BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Cognit.
Sec. Attention
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcogn.2025.1577053
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Vigilance Research: Exploring Novel Theoretical Models and Analytical Approaches on the analysis of the Vigilance Decrement.View all 5 articles
Examining the Association between Vigilance and Mind Wandering
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States
- 2University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
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Understanding the relationship between the vigilance decrement and mind wandering is critical for advancing theories of attention and improving performance in contexts requiring sustained focus. This study highlights the utility of bivariate growth curve modeling a powerful tool that allows for the examination of associations between within-task changes in performance and mind wandering. By applying this method to a large sample of undergraduates completing a brief online 10-minute task, the study extends prior research focused on longer tasks and different populations, revealing that performance declines are closely tied to increases in mind wandering. Moreover, bivariate growth curve modeling allowed for the identification of task-related motivation and interest as key moderators of these effects, providing insights into how individual differences shape the vigilance decrement. These findings underscore the importance of using growth modeling techniques to uncover nuanced, time-sensitive relationships, advancing both theoretical frameworks and practical interventions aimed at mitigating attentional decline in real-world settings.
Keywords: Vigilance decrement, mind wandering, sustained attention, Time-on-task, growth curve modeling
Received: 14 Feb 2025; Accepted: 18 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Schwartzman, Zanesco, Denkova, Tsukahara and Jha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Amishi P Jha, University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States
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