Abstract

This study investigated whether college students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) traits experience excessive mind wandering and excessive mind wondering is related to working memory capacity. Based on the scores of Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, normal control group (n = 30) and ADHD trait group (n = 27) were selected. Mind wandering was assessed by Go/NoGo task performance andthought probe, which was measured during the Go/NoGo task. Working memory capacity was assessed by Operation Span task and Digit Span task. Compared to the normal control group, ADHD trait group exhibited significantly more frequent mind wandering in the Go/NoGo task and showed faster response time in the Go condition and lower accuracy rate in the NoGo condition. In addition, ADHD trait group showed significantly poorer performance on the Operation Span task, and a significant negative correlation between the frequency of mind wandering and performance on the Operation Span task. These results suggest that college students with ADHD trait experience excessive mind wandering, and had limited working memory capacity than normal controls, and their excessive mind wandering is related to limited working memory capacity. In other words, present results suggest that the low working memory capacity limits the ability of the executive-control, which leads to a lot of mind-wanting experiences in individuals with ADHD traits. Furthermore, present results support the results of previous studies that mind wandering is associated with cognitive deficits in ADHD patients, and suggest that mind wandering and working memory capacity should be considered together in understanding and treating adult ADHD patients.