Task-unrelated Thoughts Research Articles

Unpleasant emotions and task-unrelated thoughts and their associations with amygdala activity during emotional distraction: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Previous emotion regulation studies revealed that emotional distraction decreases unpleasant emotions. This study examined whether distraction tasks decrease unpleasant task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) and unpleasant emotions when recalling stressful daily interpersonal events. Amygdala activity was examined to assess implicit emotional changes using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The behavioral data of 20 university students (mean age: 20.35 ± 1.42 years; range: 18–24 years) and fMRI data of 18 students were examined. As an emotion induction procedure, participants initially freely recalled memories of daily stressful interpersonal events and then responded to a series of questions about their recalled memories presented on a monitor. In the distraction experiment, the questions were re-represented as an emotional stimulation; a distraction task (nonconstant or constant finger tapping) or rest condition was then performed, and ratings were given for attentional state, thought types conceived during the tasks, and emotional state. Decreases in unpleasant emotions and TUTs were defined as distraction effects. We found that unpleasant TUTs decreased in the nonconstant relative to rest condition (p < .05). Furthermore, increased right amygdala activation positively correlated with unpleasant emotions, and bilateral amygdala activation correlated with unpleasant TUTs only in the rest condition, indicating the existence of amygdala activation associated with unpleasant emotions and thoughts. However, such associations were not under nonconstant or constant conditions, indicating distraction effects. Notably, this study showed that emotional distraction can decrease the degree of unpleasant emotions and the occurrence of unpleasant thoughts regarding common daily emotions.

Increasing mind wandering with accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Mind wandering (MW) is the intentional or unintentional experience of attending to internal task-unrelated thoughts while being occupied with an external task. Even though maintaining task focus is assumed to require executive functions (EF), it is not clear how and to what extent MW and EF interact. Research has found that activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is associated with EF and MW. To understand the causal role of the DLPFC in relation to MW and EF, researchers have turned to non-invasive brain stimulation. Thus far, most studies have used transcranial direct current stimulation, but the results have been inconclusive. To further elucidate the relationship between the DLPFC, EF and MW, we conducted a pre-registered, sham-controlled, triple-blinded within-subject experiment by combining intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) interleaved with a recently developed MW-EF task. In contrast to our expectations, participants reported significantly more MW following real iTBS as compared to sham stimulation. However, at the same time, psychomotor precision and EF improved, indicating that participants were able to engage in resource-intensive MW while simultaneously performing well on the task. We argue that iTBS enhanced the underlying executive resources that could be used to increase both MW and task performance in line with the resource-control view of MW. This finding opens exciting avenues for studying the complex interplay between MW and EF and provides empirical support for the utility of iTBS in improving executive performance during a demanding cognitive task.

The influence of transcranial direct current stimulation to the trigeminal nerve on attention and arousal.

One mechanism by which transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed to improve attention is by transcutaneous stimulation of cranial nerves, thereby activating the locus coeruleus (LC). Specifically, placement of the electrodes over the frontal bone and mastoid is thought to facilitate current flow across the face as a path of least resistance. The face is innervated by the trigeminal nerve, and the trigeminal nerve is interconnected with the LC. In this study, we tested whether stimulating the trigeminal nerve impacts indices of LC activity and performance on a sustained attention task. We replicated previous research that shows deterioration in task performance, increases in the rate of task-unrelated thoughts, and reduced pupil responses due to time on task irrespective of tDCS condition (sham, anodal, and cathodal stimulation). Importantly, tDCS did not influence pupil dynamics (pretrial or stimulus-evoked), self-reported attention state, nor task performance in active versus sham stimulation conditions. The findings reported here are consistent with theories about arousal centered on a hypothesized link between LC activity indexed by pupil size, task performance, and self-reported attention state but fail to support hypotheses that tDCS over the trigeminal nerve influences indices of LC function.

Effects of emotional valence of mind wandering on sustained attention performance.

The construct of mind wandering has notoriously been characterized as heterogenous which may mean that not all types of mind wandering produce the same pattern of results. One operationalization of mind wandering, task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs), can also itself vary in many dimensions, including the emotional valence of TUTs. The current study summarizes several years of work examining the impact that the emotional valence of TUTs has on different aspects of sustained attention. Participants in several studies reported whether their TUTs were negative, neutral, or positive in emotional valence during a sustained attention-to-response task (SART). The first major focus was a meta-analysis where we examined correlations between each TUT valence and SART performance measures. For the second major focus, we tested how different TUT valences changed over the course of the task. The results suggest that negative TUTs typically show stronger associations with SART performance measures, although all TUT valences have numerically similar correlations. Regarding time-on-task effects, across the studies, there was consistent evidence for a linear increase in negative TUTs across blocks. Evidence for this linear increase was not consistent for neutral and positive TUTs. The results of the current study suggest that the relationships between TUTs and performance, and their likelihood of occurring during a task, are not necessarily the same for every type of TUT. These results highlight the importance of continuing to investigate different types of TUTs and different forms of mind wandering, in general, to better understand how this phenomenon occurs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Individual differences in attention control: A meta-analysis and re-analysis of latent variable studies.

A meta-analysis and re-analysis of prior latent variable studies was conducted in order to assess whether there is evidence for individual differences in broad attention control abilities. Data from 90 independent samples and over 23,000 participants suggested that most (84.4%) prior studies find evidence for a coherent attention control factor with average factor loadings of .51. This latent attention control factor was related to other cognitive ability factors including working memory, shifting, fluid intelligence, long-term memory, reading comprehension, and processing speed, as well as to self-reports of task-unrelated thoughts and task specific motivation. Further re-analyses and meta-analyses suggest that the results remained largely unchanged when considering various possible measurement issues. Examining the factor structure of attention control suggested evidence for sub-components of attention control (restraining, constraining and sustaining attention) which could be accounted for a by a higher-order factor. Additional re-analyses suggested that attention control represents a broad ability within models of cognitive abilities. Overall, these results provide evidence for attention control abilities as an important individual differences construct.

How Do You Know If You Were Mind Wandering? Dissociating Explicit Memories of Off Task Thought From Subjective Feelings of Inattention.

Mind wandering is a common experience in which your attention drifts away from the task at hand and toward task-unrelated thoughts. To measure mind wandering we typically use experience sampling and retrospective self-reports, which require participants to make metacognitive judgments about their immediately preceding attentional states. In the current study, we aimed to better understand how people come to make such judgments by introducing a novel distinction between explicit memories of off task thought and subjective feelings of inattention. Across two preregistered experiments, we found that participants often indicated they were "off task" and yet had no memory of the content of their thoughts-though, they were less common than remembered experiences. Critically, remembered experiences of mind wandering and subjective feelings of inattention differed in their behavioral correlates. In Experiment 1, we found that only the frequency of remembered mind wandering varied with task demands. In contrast, only subjective feelings of inattention were associated with poor performance (Experiments 1 and 2) and individual differences in executive functioning (Experiment 2). These results suggest that the phenomenology of mind wandering may differ depending on how the experiences are brought about (e.g., executive functioning errors versus excess attentional resources), and provide preliminary evidence of the importance of measuring subjective feelings of inattention when assessing mind wandering.

Listen up, kids! How mind wandering affects immediate and delayed memory in children.

Mind wandering occurs when attention becomes disengaged from the here-and-now and directed toward internally generated thoughts; this is often associated with poorer performance on educationally significant tasks. In this study, 8- to 9-year-old children (N = 60) listened to audio stories embedded with intermittent thought probes that were used to determine if participants' thoughts were on or off task. The key objective was to explore the impact of probe-caught mind wandering on both immediate and delayed memory retention. Children reported being off task approximately 24% of the time. Most inattention episodes were classified as task-unrelated thoughts (i.e., 'pure' instances of mind wandering, 9%) or attentional failures due to distractions (9%). Higher frequency of mind wandering was strongly associated with poorer memory recall, and task-unrelated thoughts strongly predicted how well children could recall components of the audio story both immediately after the task and after a 1-week delay. This study is the first to demonstrate the impact of mind wandering on delayed memory retention in children. Results suggest that exploring mind wandering in the foundational years of schooling could provide the necessary empirical foundation for the development of practical interventions geared toward detecting and refocusing lapses of attention in educational contexts.

Comparing attentional disengagement between Prolific and MTurk samples

Attention often disengages from primary tasks in favor of secondary tasks (i.e., multitasking) and task-unrelated thoughts (i.e., mind wandering). We assessed whether attentional disengagement, in the context of a cognitive task, can substantially differ between samples from commonly used online participant recruitment platforms, Prolific and Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Initially, eighty participants were recruited through Prolific to perform an attention task in which the risk of losing points for errors was varied (high risk = 80% chance of loss, low risk = 20% chance of loss). Attentional disengagement was measured via task performance along with self-reported mind wandering and multitasking. On Prolific, we observed surprisingly low levels of disengagement. We then conducted the same experiment on MTurk. Strikingly, MTurk participants exhibited more disengagement than Prolific participants. There was also an interaction between risk and platform, with the high-risk group exhibiting less disengagement, in terms of better task performance, than the low-risk group, but only on MTurk. Platform differences in individual traits related to disengagement and relations among study variables were also observed. Platform differences persisted, but were smaller, after increasing MTurk reputation criteria and remuneration in a second experiment. Therefore, recruitment platform and recruitment criteria could impact results related to attentional disengagement.

47 Mind-Wandering in Older Adults: Implications for Fluid Cognition and Perceived Psychological Quality of Life

Objective:Mind-wandering is defined as a spontaneous shift of attention away from the external environment to inner thoughts. With mind-wandering being a ubiquitous phenomenon, there has been increasing interest in examining the role these spontaneous, and often unintentional, thought processes may have for metrics of cognitive and psychological health. However, much of this literature is mired with inconsistencies, potentially stemming from the use of variegated experimental methods and quantification of mind-wandering through different metrics. For example, mind-wandering has been investigated through endorsement of self-report probes embedded in tasks of sustained attention, with participants asking to endorse whether they were engaging in task-unrelated thoughts or task-related, but evaluative thoughts about the task (task-related interference). Other studies have instead focused on behavioral metrics of task performance, like omission and commission errors, the variability in response time (RTCV), and speeding or slowing prior to errors to quantify mind-wandering. In this study, employing a large sample of older adults, and implementing the novel technique of partial least squares regression, we examined the combined and simultaneous effect of different mind-wandering metrics in explaining variance in fluid cognition and psychological health in older adults.Participants and Methods:One hundred and fifty older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment were administered a Go/No-Go Task (GNG) with embedded mind-wandering probes, the Conners CPT-3, the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery, and the WHO Quality of Life Assessment Brief Version at baseline in a clinical trial examining the impact of two mind-body interventions on aging. Based on previous research, the following variables were considered behavioral measures of mind-wandering: quantity of omission and commission errors, RTCV, pre-error speeding, and post-error slowing. Percentage of self-reported task-related interference (i.e. evaluating current performance) and task-unrelated thoughts were included as self-report measures of mind-wandering. These mind-wandering measures, along with demographic variables (age, sex, and education), were regressed using Partial Least Squares Regression to determine the impact of mind-wandering measures on fluid cognition (NIHT-CB) and perceived psychological well-being (WHOQOL-BBREF). Validation tests were completed to assess model fit.Results:A single latent factor explained 26% of the variance in fluid cognition (p=0.0001). Higher levels of age, errors of omission on both tasks, and task-related interference were all associated with worse fluid cognition, whereas task-unrelated thoughts were associated with better fluid cognition.A two-factor latent model explained 12% of the variance in perceived psychological well-being (p=0.0004). Age and task-unrelated thoughts were positively associated with psychological well-being. In contrast, errors of omission on both tasks, response time variability on the CPT, and task-related interference were negatively associated with perceived psychological well-being.Conclusions:Mind-wandering is associated with fluid cognition and perceived psychological well-being in older adults. Select behavioral measures were better than self-report measures at linking mind-wandering to fluid cognition and perceived psychological well-being. Interestingly task-unrelated thoughts, but not task-related interference, was positively associated with fluid cognition, supporting the cognitive resource-based account of mind-wandering. The result of our study provides novel insights into differential relationships between various metrics of mind-wandering and cognitive and psychological health.

Effects of goal-setting on sustained attention and attention lapses.

In three experiments, we examined the effects of goal-setting on sustained attention and attention lapses. We measured both behavioral task performance and subjective attentional states during a four -choice reaction time task (Experiments 1 and 2 administered online; Experiment 3 conducted in-person). Experiment 1 compared a vague goal versus a specific goal. The specific goal reduced lapses in the form of long response times (RTs) but did not impact task-unrelated thoughts. Experiment 2 expanded on E1 by making the specific goal progressively harder. Behavioral lapses (i.e., long RTs) were reduced in the harder-over-time goal condition compared to the control condition. Additionally, while RTs increased with time-on-task in the control condition, RTs in the harder-over-time goal condition remained stable with time-on-task. Experiment 3 aimed to replicate the results of E2 in-person and adjusted the difficulty of the harder-over-time goals to be slightly harder. The results largely replicated E2. Overall, setting specific and difficult task goals led to a reduction in lapses of attention and increased sustained attention performance.

A randomized controlled pilot trial of brief online mindfulness training in young drivers

ObjectiveDriver distraction contributes to fatal and injury crashes in young drivers. Mind wandering (MW) is a covert form of distraction involving task-unrelated thoughts. Brief online mindfulness training (MT) may reduce unsafe driving by enhancing recognition (meta-awareness) of MW and reducing its occurrence. This pilot trial tested these proposed mechanisms of MT and explored its specificity of action, effects on driving behaviour in simulation, as well as intervention adherence and acceptability in young drivers. MethodsA pre-post (T1, T2), randomized, active placebo-controlled, double-blinded design was used. Twenty-six drivers, aged 21–25, received either brief online MT (experimental) or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR, control) over 4–6 days. A custom website blindly conducted randomization, delivered interventions, administered questionnaires, and tracked adherence. At T1 and T2, a simulator measured driving behaviour while participants indicated MW whenever they recognized it, to assess meta-awareness, and when prompted by a thought-probe, to assess overall MW. ResultsMT reduced MW while driving in simulation. The MT group reported higher state mindfulness following sessions. Motivation did not account for MW or mindfulness results. MT and meta-awareness were associated with more focus-related steering behaviour. Intervention groups did not significantly differ in adherence or attrition. No severe adverse effects were reported, but MT participants reported more difficulty following intervention instructions. ConclusionResults support a plausible mechanism of MT for reducing MW-related crash risk (i.e., reduction of MW) in young drivers. This preliminary evidence, alongside promising online adherence and acceptability results, warrants definitive efficacy and effectiveness trials of online MT.

Mind wandering may both promote and impair learning.

The present investigation deals with individual differences in habitual (trait-level) mind wandering and their effects on learning. We hypothesized that the 'positive-constructive' type of habitual mind wandering would promote task-related thinking and the 'poor-attention' type to promote task-unrelated thinking. This hypothesis was tested in a study with 200 participants who rated different aspects of their mind wandering in daily life in one session and completed a reading study in a second session. The reading study included thought probes, retrospective questions about readers' thought contents, and comprehension tests after reading. In line with our hypothesis, data analysis revealed that some forms of positive-constructive mind wandering were positively associated with text-related thought, whereas poor-attention mind wandering was positively associated with text-unrelated thought. The present results add to the literature by emphasizing different types of trait-level mind wandering and their potentially opposite effects on learning.

Was I thinking about thinking about the task? Measurement issues with self-reports of task-related and task-unrelated thoughts

In two studies we examined participants self-reports of their cognitive state after performing tasks. The reports of cognitive state included separate single item measures of task-related and task-unrelated thoughts framed as opposing sets (thoughts about X and –X). In study 1, we examined two data sets from previously published research. The correlation between task-related and task-unrelated thoughts was ~ r = −.25. In addition, the two items loaded onto separate factors when they were combined with other measures from the Short Task Relevant Evaluation of Stress State (STRESS). In study 2, 33 participants played a simulated natural disaster strategy game for five sessions and after each session they self-reported their cognitive state during the game. The correlation between task-related and task-unrelated thoughts at the individual level was also low, ~r = −.24. Participants may have difficulties accurately rating their thought content post-engaging in a task.

An experience-sampling study of the content and outcomes of socially oriented task-unrelated thoughts during a COVID-19 lockdown

ABSTRACT There is evidence to support a role for intentional and unintentional task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) in social cognition and emotional regulation. Individual differences in personality impact the regulation and functionality of these thoughts. This study examined how intention and trait loneliness and schizotypy relate to the content and emotional outcomes of socially-oriented TUTs recalled in daily life. The study took place during initial COVID-19 lockdown measures in Australia, providing insights into TUTs during times of uncertainty and social isolation. A total of 129 undergraduate students (118 female) completed a 7-day experience-sampling assessment following measures of schizotypy, loneliness, and trait-level mind wandering. Results revealed that intentional social TUTs had more constructive content and socio-emotional outcomes compared to unintentional TUTs. However, dimensions of schizotypy and loneliness were associated with less constructive thought patterns. Findings are discussed with reference to the content-regulation and current concerns hypotheses, and the potential impact of lockdown measures.

Separating the General and Content-Specific Components of Self-Reported Propensity for Mind-Wandering

Abstract: People differ in the propensity to mind-wander, that is, the tendency to slip into thinking about something else than the task at hand or the happenings in the immediate environment. Research indicates that mind-wandering tends to be associated with negative emotional states and that it declines with increasing age in adulthood. A question arises whether these relationships are true of mind-wandering in general, independently of its content and affective tone, or just particular kinds of off-task thinking. Participants ( N = 218) aged 18–84 years filled out the Task-Unrelated Thoughts Questionnaire (TUTQ), a multidimensional instrument for measuring individual tendencies in mind-wandering, and several scales related to affective functioning. A bifactor model for the TUTQ was employed, encompassing a general factor and three orthogonal specific factors that referred to affectively different modes of off-task thinking. The scores on the general factor decreased with increasing age of the respondents, dispositional positive affect, and satisfaction with life, whereas they increased with increasing negative affect and emotional reactivity. Age and affect-related variables, including individual tendencies in emotion regulation, also predicted, selectively, the specific factors. Although methodologically and theoretically challenging, the bifactor model seems to be a promising tool for representing and exploring individual variability in mind-wandering.

A Nomothetic Span Approach to the Construct Validation of Sustained Attention Consistency: Re-Analyzing Two Latent-Variable Studies of Performance Variability and Mind-Wandering Self-Reports.

The ability to sustain attention consistency is frequently assessed using either objective behavioral measures, such as reaction time (RT) variability, or subjective self-report measures, such as rates of task-unrelated thought (TUT). The current studies examined whether the individual-difference covariation in these measures provides a more construct valid assessment of attention consistency than does either alone. We argue that performance and self-report measures mutually validate each other; each measurement approach has its own sources of error, so their shared variance should best reflect the attention consistency construct. We reanalyzed two latent-variable studies where RT variability and TUTs were measured in multiple tasks (Kane et al. in J Exp Psychol Gen 145:1017-1048, 2016; Unsworth et al. in J Exp Psychol Gen 150:1303-1331, 2021), along with several nomological network constructs to test the convergent and discriminant validity of a general attention consistency factor. Confirmatory factor analyses assessing bifactor (preregistered) and hierarchical (non-preregistered) models suggested that attention consistency can be modeled as the shared variance among objective and subjective measures. This attention consistency factor was related to working memory capacity, attention (interference) control, processing speed, state motivation and alertness, and self-reported cognitive failures and positive schizotypy. Although bifactor models of general attention consistency provide the most compelling construct validity evidence for a specific ability to sustain attention, multiverse analyses of outlier decisions suggested they are less robust than hierarchical models. The results provide evidence for the general ability to sustain attention consistency and suggestions for improving its measurement.

Dreams share phenomenological similarities with task-unrelated thoughts and relate to variation in trait rumination and COVID-19 concern

While recent neurocognitive theories have proposed links between dreams and waking life, it remains unclear what kinds of waking thoughts are most similar in their phenomenological characteristics to those of dreams. To investigate this question and examine relevance of dreams to significant personal concerns and dispositional mental health traits, we employed ecological momentary assessment and trait questionnaires across 719 young adults who completed the study during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time marked by considerable societal concern. Across the group and at the level of individual differences, dreams showed the highest correspondence with task-unrelated thoughts. Participants who self-reported greater COVID-19 concern rated their dreams as more negative and unconstructive, a relationship which was moderated by trait rumination. Furthermore, dreams perceived as more negative unconstructive and immersive in nature associated with increased trait rumination beyond variation in rumination explained by waking task-unrelated thoughts alone. Together, these results point to similarities between perceived characteristics of dreams and task-unrelated thoughts, and support a relationship between dreams, current concerns, and mental health.

Vigilance decrement and mind-wandering in sustained attention tasks: Two sides of the same coin?

Decrements in performance and the propensity for increased mind-wandering (i.e., task-unrelated thoughts) across time-on-task are two pervasive phenomena observed when people perform vigilance tasks. In the present study, we asked whether processes that lead to vigilance decrement and processes that foster the propensity for mind-wandering (MW) can be dissociated or whether they share a common mechanism. In one experiment, we introduced two critical manipulations: increasing task demands and applying anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Seventy-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups resulting from the factorial combination of task demand (low, high) and stimulation (anodal, sham). Participants completed the sustained attention to response task (SART), which included thought probes on intentional and unintentional MW. In addition, we investigated the crucial role of alpha oscillations in a novel approach. By assessing pre-post resting EEG, we explored whether participants' variability in baseline alpha power predicted performance in MW and vigilance decrement related to tDCS or task demands, respectively, and whether such variability was a stable characteristic of participants. Our results showed a double dissociation, such that task demands exclusively affected vigilance decrement, while anodal tDCS exclusively affected the rate of MW. Furthermore, the slope of the vigilance decrement function and MW rate (overall, intentional and unintentional) did not correlate. Critically, resting state alpha-band activity predicted tDCS-related gains in unintentional MW alone, but not in vigilance decrement, and remained stable after participants completed the task. These results show that when a sustained attention task involving executive vigilance, such as the SART, is designed to elicit both vigilance decrement effects and MW, the processes leading to vigilance decrement should be differentiated from those responsible for MW, a claim that is supported by the double dissociation observed here and the lack of correlation between the measures chosen to assess both phenomena. Furthermore, the results provide the first evidence of how individual differences in alpha power at baseline may be of crucial importance in predicting the effects of tDCS on MW propensity.

Maladaptive task-unrelated thoughts: Self-control failure or avoidant behavior? Preliminary evidence from an experience sampling study.

Task-unrelated thoughts (TUT) play an important role in everyday life functioning (e.g., anticipating the future, or providing a mental break). However, TUT might also be maladaptive, impairing cognitive performance emotion regulation, and increasing the risk of psychological disorders. In the present study, we aimed to test how self-reported control over TUT and task valence moderate the link between task difficulty and TUT intensity, testing the context regulation and avoidant alternative hypotheses of TUT occurrence. Forty-nine participants took part in an experience sampling study. They were asked to answer five times a day for 5 days a series of questions assessing the intensity, valence, control over TUT, and their momentary affect along with characteristics of the task they were currently performing. They also filled in trait questionnaires assessing their tendency to daydream, ruminate, and their beliefs on emotions' usefulness and controllability. The results showed that both task difficulty and one's lower control over thoughts along with their interaction significantly increased TUT intensity. Task negative valence significantly predicted TUT intensity and moderated the link between task difficulty and TUT intensity. In addition, the tendency to daydream and beliefs in the controllability of negative emotions affect the relations in this model. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to provide quantitative evidence from an experience sampling study on the role of the valence of currently performed tasks and beliefs on emotions on TUT intensity. It might be an important indication for research and clinical practice that maladaptive TUT might not be only linked to self-control failure but also to emotion regulation strategies one is using.

Task-related and task-unrelated thoughts in runners and equestrians: Measurement issues in evaluations of thought content

Much of the thought content and mind-wandering literature examines self-reported thought content's relationship with performance criteria in limited ways. Furthermore, retrospective reports about thought content may be influenced by the quality of one's performance. We explored these method issues in a cross-sectional study of individuals competing in a trail race and an equestrian event. Our results demonstrated that self-reports of thought content differed based on the performance context: whereas runners' task-related and task-unrelated thoughts were negatively correlated, equestrians' thought content showed no relationship. Moreover, equestrians in general reported fewer task-related and task-unrelated thoughts than runners. Finally, objective performance predicted task-unrelated thought (but not task-related thought) among runners, and an exploratory mediation test suggested the effect was partially mediated by performance awareness. We discuss the applied implications of this research for human performance practitioners.