Abstract
Mind wandering during ongoing tasks can impede task performance and increase the risk of failure in the laboratory as well as in daily-life tasks and work environments. Neurocognitive measures like the electroencephalography (EEG) offer the opportunity to assess mind wandering non-invasively without interfering with the primary task. However, the literature on electrophysiological correlates of mind wandering is rather inconsistent. The present study aims toward clarifying this picture by breaking down the temporal dynamics of mind wandering encounters using a cluster-based permutation approach. Participants performed a switching task during which mind wandering was occasionally assessed via thought probes applied after trial completion at random time points. In line with previous studies, response accuracy was reduced during mind wandering. Moreover, alpha power during the inter-trial interval was a significantly increased on those trials on which participants reported that they had been mind-wandering. This spatially widely distributed effect is theoretically well in line with recent findings linking an increased alpha power to an internally oriented state of attention. Measurements of alpha power may, therefore, be used to detect mind wandering online during critical tasks in traffic and industry in order to prevent failures.
Highlights
Mind wandering, that is, the experience of one's attention drifting away from the external environment toward inner thoughts and feelings, is a frequent phenomenon
We investigated electrophysiological correlates of mind wandering during a switching task
Accuracy was significantly reduced in mind wandering trials, which was a medium to large effect (η2 = 0.19), but no effect was visible in response times
Summary
That is, the experience of one's attention drifting away from the external environment toward inner thoughts and feelings, is a frequent phenomenon. Baldwin et al (2017), found an increase of alpha power during mind wandering at parietal electrodes using the probe-caught assessment method during simulated driving as well as during a vigilance task. The assessment of mind wandering appears to be crucial in particular as the findings of recent research with respect to the alpha band seem to be the opposite for the probe-caught compared to the self-caught method. It might be questionable, whether the pre-response period in the selfcaught approach reflects mind-wandering, the cognitive process of getting aware of mind-wandering, response preparation, or a mixture of these processes. Beside the factor mind wandering versus on-task trials, we tested for the effects of switch versus repeat trials, as well as for the interaction
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