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Harnessing the wandering mind: The role of perceptual load

Open access
Forster, Sophie, Lavie, Nilli·2009·Cognition

Abstract

Perceptual load is a key determinant of distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli (e.g., Lavie, N. (2005). Distracted and confused?: Selective attention under load. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 75-82). Here we establish the role of perceptual load in determining an internal form of distraction by task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs or "mind-wandering"). Four experiments demonstrated reduced frequency of TUTs with high compared to low perceptual load in a visual-search task. Alternative accounts in terms of increased demands on responses, verbal working memory or motivation were ruled out and clear effects of load were found for unintentional TUTs. Individual differences in load effects on internal (TUTs) and external (response-competition) distractors were correlated. These results suggest that exhausting attentional capacity in task-relevant processing under high perceptual load can reduce processing of task-irrelevant information from external and internal sources alike.

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Metadata

Authors
Forster, S., & Lavie, N.
Venue
Cognition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-06
Volume
111
Issue
3
Pages
345-355
ISSN
0010-0277 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2019490284
Cited by
251
References
6
FWCI
4.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Harnessing the wandering mind: The role of perceptual load. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.02.006
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Forster, S., & Lavie, N. (2009). Harnessing the wandering mind: The role of perceptual load. Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.02.006

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