TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kuschpel, Maxim S.
A1  - Liu, Shuyan
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Heinzel, Stephan
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
T1  - Differential effects of wakeful rest, music and video game playing on working memory performance in the n-back task
JF  - Frontiers in psychology
N2  - The interruption of learning processes by breaks filled with diverse activities is common in everyday life. We investigated the effects of active computer gaming and passive relaxation (rest and music) breaks on working memory performance. Young adults were exposed to breaks involving (i) eyes-open resting, (ii) listening to music and (iii) playing the video game “Angry Birds” before performing the n-back working memory task. Based on linear mixed-effects modeling, we found that playing the “Angry Birds” video game during a short learning break led to a decline in task performance over the course of the task as compared to eyes-open resting and listening to music, although overall task performance was not impaired. This effect was associated with high levels of daily mind wandering and low self-reported ability to concentrate. These findings indicate that video games can negatively affect working memory performance over time when played in between learning tasks. We suggest further investigation of these effects because of their relevance to everyday activity.
KW  - break interventions
KW  - computer games
KW  - mozart effect
KW  - working memory
KW  - attention
KW  - cognitive resources
KW  - mind wandering
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01683
SN  - 1664-1078
IS  - 6
PB  - Frontiers Research Foundation
CY  - Lausanne
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Soemer, Alexander
A1  - Schiefele, Ulrich
T1  - Working memory capacity and (in)voluntary mind wandering
JF  - Psychonomic bulletin & review : a journal of the Psychonomic Society
N2  - According to influential accounts of mind wandering (MW), working memory capacity (WMC) plays a key role in controlling the amount of off-task thought during the execution of a demanding task. Whereas WMC has primarily been associated with reduced levels of involuntarily occurring MW episodes in prior research, here we demonstrate for the first time that high-WMC individuals exhibit lower levels of voluntary MW. One hundred and eighty participants carried out a demanding reading task and reported their attentional state in response to random thought probes. In addition, participants' WMC was measured with two common complex span tasks (operation span and symmetry span). As a result, WMC was negatively related to both voluntary and involuntary MW, and the two forms of MW partially mediated the positive effect of WMC on reading performance. Furthermore, the negative relation between voluntary WM and reading remained significant after controlling for interest. Thus, in contrast to prior research suggesting that voluntary MW might be more closely related to motivation rather than WMC, the present results demonstrate that high-WMC individuals tend to limit both involuntary and voluntary MW more strictly than low-WMC individuals.
KW  - mind wandering
KW  - intention
KW  - working memory
KW  - executive control
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01737-4
SN  - 1069-9384
SN  - 1531-5320
VL  - 27
IS  - 4
SP  - 758
EP  - 767
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gericke, Christian
A1  - Soemer, Alexander
A1  - Schiefele, Ulrich
T1  - Benefits of Mind Wandering for Learning in School Through Its Positive Effects on Creativity
JF  - Frontiers in Education
N2  - There is broad agreement among researchers to view mind wandering as an obstacle to learning because it draws attention away from learning tasks. Accordingly, empirical findings revealed negative correlations between the frequency of mind wandering during learning and various kinds of learning outcomes (e.g., text retention). However, a few studies have indicated positive effects of mind wandering on creativity in real-world learning environments. The present article reviews these studies and highlights potential benefits of mind wandering for learning mediated through creative processes. Furthermore, we propose various ways to promote useful mind wandering and, at the same time, minimize its negative impact on learning.
KW  - mind wandering
KW  - creativity
KW  - divergent thinking
KW  - incubation effect
KW  - school learning
KW  - creative problem solving
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.774731
SN  - 2504-284X
VL  - 7
PB  - Frontiers Media SA
CY  - Lausanne, Schweiz
ER  -