Welhaf Matthew S, Bugg Julie M, Banks Jonathan B
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, CB 1125 One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130-4899, USA.
Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2025 Feb 4. doi: 10.3758/s13423-025-02650-4.
Mind wandering is a common everyday phenomenon, and previous research has shown that people may mind wander strategically, suggesting a sensitivity to more versus less opportune times to let our minds wander. In the current study, we aimed to replicate the evidence for strategic mind wandering and address a novel question: Who are those individuals who are more apt to strategically mind wander? Following Seli et al. Psychological Science, 29, 1247-1256, (2018a), participants (N = 269) completed a mind-wandering clock task with periodic thought probes to assess mind wandering and cognitive (working memory capacity [WMC] and fluid intelligence [Gf]) and dispositional (trait spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering and prospective memory ability/strategy use) individual differences measures. The results demonstrated that strategic mind wandering occurred in the mind wandering clock task, replicating previous work. Critically, only individual differences in WMC predicted the strategic modulation of mind wandering. Strategic mind wandering was more pronounced in individuals with higher WMC, such that these individuals showed a larger shift away from mind wandering in the moments before demands of the clock task were highest. This suggests people who are better at actively maintaining goal-relevant information are more strategic in decisions to mind wander. These findings highlight that mind wandering is not necessarily a failure of control, but something that people can control, especially those that are high in WMC.
走神是一种常见的日常现象，先前的研究表明，人们可能会有策略地走神，这表明人们对更适合或不太适合走神的时机较为敏感。在当前的研究中，我们旨在重复有策略地走神的证据，并解决一个新问题：哪些人更倾向于有策略地走神？按照塞利等人（《心理科学》，第29卷，第1247 - 1256页，2018年a期）的研究方法，参与者（N = 269）完成了一项带有周期性思维探测的走神时钟任务，以评估走神情况以及认知方面（工作记忆容量[WMC]和流体智力[Gf]）和性格方面（特质性自发和有意走神以及前瞻性记忆能力/策略运用）的个体差异指标。结果表明，在走神时钟任务中出现了有策略地走神，重复了先前的研究结果。关键的是，只有WMC的个体差异能够预测走神的策略性调节。在WMC较高的个体中，有策略地走神更为明显，也就是说，这些个体在时钟任务要求最高之前的时刻，从走神状态转变的幅度更大。这表明，那些更善于积极维持与目标相关信息的人在决定是否走神时更具策略性。这些发现凸显了走神不一定是控制失败，而是人们能够控制的，尤其是那些WMC较高的人。
