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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Using Eye Movements to Evaluate the Cognitive Processes Involved in Text Comprehension

Using Eye Movements to Evaluate the Cognitive Processes Involved in Text Comprehension

Published on: January 10, 2014

The relationship between mind wandering and reading comprehension: A meta-analysis.

Paola Bonifacci¹, Cinzia Viroli², Chiara Vassura³

¹Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Picaht 5, Bologna, Italy. paola.bonifacci@unibo.it.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

|July 15, 2022

Summary

Mind wandering (MW) negatively impacts reading comprehension (RC), but this relationship is influenced by how MW is measured. Trait-based questionnaires may obscure the true link between MW and RC.

Keywords:

Meta-analysis Mind wandering Reading comprehension Text type

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Last Updated: Sep 4, 2025

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Published on: January 10, 2014

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Published on: July 5, 2015

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Published on: October 18, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Educational Psychology

Background:

Mind wandering (MW) is a common cognitive phenomenon where attention shifts from external tasks to internal thoughts.
Previous research suggests a negative association between MW and reading comprehension (RC), but findings are inconsistent.
Potential moderating factors, including participant characteristics and methodological variations, require further investigation.

Approach:

A meta-analysis was conducted on 25 studies, encompassing 73 correlation coefficients, to quantitatively assess the MW-RC relationship.
The study examined the influence of measurement methods (trait-based questionnaires vs. online probes) on the MW-RC correlation.
The impact of participant age and various text characteristics on the relationship was also analyzed.

Key Points:

The pooled correlation revealed a significant negative relationship between MW and RC (r = -0.21).
Measuring MW using trait-based questionnaires, compared to online probes, resulted in a null correlation, indicating a significant methodological effect.
Increasing age was associated with a stronger negative correlation between MW and RC.

Conclusions:

MW and RC are partially overlapping constructs, influenced by shared factors like working memory, interest, and text length.
Measurement methodology significantly impacts the observed relationship between MW and RC.
Future research should explore individual differences in reading comprehension and refine measurement techniques for both MW and RC.