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Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales

Marcusson-Clavertz, David LU and Kjell, Oscar N.E. LU (2019) In European Journal of Psychological Assessment 35(6). p.878-890
Abstract

Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks (N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 (N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results... (More)

Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks (N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 (N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results indicated that the SDMWS were better fitted with a two-factor than a one-factor solution, although the fit was improved with the exclusion of one item. The scales exhibited strong measurement invariance across gender and time, and moderately high test-retest reliability. Spontaneous mind wandering predicted Generalized anxiety disorder and experience-sampling reports of unintentional mind wandering, whereas Deliberate mind wandering predicted Openness and experience-sampling reports of intentional mind wandering. Furthermore, Spontaneous mind wandering showed a negative association with social desirability of weak-to-medium strength. In sum, the scales generally showed favorable psychometric properties.

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type
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publication status
published
subject
keywords
deliberate mind wandering, generalized anxiety disorder, openness to experience, social desirability, spontaneous mind wandering
in
European Journal of Psychological Assessment
volume
35
issue
6
pages
878 - 890
publisher
Hogrefe & Huber Publishers
external identifiers
  • scopus:85049413072
ISSN
1015-5759
DOI
10.1027/1015-5759/a000470
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
879ec567-23f7-45f4-9a49-558bfefee52b
date added to LUP
2018-07-16 11:10:43
date last changed
2022-04-25 07:57:22
@article{879ec567-23f7-45f4-9a49-558bfefee52b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, &amp; Smilek, 2013). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks (N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 (N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results indicated that the SDMWS were better fitted with a two-factor than a one-factor solution, although the fit was improved with the exclusion of one item. The scales exhibited strong measurement invariance across gender and time, and moderately high test-retest reliability. Spontaneous mind wandering predicted Generalized anxiety disorder and experience-sampling reports of unintentional mind wandering, whereas Deliberate mind wandering predicted Openness and experience-sampling reports of intentional mind wandering. Furthermore, Spontaneous mind wandering showed a negative association with social desirability of weak-to-medium strength. In sum, the scales generally showed favorable psychometric properties.</p>}},
  author       = {{Marcusson-Clavertz, David and Kjell, Oscar N.E.}},
  issn         = {{1015-5759}},
  keywords     = {{deliberate mind wandering; generalized anxiety disorder; openness to experience; social desirability; spontaneous mind wandering}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{878--890}},
  publisher    = {{Hogrefe & Huber Publishers}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Psychological Assessment}},
  title        = {{Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000470}},
  doi          = {{10.1027/1015-5759/a000470}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}