Objectives: The role of cognitive process for postural control was shown in dual task studies. However, there was no definite evidence how verbal instructions influence the allocation of attention to postural control. This study determined whether young and elderly adult are able to deliberately control the resource allocation when performing a sensorimotor and cognitive task simultaneously and...

research on pre-task planning has revealed that planned conditions have produced more fluent and complex language than unplanned conditions. to date, most of these studies have investigated the effects of individual planning on language production while collaborative planning has received scant attention. to determine the effects of pre-task planning on second language written production, the p...

Why are some events more surprising than others? We propose that events that are more difficult to explain are those that are more surprising. The two experiments reported here test the impact of different event outcomes (Outcome-Type) and task demands (Task) on ratings of surprise for simple story scenarios. For the Outcome-Type variable, participants saw outcomes that were either known or les...

In this article we present a new approach for modeling a user’s experience in using a computer system. In this perspective, we developed the Musette approach. It relies on the building of a use trace conforming to a general use model, describing the objects and relations handled by the user of the computer system. This primitive trace can then be analyzed with respect to explained task signatur...

As Schmidt (2008) states, deeper engagement with new vocabulary as induced by tasks clearly increases the chances of learning those words. This engagement is theoretically clarified by the involvement load hypothesis (ILH, Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001), based on which the involvement index of each task can be measured. The present study was designed to test ILH by evaluating the impact of 4 differ...

As Schmidt (2008) states, deeper engagement with new vocabulary as induced by tasks clearly increases the chances of learning those words. This engagement is theoretically clarified by the involvement load hypothesis (ILH, Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001), based on which the involvement index of each task can be measured. The present study was designed to test ILH by evaluating the impact of 4 differ...