Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2025

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
Published on: July 5, 2015
Cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in mind-wandering in older adulthood
Matthew S Welhaf1, David A Balota1, John C Morris2
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis.
None:
Age-related declines in the frequency of mind-wandering are well established. Theories of mind-wandering have attempted to explain why this decline occurs, but no one theory firmly predicts such changes. One problem with these theoretical views, and the studies that have grown out of them, is their reliance on cross-sectional methods, which do not account for within-person changes over time in mind-wandering, and it is well-documented that cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in some cognitive domains do not align. We present a novel analysis of longitudinal change in subjective and objective indicators of mind-wandering during a sustained attention task. Cognitively normal adults (N = 277, age range 42-94) completed a sustained attention task with thought probes to measure mind-wandering repeatedly over several years. Linear mixed effect models revealed baseline differences in subjective mind-wandering reports among middle-aged and older adults. However, longitudinally, middle-aged participants showed a significant increase in subjective mind-wandering, whereas older participants showed no change. Changes in mind-wandering could not be explained by attentional control ability or contemporaneous estimates of interest and perceived difficulty, but they were explained by baseline levels of conscientiousness. Objective measures of mind-wandering did not show these same patterns and were largely only associated with participants perceived difficulty. Our results build on previous cross-sectional research and suggest that incorporating longitudinal analyses into theories of ageing and mind-wandering and mind-wandering more broadly is important for refining these theories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
More Related Videos
10:38A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Longitudinal Research
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Longitudinal Studies
Cross-Sectional Research