人机互动中的任务中断：新环境中的新问题

任务中断是“R-V”居间系统（“现实-虚拟”居间系统）中的人机互动所要频繁面临和处理的一种现象。任务中断对主任务执行的影响主要有三种情况：消极的、积极的和因情况而异的。对中断延迟期间心理作用机制的研究揭示了中断延迟期间的准备是如何对主任务恢复发生作用的，主要理论包括：任务转换理论，长时工作记忆理论，目标记忆理论和线程认知理论。任务转换理论为中断延迟作用机制的研究提供了基础的模式，目标记忆理论和长时工作记忆理论各自提出了复述和编码两种不同的观点，线程认知理论主张多线程并行，深化了任务中断的研究。未来的研究应关注于研究中断对主任务执行产生不同影响的原因、影响中断任务执行期间复述机会的因素以及中断延迟期间的准备是对信息的复述还是编码。对任务中断理论的综述意义在于使未来有关任务中断的研究更加深入且具有实践意义。

Task Interruptions of Human-computer Interaction:New Issues in the New Environment

In this paper we discuss some issues about task interruption. We try to summarize the existing experimental results and theoretical results and analyze what these studies show. Then, we hope that our study can inform researchers about what has been done about this area. More importantly, we’d like to further explore the direction and focus of future research. In the first place, based on the literature review of previous task interruption studies, we present task interruptions’ background and theories. The rapid development of Internet technology weakens the space-time boundary of traditional environment. Virtual settings emerge in that the interaction and the sense of immersion in network using expand settings from geographical areas to cyberspace. Human behavior setting is divided into real settings and virtual settings. Interaction between these behavior settings generates a new environment system-"R-V" mesosystems ("real-virtual" mesosystems).The intermingling of real and virtual behavior programs within "R-V" mesosystems reflects the polyfunctional nature of settings. In these settings, human-computer interaction(HCI) is common. In addition to efficient processing of information, HCI also brings information overland, psychological stress, health damage and interpersonal stress. These negative impacts result from the fact that humans have to face and deal with frequent task interruption and switching. Thus, it’s important to study task interruption and a series of related issues in "R-V" mesosystems. In this paper, we summarize how task interruptions will affect primary task execution. We think that task interruption is a double-edged sword. Especially we comment on the theories on the psychological mechanism of interruption lag. So far this area has been working well. The related theories include task-switching, long-term working memory, memory-for-goals and threaded cognition. The task-switching theory advocates that one may prepare retrieval in interruption lag by a sort of mental "gear changing", because "gear changing"can advance a task’s beginning. The long-term working memory theory holds that humans need to code the information into long-term working memory so that one can retrieve it later. The memory-for-goals theory focuses on the activation of memory goals. It emphasizes that rehearsal is important to keeping goals’ activation. Without rehearsal a goal will not be recalled, so the goal can not be performed. The threaded cognition theory claims that cognition can maintain and execute multiple active goals. Rehearsal can be executed when a secondary task is being performed. They are the main theories of task interruption. Then we discuss the significance of task interruption studies and where existing theories need improving. The core significance of task interruption studies is its practical significance, what is optimizing human’s working settings, achieving the balance between human and settings and promoting human’s physical and mental health. In the end, we predict research trends of task interruption. First, researchers should explore why task interruption affects primary task execution. Second, we need to improve our experimental ecological validity. Last but the most important is that we should devotedly study the psychological mechanism of task interruption, especially the preparations in interruption lag. In short, on the one hand, we should deepen the study of task interruption .On the other hand, we must make our studies serve practice better.