You Can't Always Get What You Want: The Influence of Expectations on Voluntary Task Switching Performance

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Starla M. Weaver ◽  
Glenn R. Wylie ◽  
Marina Shpaner ◽  
John J. Foxe
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Voluntary Task Switching ◽  
Switching Performance

scholarly journals Spontaneous Mind-Wandering Tendencies Linked to Cognitive Flexibility in Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Sheng Wong ◽  
Adrian R. Willoughby ◽  
Liana Machado
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Voluntary Task Switching ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Despite that previous studies have investigated mind wandering using task-switching paradigms, the association between the tendency to mind wander and cognitive flexibility remains largely unexplored. The present study investigated the relationship between self-reported spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies and task-switching performance in young adults. Seventy-nine university students performed a forced task-switching and a voluntary task-switching paradigm and then completed a battery of questionnaires. The results showed that compared to participants with lower spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies, participants with higher spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies demonstrated better performance (evidenced by smaller switch cost reaction times) in the forced task-switching paradigm despite indicating more mind wandering during task performance. Performance on the voluntary task-switching paradigm, on the other hand, did not differ between the two groups. The findings in the forced task-switching paradigm indicate a link between mind wandering and cognitive flexibility, thus providing initial evidence in favor of a role for switching in mind wandering.

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