From Activity to Recovery: Behavioral Factors Shaping Interruptibility

Le résumé fourni par la source

Interruptions are pervasive in knowledge work, and many interruption-aware systems rely on users’ self-rated interruptibility to decide when to interrupt. This assumes that users can accurately assess their interruptibility in ways that correspond to behavioral disruption. We investigate (1) whether self-rated interruptibility corresponds to behavioral disruption following interruptions, and (2) how activity context, temporal factors, and individual differences shape perceived interruptibility and behavioral recovery. In a controlled lab study, 39 participants performed scenario-based knowledge work tasks while experiencing repeated externally triggered interruptions. At each interruption, participants reported interruptibility, concentration, and annoyance. We additionally captured behavioral measures, including resumption time, task performance, task switching, and loss of focus. Results show that self-rated interruptibility did not reliably correspond to behavioral disruption. Moreover, interruptibility ratings were dominated by individual differences, whereas behavioral recovery was only weakly explained by situational demands. Overall, self-rated interruptibility reflected momentary subjective experience rather than behavioral disruption.

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