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Updated: Sep 24, 2025

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice
Published on: February 4, 2015
Spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies linked to cognitive flexibility in young adults
Yi-Sheng Wong1, Adrian R Willoughby2, Liana Machado1
1Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Brain Research New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract:
Despite that previous studies have investigated mind wandering using task-switching paradigms, the association between the tendency to mind wander and cognitive flexibility remains largely unexplored. The present study investigated the relationship between self-reported spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies and task-switching performance in young adults. Seventy-nine university students performed a forced task-switching and a voluntary task-switching paradigm and then completed a battery of questionnaires. The results showed that compared to participants with lower spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies, participants with higher spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies demonstrated better performance (evidenced by smaller switch cost reaction times) in the forced task-switching paradigm despite indicating more mind wandering during task performance. Performance on the voluntary task-switching paradigm, on the other hand, did not differ between the two groups. The findings in the forced task-switching paradigm indicate a link between mind wandering and cognitive flexibility, thus providing initial evidence in favor of a role for switching in mind wandering.
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