Paul Seli1, Kevin O'Neill1, Jonathan S A Carriere2, Daniel Smilek3, Roger E Beaty4, Daniel L Schacter5. 1. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. 2. Department of Psychology, Bishop's University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 4. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park. 5. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: A common finding in the mind-wandering literature is that older adults (OAs) tend to mind-wander less frequently than young adults (YAs). Here, we sought to determine whether this age-related difference in mind-wandering is attributable to age-related differences in motivation. METHOD: YAs and OAs completed an attention task during which they responded to thought probes that assessed rates of mind-wandering, and they provided self-reports of task-based motivation before and after completion of the attention task. RESULTS: Age-related differences in mind-wandering are partially explained by differences in motivation, and motivating YAs via incentive diminishes mind-wandering differences across these groups. DISCUSSION: We consider these results in the context of theories on age-related differences in mind wandering, with a specific focus on their relevance to the recently proposed motivational account of such age-related differences.
OBJECTIVES: A common finding in the mind-wandering literature is that older adults (OAs) tend to mind-wander less frequently than young adults (YAs). Here, we sought to determine whether this age-related difference in mind-wandering is attributable to age-related differences in motivation. METHOD: YAs and OAs completed an attention task during which they responded to thought probes that assessed rates of mind-wandering, and they provided self-reports of task-based motivation before and after completion of the attention task. RESULTS: Age-related differences in mind-wandering are partially explained by differences in motivation, and motivating YAs via incentive diminishes mind-wandering differences across these groups. DISCUSSION: We consider these results in the context of theories on age-related differences in mind wandering, with a specific focus on their relevance to the recently proposed motivational account of such age-related differences.
Authors: Paul Seli; Michael J Kane; Thomas Metzinger; Jonathan Smallwood; Daniel L Schacter; David Maillet; Jonathan W Schooler; Daniel Smilek Journal: Trends Cogn Sci Date: 2018-09-13 Impact factor: 20.229
Authors: Paul Seli; James Allan Cheyne; Mengran Xu; Christine Purdon; Daniel Smilek Journal: J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn Date: 2015-03-02 Impact factor: 3.051