Nazari Sholeh, Fitzgerald Paul, Kazemi Reza
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
College of Health and Medicine, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Brain Behav. 2025 Aug;15(8):e70764. doi: 10.1002/brb3.70764.
Mind wandering, the shift of attention from a primary task to unrelated thoughts, is a pervasive cognitive phenomenon with significant implications for cognition, emotion, and behavior. Despite its prevalence, accurately measuring mind wandering and its subtypes remains a challenge due to its subjective and dynamic nature.
This systematic review evaluated the strengths and limitations of methods for measuring mind wandering subtypes, synthesizing findings from 555 studies. Questionnaires and experience sampling methods (ESMs) were most frequently used, offering high ecological validity but limited by self-report biases. Neuroimaging techniques, such as fMRI and EEG, provided objective insights into neural correlates, particularly the default mode network (DMN), but were constrained by high costs and low ecological validity. Behavioral tasks revealed task-related attentional lapses but lacked sensitivity to spontaneous mind wandering, while physiological measures and eye-tracking offered unique perspectives but required complex data analysis.
To address the challenges associated with the limitations of existing methodologies for assessing mind wandering, we propose the Multidimensional Assessment of Mind Wandering (MAMW) framework, which integrates diverse methodologies to provide a comprehensive understanding of mind wandering.
The findings highlight the need for standardized measurement tools, greater ecological validity, and longitudinal research to explore the developmental and clinical trajectories of mind wandering. Future studies should prioritize integrating multiple methods to advance both theoretical knowledge and practical applications in clinical, educational, and workplace settings.
思维游荡，即注意力从主要任务转移到无关想法，是一种普遍存在的认知现象，对认知、情感和行为具有重要影响。尽管其普遍存在，但由于其主观和动态的性质，准确测量思维游荡及其亚型仍然是一项挑战。
本系统评价评估了测量思维游荡亚型方法的优缺点，综合了555项研究的结果。问卷调查和经验抽样法（ESM）使用最为频繁，具有较高的生态效度，但受自我报告偏差的限制。功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和脑电图（EEG）等神经成像技术提供了对神经关联的客观见解，特别是默认模式网络（DMN），但受到高成本和低生态效度的限制。行为任务揭示了与任务相关的注意力 lapses，但对自发思维游荡缺乏敏感性，而生理测量和眼动追踪提供了独特的视角，但需要复杂的数据分析。
为应对与现有评估思维游荡方法局限性相关的挑战，我们提出了思维游荡多维评估（MAMW）框架，该框架整合了多种方法，以全面理解思维游荡。
研究结果强调需要标准化的测量工具、更高的生态效度以及纵向研究，以探索思维游荡的发展和临床轨迹。未来的研究应优先整合多种方法，以推进临床、教育和工作场所环境中的理论知识和实际应用。
