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.

Reconceptualizing mind wandering from a switching perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Sheng Wong ◽  
Adrian R. Willoughby ◽  
Liana Machado
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Resource Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theories Of Mind ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Older Populations ◽  
And Task

Mind wandering is a universal phenomenon in which our attention shifts away from the task at hand toward task-unrelated thoughts. Despite it inherently involving a shift in mental set, little is known about the role of cognitive flexibility in mind wandering. In this article we consider the potential of cognitive flexibility as a mechanism for mediating and/or regulating the occurrence of mind wandering. Our review begins with a brief introduction to the prominent theories of mind wandering—the executive failure hypothesis, the decoupling hypothesis, the process-occurrence framework, and the resource-control account of sustained attention. Then, after discussing their respective merits and weaknesses, we put forward a new perspective of mind wandering focused on cognitive flexibility, which provides an account more in line with the data to date, including why older populations experience a reduction in mind wandering. After summarizing initial evidence prompting this new perspective, drawn from several mind-wandering and task-switching studies, we recommend avenues for future research aimed at further understanding the importance of cognitive flexibility in mind wandering.

scholarly journals Language and Task Switching in Polish-English Bilinguals

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Klecha
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Mixing Efficiency ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Equivalent Control ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Switching Efficiency ◽  
And Task

The study investigated the relationship between the efficiency of switching languages and non-linguistic tasks in non-proficient Polish-English bilinguals. The participants performed picture naming that involved switching between L1 and L2 in both directions and a shape or color decision on visually presented figures, which required switching and mixing two different tasks. No relationship between the efficiency in switching languages and non-linguistic tasks was observed. However, increased language switching efficiency was related to high task mixing efficiency, indicating that maintaining two languages and two non-linguistic tasks active is mediated by equivalent control processes. Also, switching from L2 to L1 was more time-consuming than in the opposite direction and participants with the greatest L1 switching disadvantage were the fastest task switchers. These findings suggest that nonproficient bilinguals inhibit their stronger language while switching between L1 and L2 and equivalent inhibitory mechanisms can be responsible for the facilitation of their task switching performance.

The Relationship Between Individual Differences in Switching Performance and Task Engagement

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-297
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Clegg ◽  
Christopher D. Wickens
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Real World ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Concurrent Tasks ◽  
High Workload ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Strategic task switching is demanded in many real-world situations where effective simultaneous performance of concurrent tasks is not possible. Building from a model of strategic task overload management, the current study explored the influence of task load on the relationship between an individual’s task switching capability and task engagement. Only when high workload was present in both tasks was there a correlation between the capability to switch and subsequent action within tasks. In contrast, no relationships between task switching and later task engagement were seen when demands were not high enough in both tasks to require strategic switching.

Linking perceived organizational support for strengths use to task performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Ding ◽  
Enhai Yu ◽  
Yanbin Li
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Perceived Organizational Support ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Strengths Use ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

We investigated the mediating effects of positive affect and strengths use in the relationship between perceived organizational support for strengths use (POSSU) and employees' task performance. Data were gathered at 2 time points, separated by a 2-week interval, from 157 employees working in various Chinese enterprises. We applied structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro analysis to the data. The results indicate that POSSU was positively related to task performance and that this relationship was mediated by strengths use. In addition, positive affect and strengths use played a sequential mediating role in the relationship between POSSU and task performance. However, positive affect was not a significant mediator in the POSSU–task performance relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in the context of the literature on POSSU and task performance.

Role of burnout on job level, job satisfaction, and task performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won Ho Kim ◽  
Young-An Ra ◽  
Jong Gyu Park ◽  
Bora Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Level ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) in the relationship between job level and job satisfaction as well as between job level and task performance. Design/methodology/approach The final sample included 342 Korean workers from selected companies. The authors employed the Hayes (2013) PROCESS tool for analyzing the data. Findings The results showed that all three subscales of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) mediate the relationship between job level and job satisfaction. However, only two mediators (i.e. cynicism, professional inefficacy) indicated the mediating effects on the association between job level and task performance. Originality/value This research presented the role of burnout on the relationships between job level, job satisfaction, and task performance especially in South Korean organizational context. In addition to role of burnout, findings should prove helpful in improving job satisfaction and task performance. The authors provide implications and limitations of the findings.

scholarly journals Post-Drive Standing Balance of Vehicle Passengers Using Wearable Sensors: The Effect of On-Road Driving and Task Performance

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 4997
Author(s):  
Victor C. Le ◽  
Monica L. H. Jones ◽  
Kathleen H. Sienko
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Standing Balance ◽  
Balance Performance ◽  
Real Time Traffic ◽  
Balance Exercises ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Postural sway has been demonstrated to increase following exposure to different types of motion. However, limited prior studies have investigated the relationship between exposure to normative on-road driving conditions and standing balance following the exposure. The purpose of this on-road study was to quantify the effect of vehicle motion and task performance on passengers’ post-drive standing balance performance. In this study, trunk-based kinematic data were captured while participants performed a series of balance exercises before and after an on-road driving session in real-time traffic. Postural sway for all balance exercises increased following the driving session. Performing a series of ecologically relevant visual-based tasks led to increases in most post-drive balance metrics such as sway position and velocity. However, the post-drive changes following the driving session with a task were not significantly different compared to changes observed following the driving session without a task. The post-drive standing balance performance changes observed in this study may increase vulnerable users’ risk of falling. Wearable sensors offer an opportunity to monitor postural sway following in-vehicle exposures.

Current Task Activation Predicts General Effects of Advance Preparation in Task Switching

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edita Poljac ◽  
Ab de Haan ◽  
Gerard P. van Galen
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Shape Matching ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Task Switch ◽  
Current Task ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
And Task

Two experiments investigated the way that beforehand preparation influences general task execution in reaction-time matching tasks. Response times (RTs) and error rates were measured for switching and nonswitching conditions in a color- and shape-matching task. The task blocks could repeat (task repetition) or alternate (task switch), and the preparation interval (PI) was manipulated within-subjects (Experiment 1) and between-subjects (Experiment 2). The study illustrated a comparable general task performance after a long PI for both experiments, within and between PI manipulations. After a short PI, however, the general task performance increased significantly for the between-subjects manipulation of the PI. Furthermore, both experiments demonstrated an analogous preparation effect for both task switching and task repetitions. Next, a consistent switch cost throughout the whole run of trials and a within-run slowing effect were observed in both experiments. Altogether, the present study implies that the effects of the advance preparation go beyond the first trials and confirms different points of the activation approach ( Altmann, 2002) to task switching.

scholarly journals The Mediating Role of Competency on the Relationship between Training and Task Performance: Applied Study in Pharmacists

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Jih-Hua Yang ◽  
Shih-Chieh Fang ◽  
Ching-Ying Huang
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Professional Competency ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Technical Competency ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of competency (professional competency, technical competency, and core competency) between training and task performance in pharmacists. Questionnaire was the tool of collecting data from a sample of (210) pharmacists. The results of the study indicated that there is a positive effect of training on task performance. Also, there is full effect of the two mediator variables (professional competency; technical competency) and partial effect of the one mediator variable (core competency) on the relationship between independent and dependent variables.

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