关键词: 多任务处理, 重要他人, 社会行为, 影响机制

Abstract:

In the context of rapid AI development, economic uncertainty, and ubiquitous connectivity, multitasking has become an important feature of the modern workplace. Existing research has primarily focused on how multitasking affects individual task-related outcomes, such as speed, accuracy, and creativity. However, this line of inquiry has paid insufficient attention to the social behavioral consequences of multitasking—namely, how it influences interpersonal outcomes for both multitaskers and their coworkers. This narrow focus is problematic, as it constrains our understanding of both the scope and the targets of multitasking’s influence.

To address this limitation, the present research develops a novel theoretical framework and empirical agenda for understanding the social consequences of multitasking. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS) framework, the study reconceptualizes multitasking as a process-oriented phenomenon and examines its effects on social behavior through both intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways.

The first major contribution lies in the development of a multidimensional, process-oriented model of multitasking, which moves beyond the dominant one-dimensional, quantity-based conceptualization. Existing measures primarily quantify the number of tasks performed simultaneously, failing to capture the cognitive and behavioral complexities involved. In contrast, this research introduces a “multitasking funnel model,” which conceptualizes multitasking as unfolding across four sequential stages: perception (awareness of concurrent demands), selection (prioritization of task importance), processing (strategic planning and mental engagement), and response (behavioral execution and task-switching). Based on this model, we developed a new psychometrically validated scale that captures individuals’ engagement with multitasking across each stage, offering a more precise lens through which to understand how multitasking depletes resources and varies across individuals.

Building on this construct, the second set of studies investigates how multitasking shapes the multitasker’s own social behavior, focusing on both cognitive and emotional mechanisms. Because multitasking depletes cognitive and emotional resources, it impairs moral awareness (the ability to recognize ethical implications in a situation) and diminishes empathic concern (the tendency to care about others’ well-being). These impairments, in turn, increase the likelihood of engaging in unethical and counterproductive behaviors while reducing prosocial behaviors such as inclusivity and helping. Moreover, the effects are contingent on individuals’ regulatory focus. Those with a promotion focus are more likely to interpret multitasking as a challenge, which facilitates resource conservation—or even resource gain. In contrast, individuals with a prevention focus are more prone to interpret multitasking as a threat, which exacerbates resource depletion and intensifies its negative behavioral consequences.

The third study shifts the focus from multitaskers to coworkers and reveals that multitasking also produces interpersonal spillover effects. When employees observe a colleague engaging in high levels of multitasking, they may interpret it as a signal of rising workplace expectations, leading to a perceived expansion of their own job boundaries—a phenomenon known as job creep. This perception of resource threat may then reduce their willingness to help the multitasker and even provoke deviant behaviors as a form of retaliation or self-protection. Conversely, if the observed multitasking is attributed to team contribution or individual excellence, it can evoke a sense of collective pride, encouraging coworkers to offer more support and suppress negative reactions. These divergent interpretations are moderated by organizational identification: employees with high identification with the organization are more likely to view multitasking positively and experience pride, whereas those with low identification are more likely to perceive threat and respond defensively.

This research offers three key theoretical contributions. First, it reconceptualizes multitasking as a multi-stage process rather than a unidimensional construct, thereby providing a more robust theoretical foundation for understanding how multitasking unfolds and why it yields heterogeneous outcomes across individuals and contexts. Second, it expands the scope of multitasking research by shifting the focus from task performance to social behavior, better reflecting the collaborative and interdependent nature of contemporary organizational life. Third, it extends the theoretical lens beyond the multitasker to include coworkers, emphasizing how multitasking behaviors are socially observed and how these observations shape others’ cognitive and emotional responses, which in turn influence their own subsequent social behaviors.

Key words: multitasking, significant others, social behavior, mechanisms of influences