title: The neurotic wandering mind: An individual differences investigation of neuroticism, mind-wandering, and executive control.
abstract: Cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience have recently developed a keen interest in the phenomenon of mind-wandering. People mind-wander frequently, and mind-wandering is associated with decreased cognitive performance. But why do people mind-wander so much? Previous investigations have focused on cognitive abilities like working memory capacity and attention control. But an individual's tendency to worry, feel anxious, and entertain personal concerns also influences mind-wandering. The Control Failure × Concerns model of mind-wandering. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 188-197] argues that individual differences in the propensity to mind-wander are jointly determined by cognitive abilities and by the presence of personally salient concerns that intrude on task focus. In order to test this model, we investigated individual differences in mind-wandering, executive attention, and personality with a focus on neuroticism. The results showed that neurotic individuals tended to report more mind-wandering during cognitive tasks, lower working memory capacity, and poorer attention control. Thus the trait of neuroticism adds an additional source of variance in the tendency to mind-wander, which offers support for the Control Failure × Concerns model. The results help bridge the fields of clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, affective neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience as a means of developing a more complete understanding of the complex relationship between cognition, personality, and emotion.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA.
authors.forename: Matthew K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Robison
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA.
authors.forename: Katherine I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Gath
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA.
authors.forename: Nash
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Unsworth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D000075384:Neuroticism; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Mind-wandering; Neuroticism; Working memory