Mind wandering and contextual binding

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a memory-scanning task, participants were shown two rows of items followed by a cue indicating which row was the relevant memory set. The target item could be in the relevant set (a positive target), in the irrelevant set (a negative lure target), or an item not seen on the trial (a negative control target). After each block of trials, participants indicated the extent to which they were on or off task. Consistent with prior research, lure targets were more difficult to discriminate from positive targets than were control targets. However, this effect was larger when participants reported being off task. Our interpretation is that lures are more difficult to reject when mind wandering because less attention is devoted to the process of binding items to an appropriate spatial context.