Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo.
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2018 Mar;147(3):431-443. doi: 10.1037/xge0000385. Epub 2018 Jan 22.
Across 2 independent samples, we examined the relation between individual differences in rates of self-caught mind wandering and individual differences in temporal monitoring of an unrelated response goal. Rates of self-caught mind wandering were assessed during a commonly used sustained-attention task, and temporal goal monitoring was indexed during a well-established prospective-memory task. The results from both samples showed a positive relation between rates of self-caught mind wandering during the sustained-attention task and rates of checking a clock to monitor the amount of time remaining before a response was required in the prospective-memory task. This relation held even when controlling for overall propensity to mind-wander (indexed by intermittent thought probes) and levels of motivation (indexed by subjective reports). These results suggest the possibility that there is a common monitoring system that monitors the contents of consciousness and the progress of ongoing goals and tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record
在两个独立的样本中，我们考察了个体在自我捕捉思维漫游率上的差异与个体在无关反应目标的时间监测上的差异之间的关系。自我捕捉思维漫游率是在一项常用的持续注意力任务中评估的，而时间目标监测则是在一项成熟的前瞻性记忆任务中进行的。两个样本的结果均表明，在持续注意力任务中自我捕捉思维漫游率与前瞻性记忆任务中检查时钟以监测所需反应前剩余时间的频率之间存在正相关关系。即使控制了整体思维漫游倾向（由间歇性思维探测索引）和动机水平（由主观报告索引），这种关系仍然存在。这些结果表明，可能存在一种通用的监测系统，该系统监测意识内容和正在进行的目标和任务的进展。
