Individual Differences in Task-Unrelated Thought in University Classrooms
| Autor: | Claudia C. von Bastian, Bridget A. Smeekens, Michael J. Kane, John H. Lurquin, Nicholas P. Carruth, Akira Miyake, Paul J. Silvia |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Universities
education PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Cognitive Psychology|Consciousness Individuality 050109 social psychology Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Predictor variables Sitting Multitasking Article 050105 experimental psychology Education Developmental psychology Task (project management) Thinking Cognition Mind-wandering Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) medicine Humans Learning Interest Human multitasking Attention 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 05 social sciences Boredom bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Psychology|Cognitive Psychology PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Situational interest Thought content bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Cognitive Psychology medicine.symptom Psychology |
| Zdroj: | Memory & Cognition |
| Popis: | 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. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13421-021-01156-3. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|