Journal ArticleDOI
The costs and benefits of mind-wandering: a review
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TLDR
Recent studies have shown that mind-wandering may play a crucial role in both autobiographical planning and creative problem solving, thus providing at least two possible adaptive functions of the phenomenon.Abstract:
Substantial evidence suggests that mind-wandering typically occurs at a significant cost to performance. Mind-wandering-related deficits in performance have been observed in many contexts, most notably reading, tests of sustained attention, and tests of aptitude. Mind-wandering has been shown to negatively impact reading comprehension and model building, impair the ability to withhold automatized responses, and disrupt performance on tests of working memory and intelligence. These empirically identified costs of mind-wandering have led to the suggestion that mind-wandering may represent a pure failure of cognitive control and thus pose little benefit. However, emerging evidence suggests that the role of mind-wandering is not entirely pernicious. Recent studies have shown that mind-wandering may play a crucial role in both autobiographical planning and creative problem solving, thus providing at least two possible adaptive functions of the phenomenon. This article reviews these observed costs and possible functions of mind-wandering and identifies important avenues of future inquiry.read more
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Mind-wandering does not always rhyme with proactive functioning! Changes in the temporal dynamics of the mPFC-mediated theta oscillations during moments of mind-wandering
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explored neural dynamics mediated by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during mind-wandering and found that MW periods were associated with lower anticipated/proactive engagement and similar transient/reactive engagement of mPFC-mediated processes.
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Examining the effects of a modified SART when measuring mind-wandering.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors modify the sustained attention to response task paradigm (mSART) to capture the participant's mindwandering state over time and quantify the degree of mind-wandering using the current behavioral data.
Journal ArticleDOI
Differential relationships between thought dimensions and momentary affect in daily life
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors used ecological momentary assessments to prompt participants to report their thought patterns and affective valence five times a day for seven consecutive days, and found that unintentional task-unrelated thought was associated with more negative affect than intentional thought.
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The intentionality of mind wandering in adolescence
Dissertation
Can mind wandering improve retrospective revaluation insequential decision making
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that retrospective revaluation takes place during unrelated tasks between sequential decision-making tasks, and that the re-valuation is actually credited to the cognitive process of mind wandering and has a beneficial effect on future goals.
References
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Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering
TL;DR: Cultivating mindfulness is an effective and efficient technique for improving cognitive function, with wide-reaching consequences, and improves both GRE reading-comprehension scores and working memory capacity.