Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2025
09:37
Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
Published on: July 5, 2015
9.2K
Agentic aspects of attentional disengagement
Daniel Smilek1, Samantha Ayers-Glassey1, Melissa van Dijk-Allen1
1Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo.
Summary
People actively manage their inattention, showing awareness and control over mind wandering. This research reveals individuals are imperfect but intelligent regulators of attention, influencing task performance.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Inattention is common, occurring both spontaneously and deliberately.
- Understanding agency over inattention is crucial for cognitive task performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize human agency over inattention, particularly mind wandering.
- To explore the principles governing self-regulation of attentional states.
Main Methods:
- Investigated awareness and control of inattentive episodes.
- Examined spontaneous versus deliberate attentional disengagement.
- Assessed memory and forecasting of inattention.
Main Results:
- Individuals possess nuanced awareness of both spontaneous and deliberate inattention.
- Attentional disengagement has distinct neural and cognitive correlates.
- People can skillfully regulate and strategically deploy control over inattention.
- Reliable memory and accurate forecasting of inattention were observed.
Conclusions:
- Proposes an agentic view of inattention, with individuals as active managers of attention.
- Highlights implications for understanding cognitive performance and developing strategies to reduce inattention.
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