Thought constraint as an individual differences variable
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Rebecca Marie Daniel (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Matt Meier
Abstract: This quasi-experimental study examined the dissociability of thought constraint from task relatedness (i.e., whether thoughts are related to the task at hand) and the rank-order stability of thought constraint. The study also tested predictions (Christoff et al., 2016) about the relationship between thought constraint and psychological symptoms and the influence of thought constraint on task performance. Like previous research, thought constraint was dissociable from task relatedness (Alperin et al., 2021; Kam et al., 2021; Mills et al., 2018; Mills et al., 2021; O’Neill et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2018). Thought constraint demonstrated rank-order stability across two measures of sustained attention. Higher reports of depressive symptoms, rumination, state anxiety, and trait anxiety were associated with less constrained thoughts, which is contrary to the predictions of Christoff et al. (2016) and Mills et al. (2021). Consistent with Christoff et al. (2016) and Alperin et al. (2021), higher reports of overall ADHD symptoms (inattention and hyperactivity combined) were associated with less constrained thought. As expected, symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity alone were positively associated with less constrained thought. Thought constraint also predicted unique variance in response accuracy via the Sustained Attention to Response Task (Robertson et al., 1997; as in Smith et al., 2022) and response time variability via the Metronome Response Task (Seli et al., 2013a). There was an interaction between thought constraint and task relatedness in the model predicting SART response time variability, indicating that response time was more variable when thoughts were off-task and less constrained than usual. The study suggests that thought constraint is a promising individual differences variable, but further research is needed to fully understand this phenomenon.
Thought constraint as an individual differences variable
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Created on 3/1/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- freely-moving thought, individual differences, measurement, mind wandering
- Subjects
- Thought and thinking
- Attention
- Mental health
- Attention—Testing
- Task analysis