The influence of mood on the effort in trying to shift one's attention from a mind wandering phase to focusing on ongoing activities in a laboratory and in daily life.

This research investigated the effect of mood on self-reported effort in trying to focus back from mind wandering to ongoing things. We conducted three studies (one correlational and two experimental studies). Study 1 served as a correlational demonstration (questionnaires) of the negative relations between focus back effort and negative mood and between mind wandering and focus back effort at the trait level. Furthermore, a self-reported measure of focus back effort was developed to examine the effect of mood inductions on the ratings of focus back effort in the laboratory (Study 2) and daily life (Study 3). The findings of Studies 2 and 3 revealed that both in the laboratory and in daily life, participants in a negative mood reported lower levels of focus back effort rating than those in a positive mood. Thus, moods modulated mind wandering and an individual's effort in trying to focus back to some extent. Future work should account for the role of moods in mind wandering or focus back episodes.