Mind-Wandering or Task-Unrelated Thought Reports May Be a Response to Performance Not a Cause of Performance: Using Forced Errors to Impact Thought Content Reports

ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to show that post-task self-reported mind-wandering can be influenced by task performance.BackgroundRetrospective self-report scales are widely used to measure thought content such as task-unrelated thoughts or mind-wandering in sustained attention or vigilance research. Self-reported thought content is presumed to be a predictor of performance. However, it is possible performance affects how people report their thought content.MethodIn a remote online experiment, we used a fixed order Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to force errors by manipulating an expected stimulus. We then assessed self-reported thought content.ResultsWe were successful in forcing errors in the SART. Participants in the forced error version of the task reported having higher task-unrelated thoughts than those participants in a version of the task which did not force an error, despite the tasks being identical up until the forced error.ConclusionPost-task thought content probes (and similar thought content measures) are apparently affected by task performance despite their conventional use as a predictor of that performance. The current method of using post hoc thought content probes is thus a poor choice for studying the impact of thought content on performance.ApplicationA fixed order SART with forced errors is a novel way to investigate relationships between performance and self-report measures of thought content.