Controlling interruptions: awareness displays and social motivation for coordination

Spontaneous communication is common in the workplace but can be disruptive. Such communication usually benefits the initiator more than the target of an interruption. Previous research has indicated that awareness displays showing the workload of a target can reduce the harm interruptions inflict, but can increase the cognitive load on interrupters. This paper describes an experiment testing whether team membership influences interrupters' motivation to use awareness displays and whether the informational-intensity of a display influences its utility and cost. Results indicate interrupters use awareness displays to time communication only when they and their partners are rewarded as a team and that this timing improves the target's performance on a continuous attention task. Eye-tracking data shows that monitoring an information-rich display imposes a substantial nal cost on the interrupters, and that an abstract display provides similar benefit with less distraction. Catego...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Laura A. Dabbish, Robert E. Kraut
• Keywords: Awareness Displays, CSCW 2004, Membership Influences Interrupters, Social Sciences, Substantial Nal Cost