Controlling the stream of thought: Working memory capacity predicts adjustment of mind-wandering to situational demands

Rummel, Jan; Boywitt, C. Dennis · 2014 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-013-0580-3

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Summary

This study investigates the adaptive nature of mind-wandering, specifically examining whether individuals adjust their engagement in task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) based on situational demands and how working memory capacity (WMC) influences this adjustment. While TUTs can be functional for future planning, they often impair performance on current tasks requiring full attention. The authors propose a "cognitive flexibility view," arguing that cognitive control allows individuals to flexibly suppress TUTs when task demands are high and permit them when demands are low, rather than simply inhibiting them universally. This framework aims to resolve conflicting prior findings regarding the relationship between WMC and mind-wandering. The researchers conducted an experiment with 108 participants, measuring WMC using an automated operation-span task. Task demands were manipulated within-subjects using low-demand (1-back) and high-demand (3-back) versions of the n-back task. Mind-wandering was assessed via thought probes presented during the tasks, where participants reported whether their thoughts were task-related or task-unrelated. The authors employed a latent-change model to simultaneously analyze interindividual differences in TUT adjustment and performance decrements across the two task conditions. The results demonstrated that TUT rates were significantly lower during the high-demand 3-back task compared to the low-demand 1-back task, indicating general adjustment to situational demands. Crucially, WMC significantly predicted the degree of this adjustment: individuals with higher WMC showed greater reductions in TUTs when task demands increased. Furthermore, higher WMC was associated with smaller performance decrements under high demand. The analysis revealed that the correlation between TUT adjustment and performance change became non-significant when controlling for WMC, suggesting that WMC accounts for the shared variance between adaptive thought regulation and task performance. Additionally, the study replicated contradictory prior findings within a single experiment, showing a positive correlation between WMC and TUTs during low-demand tasks but a negative correlation during high-demand tasks. These findings suggest that cognitive control facilitates the flexible coordination of on- and off-task thoughts rather than merely suppressing mind-wandering. High-WMC individuals are better equipped to exert cognitive control over TUTs depending on situational demands, allowing them to engage in TUTs when they do not interfere with performance and suppress them when they do. This implies that the relationship between WMC and mind-wandering is context-dependent, driven by the individual's ability to adaptively regulate cognitive resources. The study concludes that mind-wandering is an adaptive process, and individual differences in cognitive control determine the efficiency of this adaptation.

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Topics

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• cognitive capacity variation
• executive function