ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the research on individual differences in multiple-task performance. During the early period, reports of individual differences in multiple-task performance come from two sources: studies of attention and studies of individual differences. Research on individual differences in multiple-task performance appears to have ceased from approximately the beginning of World War I to the beginning of World War II. This activity was, however, short lived; just after the end of World War II, almost all research on individual differences in multiple-task performance ceased. In contrast, the majority of recent theoretical research has focused on identifying the underlying ability reflected in individual differences in multiple-task performance. Even more disappointing is the clear lack of a methodology for examining individual differences in multiple-task performance; the methodology used by McQueen in 1917 differs little from that currently in use today. A fresh look at the problem of individual differences in multiple-task performance is also in order.
