Introspection Is Not Always Blind to the Costs of Multitasking: The Case of Task Switching

Previous studies have provided evidence that introspection about dual-task performance in the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm is severely limited. The present study investigated introspection at the other pole of the multitasking continuum, namely task switching. In 2 experiments, participants provided estimates of their response times (i.e., introspective RTs) after each trial in modified versions of the alternating-runs and the task-cuing paradigm, which included only 2 tasks in a trial. In contrast to the previously observed unawareness of dual-task costs in the PRP paradigm, participants reported their switch costs in introspective RTs. Thus, introspection about multitasking performance appears to not always be as limited as in the PRP paradigm. Nevertheless, introspection is not without limits also in task switching. Participants only partly reported the beneficial impact of longer preparation time on their performance. The present results suggest that introspective RTs depend on multiple cues, of which some are valid and some are invalid.