The mean number of items retrieved in the “larger task first” condition was significantly higher than the mean number of items retrieved in the “smaller tasks first” condition. Similarly, the mean number of points earned in the “larger task first” condition was significantly higher than the mean number of points earned in the “smaller tasks first.” Hence, it was more beneficial for participants to start with the larger tasks, both in terms of the number of items retrieved and in terms of the number of points earned. 

The Impact of Larger/Smaller Tasks First (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

1. The number of items retrieved in the free choice condition was higher than in the “smaller tasks first” condition and smaller than in the “larger task first” condition, but the differences between the free choice condition and the other two conditions did not reach significance. 
2. 54% of participants (22 out of 41) in the free choice condition chose to start with a smaller task.
3. Importantly, the participants who started with a smaller task also tended to continue throughout the experiment with smaller tasks to a greater extent than participants who started with a larger task and earned fewer points.


Free Choice Results (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

1. The Impact of Larger/Smaller Tasks First
2. Free Choice Results


Point Loma Nazarene University

1. Simulated a real-life, multiple-tasks environment in a real estate company. Participants were presented with 30 tasks (15 smaller tasks and 15 larger tasks) each requiring retrieval of information from a price-list of apartments.
2. Participants were required to make repeated task scheduling choices within a fixed time interval of 15 minutes. During this time, they could earn points to enter lotteries for shopping coupons. (The number of points earned were contingent on the number and type of tasks completed). 
3. Since participants were informed they couldn’t complete all the takes within the allotted timeframe, their goal was to schedule tasks in a way that would maximize the overall number of points earned. 

The Study: Task Management Game (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

Rusou, Z., Amar, M., & Ayal, S. (2020). The Psychology of task management: The smaller tasks trap. Judgement and Decision Making, 15(4), 586–599. 

The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap

The image below shows the different task management game screens. (See Figure 1) 

The amount of information retrieved in each task type and the number of points awarded were designed to pit normative (cost-benefit) considerations against the smaller tasks trap. The larger tasks were more taxing, but also more profitable that smaller tasks.

Task Management Game Screens (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions:

1. Smaller tasks first
2. Larger tasks first 
3.  Free choice 

Those who were randomly assigned to the smaller/larger tasks first conditions were instructed to start with smaller/larger tasks respectively and were told afterward they were free to choose which tasks to address. The smaller/larger tasks first conditions examined the impact of manipulated prioritizing of smaller/larger task on the total number of task earned. The free choice condition was aimed at examining actual task management behavior.

Design (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

Sample included 111 psychology undergraduate students

Participants (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

Results (The Psychology of Task Management: The Smaller Tasks Trap)

1. Participants will tend to fall into the small tasks trap. 
2. Participants address smaller tasks first, resulting in suboptimal total performance compared to those who addressed the larger tasks first. 

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