Examining the Sex and Modality Differences in Divided Attention Tasks: A Case Study of Students in Bolgatanga Technical University

Abstract

This study looks at gender variations in performance among bolgatanga technical university students as well as the impact of divided attention and task mode on word recall. The study examines how single-task and dual-task situations affect recall across several modalities, drawing on theories of attention and memory. A control group (single-task condition) and two experimental groups (dual-task conditions including auditory and reading tasks) were randomly selected from a sample of 150 level 300 students. The correctly recalled words were counted and used to gauge the participants’ performance on a word recall task. Recall ability under single-task settings was considerably higher than under dual-task conditions, according to one-way anova results, indicating the harmful impact of divided attention on memory encoding. Additionally, modality variations were noted, indicating different cognitive load across modalities, with the reading-based dual task resulting in a larger performance loss than the auditory test. The recall ratings of male participants were rather higher than those of female participants, although these differences were not always statistically significant. The results highlight how multitasking affects memory performance and support ideas of split attention and cognitive stress. The work offers implications for enhancing learning processes in academic contexts and advances our understanding of how gender and modality interact in attention-demanding tasks.