implicit temporal expectation and mind wandering

• DOI: 10.17605/osf.io/w7bv8
• Publication Date: 2019-03-04
• Authors: Massar, Stijn; Poh, Jia-Hou; Lim, Julian; Chee, Michael

Code and data for : Dissociable influences of implicit temporal expectation on attentional performance and mind wandering Published: June 2020. Cognition, 104242 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104242 Abstract: Mind wandering at critical moments during a cognitive task degrades performance. At other moments, mind wandering could serve to conserve task-relevant resources, allowing a brief mental respite. Recent research has shown that, if target timing is predictable, mind wandering episodes mostly coincide with moments of low target likelihood. Conversely, mind wandering can be avoided at moments when targets are expected. In the current study, we tested whether mind wandering can be guided by implicit temporal expectations when the target timing is less predictable. In two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 37, Experiment 2: N = 61), participants performed a sustained attention task in which target events were preceded by a variable pre-target interval (foreperiod). As time passes over the foreperiod duration, conditional probability of target presentation increases, given that it has not yet appeared. In Experiment 1 all foreperiod durations were equally probable (uniform distribution: 2-10 seconds). This resulted in higher attentional readiness, and faster responses when targets were preceded by longer foreperiods (foreperiod-effect). In contrast, mind wandering, as assessed by thought probes inserted following short or long foreperiods, did not follow this pattern. In Experiment 2, alterations in the foreperiod distribution (left or right-skewed) resulted in changes in the behavioral foreperiod-effect, but mind wandering was unaffected. Our findings indicate that while implicit timing strongly affects behavioral response to target events, it has no bearing on the likelihood of mind wandering. In contrast, mind wandering did correlate with performance deterioration due to fatigue (time-on-task effect), suggesting that the thought probes methods was sufficiently sensitive to behaviorally relevant changes in mental state.