Multitasking and Mentalizing Machines: How the Workload Can Have Influence on the System Comprehension

摘要

The laboratory study we are carrying out is aimed at discovering possible correlations between multitasking activity, workload and the attribution of mental states to technological systems. The scores of mental states attribution provided by subjects allotted to three different experimental conditions (one task, two concurrent tasks, three concurrent tasks) have been compared. Preliminary results show an increase in the tendency to attribute mental states as the operational workload increases.