In Search of the Relationship Between Polychronicity and Multitasking Performance
The Importance of Trait Self-Control
Abstract
In this age of mobile technology, individuals find themselves constantly bombarded by competing demands, which often leads to multitasking. Although polychronicity (preference for multitasking) has been proposed to be a key predictor of multitasking performance, findings have in fact been mixed. This study proposes that self-control may moderate the effects of polychronicity on multitasking performance (i.e., trait self-control obscures the polychronicity-performance relationship). In 186 participants, compared to sequential task completion multitasking had a negative impact on task performance. Polychronicity was not found to be positively associated with task performance when multitasking, but there was a positive polychronicity-performance association among individuals with low self-control.
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