TEMPERAMENTAL FACTORS IN THE EXECUTION OF INTERRUPTED EDITING TASKS

The question investigated in this study is how the temperament traits of strength of excitation (SE), strength of inhibition (SI), and mobil ity (MO) affect behaviour during the execution of computer tasks and t asks interrupting them. Several hypotheses, partly derived from the re gulative theory of temperament, were tested in an experiment in which the natural environment and the types of task commonly performed by se cretaries were simulated. The sample consisted of 39 female secretarie s (21-64 years old). It was found that individuals high on SE and MO n eeded less time to resume tasks after an interruption than individuals low on these temperament traits. Interruptions similar to the main ta sk resulted in longer resumption times for low-SE individuals. MO was negatively related to the time needed to perform the main task. A mode l describing the relationship between the frequency of switches betwee n tasks and the speed of task performance in low-MO and high-MO indivi duals is presented.