We hypothesized that attention would be allocated differently based on whether a participant was listening to an audiobook inside or outside the lab and that this attentional variance would influence performance on a memory test. This study examines the influence of mind wandering and distraction on an activity that can be measured in or out of the lab: listening to an audiobook. Thus, when studying internally and externally related failures in attention, the environment may influence the ability to manage attention.
However, in laboratory studies, external events are experimentally constrained. In everyday life, a wide array of unpredictable external events may occur. Collectively, the data suggest that mind wandering and distraction are distinct types of attentional failures and that past controlled lab investigations may have overestimated the role of mind wandering and underestimated the role of distraction in everyday cognition.Įveryday behavior requires individuals to manage their attention in competition with both internal (wandering thoughts) and external (environmental) events. Memory test performance was poorer outside the lab, suggesting that increased distraction may compromise memory more than mind wandering.
However, there was a setting by attentional state interaction: distraction rates were higher than mind wandering rates outside the lab, while inattention rates did not differ inside the lab. Inattention (mind wandering and distraction) did not differ between the two settings. Participants performed a memory test on audiobook content at the end. While listening to the audiobook, participants were randomly prompted to report their current attentional status (focused, mind wandering, or distracted). Participants listened to an audiobook in either a controlled lab setting or in an uncontrolled natural setting. The present study examined the impact that the environment has on the ability to remain attentive and retain information.
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