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Comparative Study
. 2021 Aug 13;76(7):1264-1271.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa031.

Mind-Wandering Across the Age Gap: Age-Related Differences in Mind-Wandering Are Partially Attributable to Age-Related Differences in Motivation

Paul Seli  1 , Kevin O'Neill  1 , Jonathan S A Carriere  2 , Daniel Smilek  3 , Roger E Beaty  4 , Daniel L Schacter  5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Mind-Wandering Across the Age Gap: Age-Related Differences in Mind-Wandering Are Partially Attributable to Age-Related Differences in Motivation

Paul Seli et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. .

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.

Keywords: Aging; Mind-wandering; Motivation; Older and young adults; Task-unrelated thought.

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Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Simplified clock face with hand pointed at the 12 o’clock position. The diameter of the clock face was 192 pixels. The clock’s hand made a complete revolution every 20 s.
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