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Influencing the occurrence of mind wandering while reading
Kristopher Kopp1, Sidney D'Mello2, Caitlin Mills1
1Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
Consciousness and Cognition
|April 4, 2015
Summary
Focusing on personal plans before a task increases mind wandering, leading to more task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) and lower reading comprehension. This supports the current concerns hypothesis in cognitive psychology.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Attention and Executive Control
Background:
- The current concerns hypothesis posits that unfulfilled personal plans trigger off-task thoughts.
- Mind wandering, characterized by task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) and task-related interferences (TRIs), can impact task performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether directing attention to individual plans increases mind wandering.
- To examine the effect of mind wandering on reading comprehension.
Main Methods:
- Participants reflected on personal plans or a neutral topic before reading a scientific text.
- Mind wandering instances (TUTs and TRIs) were self-reported.
- Reading comprehension was assessed.
Main Results:
- Reflecting on personal plans significantly increased task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) compared to the control group.
- No significant difference in task-related interferences (TRIs) was observed.
- Participants focusing on personal plans exhibited lower reading comprehension scores, mediated by TUT frequency.
Conclusions:
- Directing attention to current concerns (individual plans) enhances mind wandering, specifically task-unrelated thoughts.
- Increased task-unrelated thoughts negatively impact cognitive performance, such as reading comprehension.
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