The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Persistence of Thought: Evidence for a Role of Working Memory in the Maintenance of Task-Unrelated Thinking
Open accessAbstract
Tasks that tax working memory (WM) have consistently been found to decrease mind wandering. These findings may indicate that maintenance of mind wandering requires WM resources, such that mind wandering cannot persist when WM resources are being consumed by a task. An alternative explanation for these findings, however, is that mind wandering persists without the support of WM but is nonetheless decreased during any demanding task because good task performance requires that attention be restricted from task-unrelated thought (TUT). The present study tested these two competing theories by investigating whether individuals with greater WM resources mind-wander more during an undemanding task, as would be predicted only by the theory that WM supports TUT. We found that individuals with higher WM capacity reported more TUT in undemanding tasks, which suggests that WM enables the maintenance of mind wandering.
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“By contrast, individuals with improved executive control are able to limit their self-generated thought to non-demanding or unimportant contexts.10,176,178”
From The default network and self-generated thought: component processes, dynamic control, and clinical relevance (2014) · cites this paper as [176]
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Cites
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Wandering minds: the default network and stimulus-independent thought
Mason, M. F., Norton, M. I., Van Horn, J. D., Wegner, D. M., Grafton, S. T., & Macrae, C. N. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1131295 · Cited by 2,792 · cited 2×
“This theory rests on findings that TUT increases when WM resources are available, such as during tasks that place few demands on WM resources (Mason et al., 2007; Teasdale et al., 1993).”
BackgroundA wandering mind is an unhappy mind
Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1192439 · Cited by 2,575 · cited 2×
“Training in these and other strategies holds promise for reducing mind wandering associated with unhappiness (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010).”
BackgroundDistracted and confused? Selective attention under load
Lavie, N. (2005) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.004 · Cited by 2,102 · cited 3×
“…WMC interaction, F(1, 72) = 9.3, p < .01, ηp 2 = .11, and with theory that high load induces low TUT regardless of an individual’s WM resources by exhausting limited perceptual capacity in task-relevant processing (Forster & Lavie, 2007, 2009; Lavie, 2005; Lavie, Hirst, de Fockert, & Viding, 2004).”
BackgroundInfluentialSmallwood, J., & Schooler, J. W. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.946 · Cited by 2,067 · cited 3×
“Such taskunrelated thought (TUT) presents a paradox: Although the spontaneous nature of TUT suggests that it is a resource-free process, its priority-driven nature suggests that it is a resourceintensive process (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAn automated version of the operation span task
Unsworth, N., Heitz, R. P., Schrock, J. C., & Engle, R. W. (2005) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/bf03192720 · Cited by 1,861
Load Theory of Selective Attention and Cognitive Control
Lavie, N., Hirst, A., de Fockert, J. W., & Viding, E. (2004) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.133.3.339 · Cited by 1,812
Christoff, K., Gordon, A. M., Smallwood, J., Smith, R., & Schooler, J. W. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0900234106 · Cited by 1,769 · cited 6×
“A recent laboratory study indicated that individuals who possess greater WM resources report less TUT during a go/no-go task commonly used to study mind wandering (the Sustained Attention to Response Task, or SART; McVay & Kane, 2009).”
ResultInfluentialSelf-citationKane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2003) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.132.1.47 · Cited by 1,725 · cited 1×
“%) relieve WM from proactively maintaining these goals (Kane & Engle, 2003).”
BackgroundKane, M. J., Brown, L. H., McVay, J. C., Silvia, P. J., Myin-Germeys, I., & Kwapil, T. R. (2007) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01948.x · Cited by 979
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Sormaz, M., Wang, H.-T., Karapanagiotidis, T., Murphy, C., Hymers, M., Margulies, D. S., Jefferies, E., & Smallwood, J. (2017) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/153973
“When tasks demands are low, the expression of TUT is often linked to more positive outcomes, such as a more patient style of decision-making [55, 56], or better working memory [13, 57].”
Self-citationStereotype threat and mind-wandering in older adults
Jordano, M. L. (2016) · NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
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Farley, J. (2019) · ERA: Education and Research Archive (University of Alberta) · doi:10.7939/r3-jccz-0x88
Ware, S. G. (2021) · CSUSB ScholarWorks (California State University, San Bernardino)
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余, 萍. (2022) · Advances in Social Sciences · doi:10.12677/ass.2022.111004
Huijser, S. (2022) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · doi:10.33612/diss.198707305
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حسن, م. ا. ع. ا., & محمد, ه. م. إ. (2022) · المجلة العربية للعلوم التربوية والنفسية · doi:10.21608/jasep.2022.271663
Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples correlate with naturally occurring self-generated thoughts in humansPreprint
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Self-citationالخصائص السيكومترية لمقياس التجول العقلي لدى تلاميذ المرحلة الابتدائية
عباس, ه. أ., بهنساوى, أ. ف., & محمود, ه. م. (2023) · مجلة کلية التربية · doi:10.21608/jfe.2023.312569
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هجرس, أ. م. م., كواسة, ع. ع. ا. س., & الأهواني, ه. ح. (2023) · التربية (الأزهر) مجلة علمية محکمة للبحوث التربوية والنفسية والاجتماعية) · doi:10.21608/jsrep.2023.321454
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Wittschen, C. G., & Was, C. A. (2025) · Europe’s Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5964/ejop.14605
“Extant research suggests that we mind wander 30%–50% of the time (Levinson et al., 2012; McVay & Kane, 2012).”
Features of occurrence of maladaptive daydreaming in young people
Gridneva, R. P., Ryabysh, O. E., & Khudina, Y. S. (2024) · Vestnik nevrologii psihiatrii i nejrohirurgii (Bulletin of Neurology Psychiatry and Neurosurgery) · doi:10.33920/med-01-2407-13
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Fossa, P., González, N., & Montezolo, F. C. D. (2024) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/979-8-88730-630-820251007
Mind wandering impairs performance through task demands rather than executive functionsPreprint
Fazel, M., Verwijk, E., Geurts, H. M., & Filip Van Opstal, A. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5954745
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Urner, M. (2015) · UCL Discovery (University College London)
Chang, Z., & Haifeng, L. (2026) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2025.1730402
“…are closely linked to cognitive control, with undemanding environments prompting increased mind-wandering, particularly among individuals with strong cognitive control skills (Kane et al., 2007; Levinson et al., 2012; FIGURE 2 The ICC scores for each value in the functional connectivity matrix.”
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“Research in mind wandering demonstrated the role of working memory in adjusting the levels of mind wandering when the task demands are high (during cognitively challenging tasks) (McVay & Kane, 2012a; Kane & McVay, 2012b ; Levinson et al., 2012).”
Emin, M., Liu, Y., Yao, Q., & Yadan, L. I. (2026) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102336
اثر نموذج ابعاد التفكير في التجوال العقلي لدى طلاب الرابع الادبي في مادة التاريخ
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“This qualification is important, because mind-wandering, very much like task-related focus, requires executive resources (Levinson et al., 2012), that are impaired in ADHD.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Levinson, D. B., Smallwood, J., & Davidson, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-03-14
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 375-380
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- PMC
- PMC3328662
- OpenAlex
- W2129021060
- Cited by
- 232
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 9.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fetzer Institute
- Association for Psychological Science
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH043454)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (P01AT004952)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD003352)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- mind wandering, working memory, task-unrelated thoughts, task demands, attentional control, cognitive resources
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Attention, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Middle Aged, Task Performance and Analysis, Thinking
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