The DOI matches its Crossref record; 98 of the 98 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008).
Open accessAbstract
In this comment, we contrast different conceptions of mind wandering that were presented in 2 recent theoretical reviews: Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). We also introduce a new perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering by integrating empirical evidence presented in Smallwood and Schooler with 2 theoretical frameworks: Watkins's elaborated control theory and Klinger's (1971, 2009) current concerns theory. In contrast to the Smallwood-Schooler claim that mind wandering recruits executive resources, we argue that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control and that it is dually determined by the presence of automatically generated thoughts in response to environmental and mental cues and the ability of the executive-control system to deal with this interference. We present empirical support for this view from experimental, neuroimaging, and individual-differences research.
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“When task demands are high, executive control capabilities are decreased and fewer resources are available to perform a primary task (McVay & Kane, 2010).”
From Concurrent prospective memory task increases mind wandering during online reading for difficult but not easy texts (2023) · cites this paper as McVay & Kane, 2010
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Cited by
The Science of Mind Wandering: Empirically Navigating the Stream of Consciousness
Smallwood, J., & Schooler, J. W. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015331 · Cited by 1,685
Mind-wandering as spontaneous thought: a dynamic framework
Christoff, K., Irving, Z. C., Fox, K. C. R., Spreng, R. N., & Andrews-Hanna, J. R. (2016) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn.2016.113 · Cited by 1,376
The brain's default network and its adaptive role in internal mentation
Andrews-Hanna, J. R. (2012) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/1073858411403316 · Cited by 1,114
Meta-awareness, perceptual decoupling and the wandering mind
Schooler, J. W., Smallwood, J., Christoff, K., Handy, T. C., Reichle, E. D., & Sayette, M. A. (2011) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.006 · Cited by 917
The impact of anxiety upon cognition: perspectives from human threat of shock studies
Robinson, O. J., Vytal, K., Cornwell, B. R., & Grillon, C. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00203 · Cited by 613
Metadata
- Authors
- McVay, J. C., & Kane, M. J.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 188-197
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2065996197
- Cited by
- 622
- References
- 98
- FWCI
- 15.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- Funders
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH081344)
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