Men and women handle multiple tasks at the same speed and accuracy, but a pair of lab experiments published in Psychological Research found a striking gap in how they respond when someone interrupts them mid-juggle. Men ignored questions posed to them more than twice as often as women during multitasking, though when they did answer, the quality and speed matched.
The finding suggests the familiar question about who is better at multitasking may miss the point. The real difference appears to be about what gets dropped when attention splits.
What happened in the experiments
André J. Szameitat and Diana P. Szameitat ran two experiments comparing men and women during multitasking. Participants handled several tasks at once, and in at least one condition they were asked questions while performing those tasks.
Performance on the primary tasks was similar between men and women. The gap showed up in responsiveness. When a question arrived while people were busy, men were more than twice as likely as women to ignore it entirely.
When men did answer, though, the responses were equivalent in quality and speed to those from women. The difference was not in ability but in the decision to engage at all.
Details of the method were limited in available materials, so the exact tasks and the size of the sample remain unclear. What the published results do show is that the choice to respond while cognitively loaded differs between groups.
Why talking gets dropped
Multitasking is not truly simultaneous processing. The brain alternates attention between tasks rather than running them in parallel, and each switch introduces a small delay. When two activities require the same mental resources—reading a message while listening to someone speak, for instance—the interference grows sharper.
Talking while handling other tasks is particularly demanding because it draws on executive control, working memory and motor planning at once. Something has to give, and people differ in what they protect.
The pattern in this study fits a priority difference. Men appeared to focus resources on the primary tasks and treat the questions as lower-tier demands. Women were more likely to split attention and attempt both. Neither strategy is inherently better, but they produce different social outcomes.
What it means in practice
The lab setup involved artificial tasks, timed responses and questions from a researcher rather than a colleague or family member. Real multitasking happens in meetings, kitchens and open-plan offices, where the stakes and the relationships differ. Whether the response gap holds up in those settings is an open question.
What the finding does suggest is that appearing unresponsive during multitasking may not reflect distraction or poor performance. It may reflect a stricter filter on what gets through when cognitive load is high.
For people working or living with someone who goes quiet under pressure, the implication is that the silence is a choice about resource allocation, not a failure to hear. For people who pride themselves on staying responsive, the cost may be showing up in the tasks they were trying to protect.
The study does not tell you which approach leads to better outcomes overall, or whether adjusting your filter is worth the effort. It identifies a difference in how attention is parceled out when stretched, nothing more.
What this study can’t tell you
This was a lab experiment with controlled tasks and timed interruptions. How people allocate attention during a work deadline, a family dinner or a commute may follow different rules. The tasks themselves were not described in detail, so it is unclear whether the findings generalize beyond the specific setup the researchers used.
The study also does not explain why the gap exists. Socialization, workplace norms, baseline communication styles and expectations about responsiveness could all play a role. The experiments measured behavior, not cause.
Sample size and participant demographics were not available in the materials reviewed, so the strength of the effect and how widely it applies remain uncertain. The finding is consistent with a broader literature on attention and task management, but it would need replication in naturalistic settings before becoming a basis for workplace or relationship advice.
What the research does clearly is challenge the idea that multitasking ability is the variable that matters. The variable may be what you are willing to let slide when you cannot do everything at once.
Sources
- (2012). Figure 8.4. Women and men perform equally well at the tertiary level. https://doi.org/10.1787/888932675728
- Szameitat, A. J., & Szameitat, D. P. (2012). New study: Men and women multitask equally well, but men talk less while doing it. Psychological Research. https://www.psypost.org/new-study-men-and-women-multitask-equally-well-but-men-talk-less-while-doing-it/
Published for general education. This article is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are struggling, speak to a qualified professional.