Mind-wandering increases in frequency over time during task performance
An individual-participant meta-analytic review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14445401 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anthony P Zanesco (0000-0003-3476-3375, University of Miami), Ekaterina Denkova (0000-0001-9113-719X, University of Miami), Amishi P Jha (0000-0002-0257-2876, University of Miami) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 151 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 217-239 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Bulletin (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2909 • E-ISSN: 1939-1455 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/bul0000424 |
| PMID | 38421788 |
| OpenAlex | W4392284456 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
Attention has a seemingly inevitable tendency to turn inward toward our thoughts. Mind-wandering refers to moments when this inward focus diverts attention away from the current task-at-hand. Mind-wandering is thought to be ubiquitous, having been estimated to occur between 30% and 50% of our waking moments. Yet, it is unclear whether this frequency is similar within-task performance contexts and unknown whether mind-wandering systematically increases with time-on-task for a broad range of tasks. We conducted a systematic literature search and individual participant data meta-analysis of rates of occurrence of mind-wandering during task performance. Our search located 68 research reports providing almost a half-million total responses to experience sampling mind-wandering probes from more than 10,000 unique individuals. Latent growth curve models estimated the initial occurrence of mind-wandering and linear change in mind-wandering over sequential probes for each study sample, and effects were summarized using multivariate meta-analysis. Our results confirm that mind-wandering increases in frequency over time during task performance, implicating mind-wandering in characteristic within-task psychological changes, such as increasing boredom and patterns of worsening behavioral performance with time-on-task. The systematic search and meta-analysis provide the most comprehensive assessment of normative rates of mind-wandering during task performance reported to date. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Boredom · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Experience sampling method · MEDLINE · Meta-analysis · Mind-wandering · Normative · PsycINFO · Task (project management) · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Mental Health Research Topics · Mind wandering and attention · Psychology · Social Psychology
Unravelling the threads of thought
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| Citations per year | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |