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Open research questions in Mind wandering and attention

31 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 730 Mind wandering and attention papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Abstract The dynamic and reciprocal nature of boredom and motivation in L2 classrooms remains underexplored and little is known about how L2 teachers’ perceived boredom (PTB), foreign language learning boredom (FLB), and L2 writing motivation (WM) evolve within and across individuals over time, particularly from a dynamic systems perspective.

    A dynamic bidirectional system of perceived teacher boredom, language learners’ boredom, and L2 writing motivation: a feedback loop system · 2026 · DOI

  • Based on the presented findings, the following recommendations can be drawn to enhance digital happiness among Jordanian university students in general and Yarmouk University students in particular when using artificial intelligence applications in the educational process: 1. Support the use of AI applications in education and develop their infrastructure. 2. Develop training and qualification programs for faculty members and students to utilize AI applications in various educational settings. 3. Address the digital gap in the use of AI applications between undergraduate and postgraduate students. 4. Address the gender gap (male and female) in the use of AI applications in different learning situations. 5. Adapt and develop AI applications that specifically meet the needs and requirements of humanities disciplines. 6. Conduct cross-sectional studies to include larger populations, such as Jordanian universities across all regions of the kingdom. 7. Conduct longitudinal studies to track digital happiness and mental wandering over time. 8. Conduct studies that examine other psychological effects, besides digital happiness and mental wandering, while using AI in the educational process. 9. Conduct in-depth qualitative studies with a focus on personal interviews to understand students' reactions toward digital happiness and mental wandering. 10. Develop digital teaching methods to maintain the attention and focus of university students and reduce their mental wandering. 11. Link explanatory learning theories, such as cognitive load theory, to digital teaching methods.

    The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Developing Digital Happiness and Reducing Mental Wandering Among Jordanian University Students Based on Cognitive Load Theory · 2026 · DOI

  • Why can some people generate outstanding creative ideas despite receiving frustrating feedback? Although previous studies highlighted the effects of emotional states on creativity, the interactions between specific psychophysiological emotional parameters or affective states and response inhibition (RI) on creativity remain elusive.

    Response Inhibition Partially Mediates the Relationship Between Emotional States and Creative Divergent Thinking · 2023 · DOI

  • An enormous amount of previous research on IA disorders (IADs) have paid attention to the neural basis of abnormalities, while few studies have elucidated the neural distinctions of IA tendency in general population.

    Linking temporal-parietal junction to internet addiction tendency: Moderating effect of critical thinking · 2021 · DOI

  • Displayed enthusiasm has been shown to relate to intrinsic motivation, vitality, and positive affect, but its effects on recall performance and time estimation have not yet been explored.

    Does displayed enthusiasm favour recall, intrinsic motivation and time estimation? · 2015 · DOI

  • To explain these findings, including unexpected and contradictory results, we present an attentional scope model of rumination that posits that a constricted array of thoughts, percepts, and actions that are activated in WM or available for selection from long-term memory affects the control functioning of trait ruminators.

    An attentional scope model of rumination. · 2012 · DOI

  • Future research could explore whether learners need to be taught how to respond when they realise they are having off-task thoughts, or whether such reactive behaviour naturally develops as part of a learner’s self- regulated learning skills.

    Mind wandering in Video-Based learning: Self-Regulated learning and student responses in a naturalistic setting · 2026 · DOI

  • There are a variety of opinions regarding whether listening to audiobooks counts as real reading, but very limited research examining the topic in depth.

    Examining the Differences Between the Experience of Audiobooks vs. Reading · 2026

  • Boredom and self-efficacy were modeled as parallel mediators, but more complex dynamics may exist, such as boredom gradually eroding self-efficacy or personality traits moderating pathway strength.

    The impact of goal orientation on Chinese university students’ reading engagement: the mediating roles of boredom and self-efficacy · 2026 · DOI

  • Nevertheless, whether different components of attentional biases (namely, engagement bias and disengagement bias) play separate roles on game craving has not been fully elucidated.

    Attentional biases and daily game craving dynamics: An ecological momentary assessment study · 2022 · DOI

  • However, for likely ratings (Study 1) and behavioral intentions (Studies 2b and 3), there were inconsistent findings for the idea that boredom prompts novel shared activities.

    Spicing up the relationship? The effects of relational boredom on shared activities · 2016 · DOI

  • Although recent research suggests that job boredom may concern a wide range of industries, studies investigating the experience and its emergence in white-collar work are scarce.

    An employee who was not there: a study of job boredom in white-collar work · 2016 · DOI

  • Despite evidence pointing to a ubiquitous tendency of human minds to wander, little is known about the neural operations that support this core component of human cognition.

    Wandering Minds: The Default Network and Stimulus-Independent Thought · 2007 · DOI

  • Second, the limited evidence offered in support of satiation is ambiguous because the results are just as compatible with habituation as with other satiety variables.

    CRITICISMS OF THE SATIETY HYPOTHESIS AS AN EXPLANATION FOR WITHIN‐SESSION DECREASES IN RESPONDING · 2000 · DOI

  • Previous claims to the contrary, then, it remains to be established whether pursuit of multiple social ends tends to be characterized by increased cognitive load.

    Effects of advance message formulation on message encoding: Evidence of cognitively based hesitation in the production of multiple‐goal messages · 1995 · DOI

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31 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 730 Mind wandering and attention papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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