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Updated: May 18, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
[The effect of cognitive load on the temporal focus of mind wandering]
Yudai Iijima1, Yoshihiko Tanno
1Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan. iijima@beck.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Abstract:
The present study investigated the effects of cognitive load on the temporal focus of mind wandering. Participants performed a cognitive-load task under three load conditions (0 back, 1 back, 2 back). During each condition, thought sampling was conducted to measure task-unrelated thoughts. When a thought probe was presented, participants responded what they were just thinking. The results showed that future-related thoughts were reduced with increasing cognitive-load. On the other hand, past-related thoughts were not reduced under moderate cognitive-load but were under high cognitive-load. This indicates that future-related thoughts require additional resources. Furthermore, future-related thoughts were more prevalent than past-related thoughts under low cognitive-load. These findings may indicate that a future prospective bias is important for survival.
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