Abstract
Interruptions are a frequent occurrence in the work life of most decision
makers. This paper investigated the influence of interruptions on
different types of decision-making tasks and the ability of information
presentation formats, an aspect of information systems design, to
alleviate them. Results from the experimental study indicate that
interruptions facilitate performance on simple tasks, while inhibiting
performance on more complex tasks. Interruptions also influenced
the relationship between information presentation format and the
type of task performed: spatial presentation formats were able to
mitigate the effects of interruptions while symbolic formats were
not. The paper presents a broad conceptualization of interruptions
and interprets the ramifications of the experimental findings within
this conceptualization to develop a program for future research.
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