Absence without leave or leave without absence: Examining the interrelations among mind wandering, metacognition and cognitive control

Despite the abundance of recent publications about mind wandering (i.e., off-task thought), its interconnection with metacognition and cognitive control has not yet been examined. In the current study, we hypothesized that these three constructs would show clear interrelations. Metacognitive capacity was predicted to correlate positively with cognitive control ability, which in turn was predicted to be positively related to resistance to mind wandering during sustained attention. Moreover, it was expected that participants with good metacognitive capacity would be better at the subjective recognition of behaviorally present mind wandering. Three tasks were used: The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to measure mind wandering, a perceptual decision task with confidence ratings to measure metacognitive efficiency, and a conflict task to measure cognitive control. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the interrelations among the three constructs. As expected, metacognitive efficiency was positively related to cognitive control ability. Surprisingly, there was a negative relation between metacognitive efficiency and the degree to which subjective mind wandering reports tracked the behavioral index of mind wandering. No relation was found between cognitive control and behavioral mind wandering. The results of the current work are the first to shed light on the interrelations among these three constructs.

尽管近期关于心智游移（mind wandering，即任务脱离性思维）的研究成果颇丰，但目前尚未有研究探讨其与元认知（metacognition）及认知控制（cognitive control）之间的内在关联。本研究假设，这三种心理构念之间存在明确的相互关系。研究预测，元认知能力与认知控制能力呈正相关，而认知控制能力又与持续注意力任务中抵御心智游移的能力呈正相关。此外，本研究预期，具备良好元认知能力的被试能够更精准地主观识别行为层面显现的心智游移。本研究采用三项任务：以持续注意力反应任务（Sustained Attention to Response Task, SART）测量心智游移，以带置信度评分的知觉决策任务评估元认知效率，以冲突任务衡量认知控制能力。本研究采用结构方程模型（Structural Equation Modelling）检验这三种心理构念间的相互关联。结果与预期一致，元认知效率与认知控制能力呈正相关。但出乎意料的是，元认知效率与主观心智游移报告契合心智游移行为指标的程度呈负相关。而认知控制能力与行为层面的心智游移之间未发现显著关联。本研究成果首次阐明了这三种心理构念之间的内在联系。