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Restless mind, restless body.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Seli, P; Carriere, JSA; Thomson, DR; Cheyne, JA; Martens, KAE; Smilek, D
Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition
May 2014

In the present work, we investigate the hypothesis that failures of task-related executive control that occur during episodes of mind wandering are associated with an increase in extraneous movements (fidgeting). In 2 studies, we assessed mind wandering using thought probes while participants performed the metronome response task (MRT), which required them to synchronize button presses with tones. Participants performed this task while sitting on a Wii Balance Board providing us with an index of fidgeting. Results of Study 1 demonstrate that relative to on-task periods, mind wandering is indeed accompanied by increases in fidgeting, as well as increased response variability in the MRT. In Study 2, we observed that only deep mind wandering was associated with increases in fidgeting, whereas task-related response variability increased even during mild mind wandering. We interpret these findings in the context of current theories of mind wandering and suggest that (a) mind wandering is associated with costs not only to primary-task performance but also to secondary-task goals (e.g., controlling extraneous movements) and (b) these costs may depend on the degree to which task-related executive control processes are disengaged during mind wandering (i.e., depth of mind wandering).

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Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1939-1285

ISSN

0278-7393

Publication Date

May 2014

Volume

40

Issue

3

Start / End Page

660 / 668

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Movement
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Executive Function
  • Attention
  • Adult
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Seli, P., Carriere, J. S. A., Thomson, D. R., Cheyne, J. A., Martens, K. A. E., & Smilek, D. (2014). Restless mind, restless body. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 40(3), 660–668. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035260
Seli, Paul, Jonathan S. A. Carriere, David R. Thomson, James Allan Cheyne, Kaylena A Ehgoetz Martens, and Daniel Smilek. “Restless mind, restless body.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition 40, no. 3 (May 2014): 660–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035260.
Seli P, Carriere JSA, Thomson DR, Cheyne JA, Martens KAE, Smilek D. Restless mind, restless body. Journal of experimental psychology Learning, memory, and cognition. 2014 May;40(3):660–8.
Seli, Paul, et al. “Restless mind, restless body.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, vol. 40, no. 3, May 2014, pp. 660–68. Epmc, doi:10.1037/a0035260.
Seli P, Carriere JSA, Thomson DR, Cheyne JA, Martens KAE, Smilek D. Restless mind, restless body. Journal of experimental psychology Learning, memory, and cognition. 2014 May;40(3):660–668.

Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition

DOI

EISSN

1939-1285

ISSN

0278-7393

Publication Date

May 2014

Volume

40

Issue

3

Start / End Page

660 / 668

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Movement
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Executive Function
  • Attention
  • Adult
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences