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ADHD and Interfering Thoughts in High and Low Conflict Conditions
Klodin Alali-Morlevy1, Liat Goldfarb1
1University of Haifa, Israel.
Journal of Attention Disorders
|August 3, 2021
Summary
Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience more interfering thoughts, like mind wandering, than controls. This difference persists even when task control is adjusted, suggesting interfering thoughts are a key ADHD impairment.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Background:
- Individuals diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit elevated levels of interfering thoughts, particularly mind wandering.
- Previous research primarily focused on sustained attention tasks, leaving uncertainty about these findings in other task types and the influence of cognitive control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the level of interfering thoughts in individuals with ADHD compared to controls.
- To examine how task conflict and cognitive control modulate interfering thoughts in ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Participants with ADHD and matched controls completed the Stroop task.
- The task involved high and low conflict conditions to assess cognitive control.
- Interfering thought levels were measured during task performance.
Main Results:
- Individuals with ADHD consistently reported higher levels of interfering thoughts than the control group.
- This difference was observed irrespective of the task's conflict level or the participants' ability to adjust cognitive control.
Conclusions:
- Interfering thoughts are a significant and independent predictor of impairments associated with ADHD.
- The presence of interfering thoughts in ADHD is not solely dependent on the level of cognitive control exerted during a task.
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