Elite Few Can Multitask Driving And Cell Phone

Are you a member of the 2.5% cognitive elite who can talk on the cell phone while driving without suffering reduced driving ability?

SALT LAKE CITY, March 29, 2010  A new study from University of Utah psychologists found a small group of people with an extraordinary ability to multitask: Unlike 97.5 percent of those studied, they can safely drive while chatting on a cell phone.

These individuals  described by the researchers as "supertaskers"  constitute only 2.5 percent of the population. They are so named for their ability to successfully do two things at once: in this case, talk on a cell phone while operating a driving simulator without noticeable impairment.

The study, conducted by psychologists Jason Watson and David Strayer, is now in press for publication later this year in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

This finding is important not because it shows people can drive well while on the phone  the study confirms that the vast majority cannot  but because it challenges current theories of multitasking. Further research may lead eventually to new understanding of regions of the brain that are responsible for supertaskers' extraordinary performance.