Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The restless mind.

Jonathan Smallwood1, Jonathan W Schooler2

  • 1Psychology Department, University of Aberdeen.

Psychological Bulletin
|November 1, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

I sync, therefore I am: brain-body synchrony in typical and disordered consciousness.

Neuroscience of consciousness·2026
Same author

The costs and benefits of mind-wandering: 13 Years on.

Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie experimentale·2026
Same author

Predicting attentional lapses using response time speed in continuous performance tasks.

Frontiers in cognition·2026
Same author

Sender-receiver subdivisions of the default mode network in perceptual and memory-guided cognition.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Opportunities and pitfalls of data contextualization in neuroimaging.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same author

Uncovering the embodied dimension of the wandering mind.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Artificial intelligence as a partner in meta-analysis-Research agenda, user recommendations, and speed-accuracy tradeoffs: Commentary on Jansen et al. (2025).

Psychological bulletin·2026
Same journal

Relationships between cognition and daily functioning in adults with bipolar disorder: A systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis.

Psychological bulletin·2026
Same journal

The association between reading anxiety and reading achievement: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Psychological bulletin·2026
Same journal

Perfectionism is accelerating over time: A cross-temporal meta-analytic review of 35 years of college student data.

Psychological bulletin·2026
Same journal

High math anxiety is associated with lower math achievement across 90 countries: An individual participant data meta-analysis of representative student and adult samples.

Psychological bulletin·2026
Same journal

Is thinking inherently unpleasant? A cautionary note on David, Vassena, and Bijleveld (2024).

Psychological bulletin·2026
See all related articles

Mind wandering, or attention shifting away from tasks, aligns with executive control models. This process, though unintentional, is goal-driven and impacts task performance.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Mind wandering is a common cognitive phenomenon.
  • Executive control models explain attentional processes.
  • The relationship between mind wandering and executive control is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the hypothesis that mind wandering can be integrated into executive models of attention.
  • To explore the similarities between mind wandering and executive control.
  • To address challenges in incorporating mind wandering into existing models.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing research on mind wandering and executive attention.
  • Analysis of evidence comparing mind wandering characteristics to executive control components.
  • Theoretical integration of mind wandering within established cognitive frameworks.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Mind wandering shares similarities with executive control functions.
  • During mind wandering, attentional resources shift from the primary task.
  • This shift results in impaired task performance and reduced environmental awareness.

Conclusions:

  • Mind wandering can be conceptualized as a goal-driven process, even without explicit intention.
  • It represents a shift in executive attentional control away from the main task.
  • Integrating mind wandering into executive models offers a more comprehensive understanding of attention.