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Mind-wandering and task stimuli: Stimulus-dependent thoughts influence performance on memory tasks and are more often past- versus future-oriented.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Maillet, D; Seli, P; Schacter, DL
Published in: Consciousness and cognition
July 2017

Although many studies have indicated that participants frequently mind-wander during experimental tasks, relatively little research has examined the extent to which such thoughts are triggered by task stimuli (stimulus-dependent thoughts; SDTs) versus internally triggered (stimulus-independent thoughts; SITs). In the current experiment, we assessed differences in the frequency and characteristics of SDTs and SITs, as well as their associations with subsequent memory in young adults. Whereas frequency of SDTs (but not SITs) increased in a task with more meaningful stimuli, frequency of SITs (but not SDTs) increased in an easier task. Furthermore, only SDTs were more likely to be past- versus future-oriented. Finally, frequency and vividness of SDTs during a shallow, but not a deep, incidental encoding task both correlated with later memory performance for word stimuli. These results suggest that SDTs differ from SITs in several important ways.

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Published In

Consciousness and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1090-2376

ISSN

1053-8100

Publication Date

July 2017

Volume

52

Start / End Page

55 / 67

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Thinking
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Memory, Episodic
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
 

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Maillet, D., Seli, P., & Schacter, D. L. (2017). Mind-wandering and task stimuli: Stimulus-dependent thoughts influence performance on memory tasks and are more often past- versus future-oriented. Consciousness and Cognition, 52, 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.04.014
Maillet, David, Paul Seli, and Daniel L. Schacter. “Mind-wandering and task stimuli: Stimulus-dependent thoughts influence performance on memory tasks and are more often past- versus future-oriented.Consciousness and Cognition 52 (July 2017): 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.04.014.
Maillet, David, et al. “Mind-wandering and task stimuli: Stimulus-dependent thoughts influence performance on memory tasks and are more often past- versus future-oriented.Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 52, July 2017, pp. 55–67. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.concog.2017.04.014.
Journal cover image

Published In

Consciousness and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1090-2376

ISSN

1053-8100

Publication Date

July 2017

Volume

52

Start / End Page

55 / 67

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Thinking
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Memory, Episodic
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Adult
  • Adolescent