Brandon C. W. Ralph

Media multitasking and failures of attention in everyday life

Using a series of online self-report measures, we examine media multitasking, a particularly pervasive form of multitasking, and its relations to three aspects of everyday attention: (1) failures of attention and cognitive errors (2) mind wandering, and (3) attentional control with an emphasis on attentional switching and distractibility. We observed a positive correlation between levels of media multitasking and self-reports of attentional failures, as well as with reports of both spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering. No correlation was observed between media multitasking and self-reported memory failures, lending credence to the hypothesis that media multitasking may be specifically related to problems of inattention, rather than cognitive errors in general. Furthermore, media multitasking was not related with self-reports of difficulties in attention switching or distractibility. We offer a plausible causal structural model assessing both direct and indirect effects among media multitasking, attentional failures, mind wandering, and cognitive errors, with the heuristic goal of constraining and motivating theories of the effects of media multitasking on inattention.

What did you have in mind? Examining the content of intentional and unintentional types of mind wandering

It has recently been argued that researchers should distinguish between mind wandering (MW) that is engaged with and without intention. Supporting this argument, studies have found that intentional and unintentional MW have behavioral/neural differences, and that they are differentially associated with certain variables of theoretical interest. Although there have been considerable inroads made into the distinction between intentional/unintentional MW, possible differences in their content remain unexplored. To determine whether these two types of MW differ in content, we had participants complete a task during which they categorized their MW as intentional or unintentional, and then provided responses to questions about the content of their MW. Results indicated that intentional MW was more frequently rated as being future-oriented and less vague than unintentional MW. These findings shed light on the nature of intentional and unintentional MW and provide support for the argument that researchers should distinguish between intentional and unintentional types.

Individual differences in media multitasking and performance on the n-back

A number of studies have recently examined the link between individual differences in media multitasking (using the MMI) and performance on working memory paradigms. However, these studies have yielded mixed results. Here we examine the relation between media multitasking and one particular working memory paradigm—the n-back (2- and 3-back)—improving upon previous research by (a) treating media multitasking as a continuous variable and adopting a correlational approach as well as (b) using a large sample of participants. First, we found that higher scores on the MMI were associated with a greater proportion of omitted trials on both the 2-back and 3-back, indicating that heavier media multitaskers were more disengaged during the n-back. In line with such a claim, heavier media multitaskers were also more likely to confess to responding randomly during various portions of the experiment, and to report media multitasking during the experiment itself. Importantly, when controlling for the relation between MMI scores and omissions, higher scores on the MMI were associated with an increase in false alarms, but not with a change in hits. These findings refine the extant literature on media multitasking and working memory performance (specifically, performance on the n-back), and suggest that media multitasking may be related to the propensity to disengage from ongoing tasks.

Intentionality and meta-awareness of mind wandering: Are they one and the same, or distinct dimensions?

Researchers have recently demonstrated that mind-wandering episodes can vary on numerous dimensions, and it has been suggested that assessing these dimensions will play an important role in our understanding of mind wandering. One dimension that has received considerable attention in recent work is the intentionality of mind wandering. Although it has been claimed that indexing the intentionality of mind wandering will be necessary if researchers are to obtain a coherent understanding of the wandering mind, one concern is that this dimension might be redundant with another, longstanding, dimension: namely, meta-awareness. Thus, the utility of the argument for assessing intentionality rests upon a demonstration that this dimension is distinct from the meta-awareness dimension. To shed light on this issue, across two studies we compared and contrasted these dimensions to determine whether they are redundant or distinct. In both studies, we found support for the view that these dimensions are distinct.

The more your mind wanders, the smaller your attentional blink: an individual differences study.

The present studies investigate the hypothesis that individuals who frequently report experiencing episodes of mind wandering do so because they under-invest attentional/executive resources in the external environment. Here we examined whether self-reported instances of mind wandering predict the magnitude of the “attentional blink” (AB) in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, since a prominent view is that the AB derives from an over-investment of attention in the information stream. Study 1 demonstrates that subjective reports of mind wandering in a sustained attention task have a negative predictive relation with respect to the magnitude of the AB measured in a subsequent RSVP task. In addition, using the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Questionnaire in Study 2, we were again able to show that trait-level mind wandering in everyday life negatively predicts AB magnitude. We suggest that mind wandering may be the behavioural outcome of an adaptive cognitive style intended to maximize the efficient processing of dynamic and temporally unpredictable events.

Disrupting monotony while increasing demand: benefits of rest and intervening tasks on vigilance

In the experiments presented here, we examined the impact of intervening tasks on the vigilance decrement. In Experiment 1 participants either (a) continuously performed a visuospatial vigilance task, (b) received a rest break, or (c) temporarily performed a different, demanding visuospatial task in the middle of the vigil. Both taking a rest break and performing the intervening task were found to alleviate the vigilance decrement in response times. Target detection accuracy was equivalent across groups. In Experiment 2 we obtained subjective ratings of task demand, boredom, motivation, and mind wandering for both the vigilance task and intervening task administered in Experiment 1. The intervening task was rated as more demanding in terms of mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, own performance, effort, and frustration. In addition, participants also reported being more bored, less motivated, and reported mind wandering more frequently when completing the vigil. Disruptions to task monotony (even if cognitively demanding), can alleviate the vigilance decrement. The implications of this finding with respect to current theoretical accounts of the vigilance decrement are discussed.

The Relation Between Smartphone Use and Everyday Inattention.

In 2 studies, we explored the relation between subjective reports of smartphone use and everyday inattention. We created 2 questionnaires that measured general smartphone use (e.g., how frequently people send and receive text messages, use social media, etc.), and absent-minded smartphone use (e.g., how frequently people use their phone without a purpose in mind). To measure everyday inattention, participants completed 4 scales that assessed everyday attention lapses, attention-related errors, spontaneous mind-wandering, and deliberate mind-wandering, respectively. The results of both studies revealed a strong positive relation between general and absent-minded smartphone use. Furthermore, we observed significant positive correlations between each of the smartphone use questionnaires and each of the 4 measures of inattention. However, a series of regression analyses demonstrated that when both types of smartphone use were considered simultaneously, the relation between inattention and smartphone use was driven entirely by absent-minded use. Specifically, absent-minded smartphone use consistently had a unique positive relation with the inattention measures, while general smartphone use either had no relation (Study 1) or a unique negative relation (Study 2) with inattention.

Running the figure to the ground: figure-ground segmentation during visual search.

We examined how figure-ground segmentation occurs across multiple regions of a visual array during a visual search task. Stimuli consisted of arrays of black-and-white figure-ground images in which roughly half of each image depicted a meaningful object, whereas the other half constituted a less meaningful shape. The colours of the meaningful regions of the targets and distractors were either the same (congruent) or different (incongruent). We found that incongruent targets took longer to locate than congruent targets (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) and that this segmentation-congruency effect decreased when the number of search items was reduced (Experiment 2). Furthermore, an analysis of eye movements revealed that participants spent more time scrutinising the target before confirming its identity on incongruent trials than on congruent trials (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that the distractor context influences target segmentation and detection during visual search.

Wandering Minds and Wavering Goals: Examining the Relation between Mind Wandering and Grit in Everyday Life and the Classroom

Here we examined the relation between mind wandering and the personality trait of ‘grit.’ Our hypothesis was that because mind wandering leads to a disruption of momentary goal completion, the tendency to mind wander might be inversely related to the completion of long-term goals that require sustained interest and effort (i.e., grittiness). In Study 1 we used online questionnaires and found that in everyday life, the propensity to mind wander was negatively correlated with individuals’ self-reported grittiness. Interestingly, the relation between mind wandering and grit was strongest for unintentional bouts of mind wandering (as compared with intentional mind wandering). We extended these findings in Study 2 by (a) using a more heterogeneous sample of participants, (b) including a measure of conscientiousness, and (c) including another measure of general perseverance. In addition to replicating our findings from Study 1, in Study 2 we found that the grit measure uniquely predicted spontaneous mind wandering over and above a measure of conscientiousness and an alternative measure of general perseverance. Lastly, in Study 3 we extend the relation between mind wandering and grit to the classroom, finding that mind wandering during university lectures was also related to self-reported grittiness. Taken together, we suggest that the propensity to experience brief lapses of attention is associated with the propensity to stick-with and complete long-term goals. We also provide evidence that when predicting mind wandering and inattention, measures of grit are not redundant with existing measure of conscientiousness and general perseverance. Nous avons par les présentes examiné la relation entre le vagabondage de l’esprit et le trait de personnalité qui consiste à avoir du cran. Notre hypothèse était que puisque le vagabondage de l’esprit entraîne la perturbation momentanée de l’achèvement d’un objectif, la tendance de l’esprit au vagabondage pourrait être inversement liée à l’achèvement de buts à long-terme nécessitant un effort et un intérêt soutenus (c.-à-d. le niveau de cran). Dans l’étude 1, au moyen de questionnaires en ligne, nous avons découvert que dans la vie de tous les jours, la propension au vagabondage de l’esprit était négativement corrélée avec le niveau de cran auto-déclaré par les individus. Fait intéressant, la relation entre le vagabondage de l’esprit et le niveau de cran était à son plus fort lors d’épisodes involontaires de vagabondage de l’esprit (en comparaison avec le vagabondage de l’esprit volontaire). Nous avons appliqué ces observations à l’étude 2 en (a) utilisant un échantillon de participants plus hétérogène, (b) incluant une mesure de conscienciosité et (c) incluant une autre mesure de persévérance générale. En plus de reproduire nos observations de l’étude 1, nous avons découvert grâce à l’étude 2, que la mesure du niveau de cran permettait seulement de prédire le vagabondage de l’esprit spontané au-delà d’une mesure de la conscienciosité et d’une mesure alternative de persévérance générale. Finalement, dans l’étude 3, nous étendons la relation entre le vagabondage de l’esprit et le niveau de cran à la salle de classe, pour enfin constater que le vagabondage de l’esprit pendant les cours universitaires était également lié au niveau de cran auto-déclaré. À la lumière de ces résultats combinés, nous suggérons que la propension à expérimenter de courts laps d’attention est associée à la propension à respecter et à réaliser les objectifs à long-terme. Nous fournissons aussi des preuves à l’effet que les prévisions de vagabondage de l’esprit et d’inattention ne sont pas redondantes avec les mesures existantes de conscienciosité et de persévérance générale.

Volitional media multitasking: awareness of performance costs and modulation of media multitasking as a function of task demand

In two experiments, we sought to determine whether (a) people are aware of the frequently observed performance costs associated with engaging in media multitasking (Experiment 1), and (b) if so, whether they modulate the extent to which they engage in multitasking as a function of task demand (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants completed a high-demand task (2-back) both independently and while a video was simultaneously presented. To determine whether people were sensitive to the impact that the concurrent video had on primary-task performance, subjective estimates of performance were collected following both trial types (No-Video vs. Video trials), as were explicit beliefs about the influence of the video on performance. In Experiment 2, we modified our paradigm by allowing participants to turn the video on and off at their discretion, and had them complete either a high-demand task (2-back) or a low-demand task (0-back). Findings from Experiment 1 indicated that people are sensitive to the magnitude of the decrement that media multitasking has on primary-task performance. In addition, findings from Experiment 2 indicated that people modulate the extent to which they engage in media multitasking in accordance with the demands of their primary task. In particular, participants completing the high-demand task were more likely to turn off the optional video stream compared to those completing the low-demand task. The results suggest that people media multitask in a strategic manner by balancing considerations of task performance with other potential concerns.