Joint attention (JA) has been found to correlate with many developmental outcomes. However, little is known about how naturalistic JA is established and develops during early infancy. In this study, free-flowing tabletop toy play between infants at 5 and 15 months and their mothers (N = 48 dyads; 65% white) was observed to (1) examine changes in…

Attention is biased toward features aligning with task goals and stimuli previously allocated attentional priority (selection history). The relationship between selection history and the strategic control of attention has scarcely been explored. In the present study, we utilized a modified version of the Adaptive Choice Visual Search (ACVS) task…

A 3-year follow-up survey was sent to speech-language pathologists who completed a mindfulness program as part of their graduate studies. Findings indicated that 53% of the speech-language pathologists who responded continued to practice learned mindfulness skills in their personal lives as well as incorporating them in their therapy plans.

A wandering mind is not always a creative mind. Anecdotes about ideas spontaneously entering awareness during walks, showers, and other off-task activities are plenty. The science behind it, however, is still inconclusive. Creativity might result from how thought context--whether thoughts are on-task or off-task--relates to thought dynamics--how…

Humans usually adjust their attentional mode to tackle the challenges posed by environmental inputs. Depending on the uncertainty level, different attentional strategies may be adopted. As people face increasingly complicated daily situations--e.g., driving a car or chatting online--where intervals between significant events do not necessarily…

We examined how prior experience encountering targets affected attention allocation and event-based prospective memory. Participants performed four color match task blocks with a difficult, but specified prospective memory task (Experiment 1) or an easier, but unspecified prospective memory task (Experiment 2). Participants were instructed to…

Educators instruct students in ways of thinking every day--from critical thinking to logical reasoning to abstract and conceptual thought. But thinking can get overwhelming, and it's easy for students' minds to wander. Juan-Diego Estrada explains how educators can incorporate mindfulness practices into the school day to help students focus,…

Two experiments examined the dual influence of mind wandering (MW) on the incubation of both deliberate and spontaneous modes of creativity. Specifically, using a modified version of Sustained Attention Response Task as the incubation task, this study assessed whether taking a break from a creative task and engaging in either an MW-allowed task or…

Language plays a fundamental role in enabling flexible, goal-directed behaviour. This study investigated whether the contribution of language to instruction encoding is modulated by the expression of autism traits, as measured by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ) questionnaire. Participants (N = 108) completed six choice reaction time tasks, with…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers that prevent workers in the software industry from experiencing flow in their work. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted by using a qualitative critical incident technique-inspired questionnaire. Findings: The findings suggest that workers in the software industry…

Applying 10 Hz ([alpha]-rate) sensory stimulation, not 5 Hz ([theta]-rate), prior to introducing novel speech-print pairs can reset the phase of [theta] oscillations and enhance associative learning. This rapid gain indicates coordinated mechanisms to regulate attentional/cognitive resources ([alpha] oscillations) and facilitate memory storage…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-predictive study was to determine if and to what extent there is a relationship between facets of trait mindfulness and perceived attention control among college students in Southern California. The study was formulated based on the multi-faceted mindfulness model and the Attention Control Theory. The…

Purpose: This study investigated the ecological validity of conventional voice assessments by comparing the self-perceived voice quality and acoustic characteristics of voice production during these assessments to those in a simulated environment with varying distracting conditions and noise levels. Method: Forty-two university professors (26…

Motor performance has been shown to be superior when focusing on a physically farther environmental cue (external focus-far, EF-far) instead of a cue proximal to the body (EF-near). However, little is known about whether these foci affect bimanual tasks. Further, the effect of visual information on attentional focus is unclear. In the present…

Emotions are omnipresent in any court of law. In this short take, I suggest applying the Articulated Thought in Simulated Situations (ATSS) paradigm as a useful addition to supplement methodologies like interviewing and observations. ATSS, which originated in social sciences to study cognitive--behavioral topics, can be easily adapted for use in…