是誰在恍神？探討個體注意力覺察傾向、身體覺察能力與工作記憶廣度在不同作業情境下對心神漫遊傾向的影響=Who Is Mind Wandering? Examining the Effects Of Mindfulness Trait, Body Awareness, Working Memory Capacity on Mind Wandering Under Different Conditions
Mind wandering (MW), a common experience in which one’s attention turns from the ongoing task toward task-unrelated thought, can impair performance on the task at hand. To clarify the inconsistencies between existing hypotheses and findings in MW research, I hypothesized that awareness would affect MW. Specifically, I hypothesized that one’s tendency to be aware of the present moment would affect the use of one’s cognitive resources with regard to reducing or maintaining MW, and this would in turn moderate the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and MW tendency. Three experiments following a within-participant design were conducted under different tasks. In Experiment 1 (N = 157), the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, a commonly used assessment of mindfulness, was administered to measure the trait of attentional awareness (AA). Consistent with the hypothesis, the WMC–MW tendency relationship, measured using thought probes, was moderated by AA, the effects of which varied under different task load conditions. In Experiment 2 (N = 82), in the condition that the MW mostly induced by external stimuli could not be predicted by either WMC or AA. However, in the control condition, in which MW was not induced by external stimuli, WMC and AA predicted MW tendency. Experiment 3 (N = 171) had the same design as Experiment 1 but featured more demanding tasks and involved the use of two MW indexes (thought probes and the response time coefficient of variation [RTCV]) as well as different facets of awareness (AA and body awareness). In a highly demanding condition, AA predicted MW tendency and moderated the relationship between WMC and RTCV. Moreover, participants with better proprioception awareness, especially those with low WMC, had smaller RTCVs. This study tested an integrative hypothesis regarding the mechanism of MW regulation. The findings provide a reasonable explanation for the conflicting evidence on the relationship between WMC and MW. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first report of a relationship between proprioception awareness and MW, and the related mechanism of how proprioception awareness could help MW regulation was discussed. The findings provide implications for mindfulness research on how mindfulness helps enhance attentional ability.
