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Comment
. 2010 Mar;136(2):188-197.
doi: 10.1037/a0018298.

Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008)

Jennifer C McVay  1 , Michael J Kane  1
Affiliations
Comment

Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008)

Jennifer C McVay et al. Psychol Bull. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

In this comment, we contrast different conceptions of mind wandering that were presented in 2 recent theoretical reviews: Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). We also introduce a new perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering by integrating empirical evidence presented in Smallwood and Schooler with 2 theoretical frameworks: Watkins's elaborated control theory and Klinger's (1971, 2009) current concerns theory. In contrast to the Smallwood-Schooler claim that mind wandering recruits executive resources, we argue that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control and that it is dually determined by the presence of automatically generated thoughts in response to environmental and mental cues and the ability of the executive-control system to deal with this interference. We present empirical support for this view from experimental, neuroimaging, and individual-differences research.

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Comment on

  • The restless mind.
    Smallwood J, Schooler JW. Smallwood J, et al. Psychol Bull. 2006 Nov;132(6):946-958. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.946. Psychol Bull. 2006. PMID: 17073528 Review.
  • Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought.
    Watkins ER. Watkins ER. Psychol Bull. 2008 Mar;134(2):163-206. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163. Psychol Bull. 2008. PMID: 18298268 Free PMC article. Review.

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