deal of concentration or the ability to perform a complex motor skill under stressful conditions (i.e. scanning a threat area for an armed adversary while you are conducting an emergency reload while moving) you may not be able to do both without an error.”

Studies have shown that under these conditions there is a 40 percent chance of an error occurring,⁶ such as fumbling the reload or losing track of the adversary. The cause of the problem is that our attention, instead of being focused on one task, is now divided between two competing tasks. If an error does occur, stress levels will rise, which will continue to affect you negatively to the point you may not be able to complete either task. By constantly switching tasks we also slow down our decision-making process, which in turn slows down perception and reaction times.

We see examples of this on almost a daily basis. Take for instance an officer driving to a call but forced to check the vehicle’s computer terminal for an update or location information. This could lead to missing a turn or a collision if the officer is not able to process both tasks. Another example would be an officer grabbing the wrong piece of equipment from their duty belt when dealing with a confrontational subject. This can have dire consequences if the item drawn is a handgun instead of the intended Taser.

When dealing with a potentially armed suspect, we do not have the luxury of being able to stand still and devote our full attention to see if he is armed and to judge his intentions. We also need to seek cover, consider what is down range, coordinate with responding officers, communicate with the suspect and react to his actions.⁷

These are all examples of multitasking, and it is stressful, takes time, and can have serious ramifications if a mistake is made.

Can We Actually Accomplish Two Things at Once?

The short and technical answer is, “No, we cannot.” What we can do is become more aware of our own physical and mental limitations and then train to the point where it looks like we are multitasking. The best way to do that is to recognize and prioritize the skills and tasks that we are likely to need to accomplish our mission, and then train, train, train.

By training in certain skills such as the reload previously mentioned we commit the processes to our long-term memory, which allows the amygdala to retrieve the information for future use in a timely manner. If we have not trained in a technique and have no previous information from past experiences which can be recalled, the brain cannot activate an appropriate response. Having these stored memories of various tasks will greatly decrease the “costs” associated with task switching if we are forced to do that, although it will not completely eliminate them.⁸

If, however, you are able to accomplish your primary task quickly, you will then be able to switch tasks and devote your full attention and focus on your secondary task.

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It should be noted that some studies have shown that having cognitive schemas⁹ developed for specialized perceptual-motor and cognitive routines may actually suppress or inhibit the activation of another task. This would be similar to “going on auto-pilot” and can only occur after extensive practice on a specific skill set. Unless you have that level of training, your execution of the task at hand may suffer if conducted under a high-stress environment and you have the need to complete additional tasks. This is documented in several studies that consistently show that, almost without exemption, performance on one or both tasks will suffer as a result of attempting to perform both tasks simultaneously.¹⁰ This is due to the fact you have to divide your attention between two competing tasks and the brain is not set up to do that effectively.

What Can We Do?

While training, it is important to develop a basic understanding of how the brain works and the dangers of believing you can effectively complete two tasks simultaneously 100 percent of the time. Once you understand that, you can tailor your training to provide you with the best opportunity to complete these tasks efficiently.

“While training, it is important to develop a basic understanding of how the brain works and the dangers of believing you can effectively complete two tasks simultaneously 100 percent of the time. Once you understand that, you can tailor your training to provide you with the best opportunity to complete these tasks efficiently.”

By training to the level of “unconscious competence,”¹¹ we give ourselves the best chance to complete the task at hand before we are forced to engage in another. In this way we allow the amygdala and prefrontal cortex to default to the learned behavior without the need for further analysis. In the early 1900s, psychologists Yerkes and Dobson found that skills that were “over-learned” could effectively be employed during high-stress events. When training, instructors should be aware that students need to achieve at the minimum an “intermediate” level of proficiency in a desired skillset before they are subjected to any type of stress training. Introduction of stress too soon will hamper any effective training.

Stress inoculation should be an important part of any training program. It allows the students to constantly improve their performance while subjected to stressful events.

There is an interesting theory discussed by Bruce Siddle (1995)¹² in his book “Sharpening the Warrior’s Mind” called the Inverted U Theory. It was determined that students needed a certain amount of stress before they achieved their optimum level of performance. However, as the stress levels increased, performance began to deteriorate.

Let us go back to our reloading-under-fire scenario. Instructors will tell their students that they must focus on the threat 100 percent, and the reload should be automatic from muscle memory. Instructors did not want shooters looking at their pistols when they reloaded. What normally happened was an eventual fumbled reload, especially if moving, which caused the student to look at the magazine and magazine well for a split second to complete the task.

This unplanned error now increased stress levels and potentially made it harder to concentrate on the threat. Since we now know that with proper training, we can switch tasks faster (threat to reload to threat), training should focus on prioritizing your tasks and doing whatever it takes to complete them without error.

In this scenario, taking your eyes off the threat for a millisecond to focus on the magazine well to ensure a smooth reload is more beneficial than attempting to reload while also looking downrange. Reload times will increase, which will get attention back on the threat sooner. Having a good understanding of how people learn is also an important factor to consider, especially for instructors. Not everyone is good at the same teaching technique. Usually, if the material is presented in small segments with correct demonstrations from the instructor.and the students are given time to practice, good technique learning will occur.

Another important aspect of learning is the use of mental imagery.¹³ This is a cognitive skill in which students use visualization and mental rehearsal to practice a specific skillset or task. They can ask themselves scenario questions such as, “What do I say to dispatch if I on-view a robbery in progress? What are my options for dealing with (fill in the blank)?” Once the question is asked, they can then walk through various responses, which will build confidence in planning their response. A mentally rehearsed victory will increase the student’s faith in a given task. Another benefit to mental imagery training is the ability to practice task and attention switching. Students will be sending the right information to their long- and short-term memories for immediate recall when needed. This preparation will greatly decrease the time it will take to complete a desired task without error.

A final training consideration that is often overlooked by students and instructors is “multitasking” while training (i.e. responding to a text during class or carrying on a side conversation). Being distracted during training will lead to a superficial understanding of the material being taught. Avoid distractions and simply focus on what needs to get done.

If you find yourself with two or more tasks that need to be completed and you have trained extensively in all of them, you will greatly reduce the mental and physical costs associated with switching between those tasks as you work to accomplish them. Remember that the costs include the loss of valuable time, additional energy expenditure both physically and mentally, and the possibility of up to a 40 percent chance of an error occurring in completing at least one of the tasks.

Final Thoughts

Though we all wish we could multitask, the reality is that we cannot. What we can do is continue to train to such a high level that we are able to complete multiple tasks sequentially in as short a time as possible. If we are forced to switch tasks, proper training will allow us to switch back and forth efficiently. This is especially important in high-stress environments. All this training will hopefully give the casual observer the belief we are in fact multitasking. This illusion should be the goal. Train hard and stay safe.

Endnotes

About the Author 

Richard Meure retired after 28 years with the Redwood City Police Department where he was a member of their tactical team for 20 years, serving as one of the team’s snipers. He also spent 18 years as a member of a Regional Northern California Tactical Terrorism Response Team. He currently works for the South Bay Regional Police Academy where he teaches firearms, defensive tactics and first aid. Prior to his law enforcement career, he served in the U.S. Army as a member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry. He is the author of “The Art of Policing.” He can be reached at [email protected].