Development of Dual-Tasking: An ecological approach

This program of work seeks to understand how children learn to negotiate the performance of motor and cognitive tasks at the same time (dual tasking), and how this ability changes with age and in the presence of developmental and age-related movement disorders. Using multi-disciplinary approaches, this program of work provides significant benefits for the design of safe and efficient learning environments and informs development of interventions that promote healthy ageing.

Method/Approach

Using a unique ecological framework and experimental approach, this program examines performance in a range of contexts that represent everyday life; when performing motor tasks (e.g., walking), when performing cognitive tasks (e.g., engaging in conversation), and when performing both concurrently. Our results contribute important knowledge about how cognitive, task-related and environmental factors interact when dual tasking, and how these interactions change across the lifespan.

Team and collaborators

ACU

• Emeritus Prof. Peter Wilson (Experimental Psychologist and Exercise Scientist)
• Prof. Michael Cole (Biomechanist)
• Dr Thomas McGuckian (Exercise Scientist)
• Dr Joanne Bennett (Psychologist)
• Prof. Gert-Jan Pepping (Movement Scientist)

Collaborators

• Prof. Bert Steenbergen (Movement Scientist, Radboud University, NL)
• Prof. Andy Gordon (Neurophysiologist and Movement Scientist, Columbia University, NYC)
• Dr Reza Abdollahipour (Exercise Scientist, Palacky University, Czech Republic)
• Dr Darren Hocking (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscientist, La Trobe)

Contact

Emeritus Prof. Peter Wilson

Email: peterh.wilson@acu.edu.au

Prof. Michael Cole

Program Lead, Development and Disability over the Lifespan

Email: michael.cole@acu.edu.au