Does Mind Wandering Reflect Executive Function or Executive Failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008)
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Michael J. Kane, Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: In this comment, we contrast different conceptions of mind wandering that were presented in 2 recent theoretical reviews: Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). We also introduce a new perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering by integrating empirical evidence presented in Smallwood and Schooler with 2 theoretical frameworks: Watkins’s elaborated control theory and Klinger’s (1971, 2009) current concerns theory. In contrast to the Smallwood–Schooler claim that mind wandering recruits executive resources, we argue that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control and that it is dually determined by the presence of automatically generated thoughts in response to environmental and mental cues and the ability of the executive-control system to deal with this interference. We present empirical support for this view from experimental, neuroimaging, and individual-differences research.
Does Mind Wandering Reflect Executive Function or Executive Failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008)
PDF (Portable Document Format)
178 KB
Created on 3/1/2010
Views: 8793
Additional Information
- Publication
- McVay, J.C., & Kane, M.J. (2010). Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). Psychological Bulletin, 136, 188-197.
- Language: English
- Date: 2010
- Keywords
- Mind wandering, Executive function, Cognitive control, Default mode network, Current concerns