The costs and benefits of mind-wandering: A review.

University of California, Santa Barbara

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Substantial evidence suggests that mind-wandering typically occurs at a significant cost to performance. Mind-wandering-related deficits in performance have been observed in many contexts, most notably reading, tests of sustained attention, and tests of aptitude. Mind-wandering has been shown to negatively impact reading comprehension and model building, impair the ability to withhold automatized responses, and disrupt performance on tests of working memory and intelligence. These empirically identified costs of mind-wandering have led to the suggestion that mind-wandering may represent a pure failure of cognitive control and thus pose little benefit. However, emerging evidence suggests that the role of…

Citation impact

673
total citations
FWCI
16.45
Percentile
100%
References
57
Citations per year

Authors

2

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Mind-wandering
  • Psychology
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Reading (process)
  • Comprehension
  • Cognition
  • Phenomenon
  • Cognitive science
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Quality Education
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