학술논문
Individual differences in task-unrelated thought in university classrooms.
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Kane MJ; Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402-6170, USA. mjkane@uncg.edu.; Carruth NP; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0345, USA.; Lurquin JH; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0345, USA.; Silvia PJ; Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402-6170, USA.; Smeekens BA; Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402-6170, USA.; von Bastian CC; Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.; Miyake A; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0345, USA. akira.miyake@colorado.edu.
Source
Publisher: Psychonomic Society Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0357443 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1532-5946 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0090502X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Mem Cognit Subsets: MEDLINE
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
This study investigated what academic traits, attitudes, and habits predict individual differences in task-unrelated thought (TUT) during lectures, and whether this TUT propensity mediates associations between academic individual differences and course outcomes (final grade and situational interest evoked by material). Undergraduates (N = 851) from ten psychology classes at two US universities responded to thought probes presented during two early-course lectures; they also indicated sitting in the front, middle, or back of the classroom. At each probe, students categorized their thought content, such as indicating on-task thought or TUT. Students also completed online, academic-self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the course and a situational interest questionnaire at the end. Average TUT rate was 24% but individuals' rates varied widely (SD = 18%). TUT rates also increased substantially from the front to back of the classroom, and modestly from the first to second half of class periods. Multiple-group analyses (with ten classroom groups) indicated that: (a) classroom media-multitasking habits, initial interest in the course topic, and everyday propensity for mind-wandering and boredom accounted for unique variance in TUT rate (beyond other predictors); (b) TUT rate accounted for unique (modest) variance in course grades and situational interest; and (c) classroom media multitasking and propensity for mind-wandering and boredom had indirect associations with course grades via TUT rate, and these predictor variables, along with initial interest, had indirect associations with end-of-term situational interest via TUT rate. Some academic traits and behaviors predict course outcomes in part because they predict off-task thought during class.
(© 2021. The Author(s).)
(© 2021. The Author(s).)