Conducting the Train of Thought: Working Memory Capacity Goal Neglect and Mind Wandering in an Executive-Control Task

摘要

Based on the executive-attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC; e.g., ) we tested the relations among WMC, mind wandering, and goal neglect in a sustained-attention-to-response task (SART; a goo-go task). In three SART versions, making conceptual versus perceptual processing demands, subjects periodically indicated their thought content when probed following rare no-go targets. SART processing demands did not affect mind-wandering rates, but mind-wandering rates varied with WMC and predicted goal-neglect errors in the task; furthermore, mind-wandering rates partially mediated the WMC-SART relation, indicating that WMC-related differences in goal neglect were due, in part, to variation in the control of conscious thought.