Jason S. Tsukahara

Sustained focus is essential for effective goal-directed behavior. Yet, as sustained attention tasks drag on, the occurrence of mind wandering increases. Recent studies suggest that such increases in mind wandering correspond with increases in response time variability and declines in accuracy with greater time-on-task. Relatively little is known about how large-scale brain dynamics unfold over similar timescales. EEG microstates offer a way to characterize these dynamics by capturing brief, quasi-stable topographical patterns that index distinct large-scale neural configurations. Prior work has shown that microstate C corresponds with episodes of mind wandering, whereas microstate E corresponds with task-focused periods. The present study asked whether the prominence of these microstates may systematically shift with greater time-on-task. Thirty-four adults completed a 45-min Sustained Attention to Response Task, while EEG was recorded and canonical microstates were extracted. In line with established behavioral findings, self-reported mind wandering and performance indices suggested poorer task-focus with longer time-on-task. Critically, microstate metrics revealed a gradual increase in the prominence of microstate C (greater time coverage and occurrence) over the course of the task and a corresponding decrease in the prominence of microstate E (shorter duration). These results indicate that EEG microstate dynamics are sensitive to time-on-task related changes in sustained attention and track a shift from externally oriented task focus toward internally oriented, mind wandering states.

Mental speed theories of intelligence suggest that people are smarter because they are faster. We argue that attention control plays an important and fundamental role in mediating the relationship between basic sensory processes and more complex cognitive processes such as fluid intelligence. One of the most successful paradigms for establishing a mental speed theory of intelligence is the inspection time task. In this article, we examine the mental speed and the attention control perspectives on the inspection time task and its relationship with fluid intelligence. Integrating experimental and correlational approaches, we find that attention control statistically explains the inspection time task's correlation with fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. Attention control and inspection time are correlated beyond their relationship with other measures of processing speed. Further, while we find no evidence that selective attention specifically is related to inspection time performance, both attention control and inspection time predicted declines in accuracy as participants sustained their attention over time; other measures of processing speed did not predict sustained attention performance. Collectively, these results indicate that inspection time is related to the ability to control attention, especially the ability to sustain attention over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental speed theories of intelligence suggest that people are smarter because they are faster. Weargue that attention control plays an important and fundamental role in mediating the relationshipbetween basic sensory processes and more complex cognitive processes such as fluidintelligence. One of the most successful paradigms for establishing a mental speed theory ofintelligence is the inspection time task. In this paper, we examine the mental speed and theattention control perspectives on the inspection time task and its relationship with fluidintelligence. Integrating experimental and correlational approaches, we find that attention controlexplains the inspection time task’s correlation with fluid intelligence and working memorycapacity. Attention control and inspection time are correlated beyond their relationship withother measures of processing speed. Further, while we find no evidence that selective attentionspecifically is related to inspection time performance, both attention control and inspection timepredicted declines in accuracy as participants sustained their attention over time; other measuresof processing speed did not predict sustained attention performance. Collectively, these resultsindicate that inspection time is related to the ability to control attention, especially the ability tosustain attention over time.

We present a theoretical framework and empirical data from a sample of 490 U.S. Navy trainees (air traffic controllers, student naval aviators, and student naval flight officers) exploring the use of attention control tests in personnel selection. Current military selection tests leave room for improvement when predicting individual differences in work-relevant outcomes and reducing adverse impact. We tested whether measures of attention control, working memory capacity, and fluid intelligence improved the prediction of training success above and beyond composite scores currently used by the U.S. Military. For air traffic controllers in training, commonality analyses revealed that attention control explained 9.1% of the unique variance in academic performance, whereas the Armed Forces Qualification Test explained 5.2% of the unique variance. For student naval aviators, incremental validity estimates were generally small and non-significant. For student naval flight officers, commonality analyses revealed that attention control measures explained 11.8% of the unique variance in aviation preflight indoctrination training performance and 4.3% of the unique variance in flight performance. Although these point estimates are based on relatively small samples, they provide preliminary evidence that attention control measures might improve training outcome classification accuracy in real-world samples of military personnel.

We compare the validity of personnel selection measures and novel tests of attention control for explaining individual differences in synthetic work performance, which required participants to monitor and complete multiple ongoing tasks. In Study 1, an online sample of young adults (N = 474, aged 18-35) based in the United States completed three-minute tests of attention control and two tests that primarily measure acquired knowledge, the Wonderlic and the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). Structural equation modeling revealed that acquired knowledge tests did not predict simulated work performance beyond attention control, whereas attention control did predict simulated work performance controlling for other measures. In Study 2, an in-lab sample of young adults from Georgia Tech and the greater Atlanta community (N = 321, aged 18-35) completed tests of attention control, processing speed, working memory capacity, and versions of two U.S. Military selection tests, one assessing acquired knowledge (the AFQT) and one assessing psychomotor ability (the Performance-Based Measures assessment from the Aviation Selection Test Battery). Structural equation modeling revealed that attention control fully mediated the relationship between the Performance Based Measures and simulated work performance, but the AFQT and processing speed retained unique prediction. We also explore possible gender differences. Collectively, these results suggest that tests of attention control may be a useful supplement to existing personnel selection measures when complex cognitive tasks are the criterion variable of interest.

There is an increasing consensus among researchers that traditional attention tasks do not validly index the attentional mechanisms that they are often used to assess. We recently tested and validated several existing, modified, and new tasks and found that accuracy-based and adaptive tasks were more reliable and valid measures of attention control than traditional ones, which typically rely on speeded responding and/or contrast comparisons in the form of difference scores (Draheim et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(2), 242-275, 2021). With these improved measures, we found that attention control fully mediated the working memory capacity-fluid intelligence relationship, a novel finding that we argued has significant theoretical implications. The present study was both a follow-up and extension to this "toolbox approach" to measuring attention control. Here, we tested updated versions of several attention control tasks in a new dataset (N = 301) and found, with one exception, that these tasks remain strong indicators of attention control. The present study also replicated two important findings: (1) that attention control accounted for nearly all the variance in the relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence, and (2) that the strong association found between attention control and other cognitive measures is not because the attention control tasks place strong demands on processing speed. These findings show that attention control can be measured as a reliable and valid individual differences construct, and that attention control shares substantial variance with other executive functions.

The ability to sustain attention over time and the maintenance of information in working memory are highly overlapping constructs. Many tasks used to measure sustained attention rely heavily on the maintenance of information in working memory to sustain continuous task performance over large periods of time. To further understand the relationship between sustained attention and working memory, we tested whether the ability to sustain the focus of attention over a relatively short period of time (e.g., 12 seconds) is related to cognitive abilities such as working memory capacity and attention control. We used a novel paradigm, the sustained attention-to-cue task, to manipulate the duration attention had to be sustained at a cued location: none (0 seconds), short (2 – 5 seconds), medium (5.5 – 8.5 seconds), and long (9 – 12 seconds). We found that attention waned and accuracy decreased as the wait time got longer. Those higher on attention control ability, had less of a decline in accuracy as the wait time got longer. However, the decline in accuracy as wait time got longer was not related to working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, or multitasking. These findings challenge how we think about sustained attention and working memory capacity, and the nature of attention control more generally.

We present a theoretical framework and empirical data from a sample of 490 U.S. Navy trainees (air traffic controllers, student naval aviators, and student naval flight officers) supporting the use of attention control tests in personnel selection. Current military selection tests leave room for improvement when predicting individual differences in work-relevant outcomes and reducing adverse impact. We tested whether measures of attention control, working memory capacity, and fluid intelligence improved the prediction of training success above and beyond the current composite scores used by the U.S. Military. For air traffic controllers in training, attention control explained 9.1% of the unique variance in academic performance, whereas the Armed Forces Qualification Test explained 5.2% of the unique variance. For student naval aviators, incremental validity estimates were generally small and non-significant. For student naval flight officers, attention control measures explained 11.8% of the unique variance in aviation preflight indoctrination training performance and 4.3% of the unique variance in flight performance. In general, attention control measures improved training outcome classification accuracy, and the antisaccade and selective visual arrays tests of attention control demonstrated relatively small differences between majority and minority subgroups.

We present a theoretical framework and empirical data from a sample of 490 U.S. Navy trainees (air traffic controllers, student naval aviators, and student naval flight officers) supporting the use of attention control tests in personnel selection. Current military selection tests leave room for improvement when predicting individual differences in work-relevant outcomes and reducing adverse impact. We tested whether measures of attention control, working memory capacity, and fluid intelligence improved the prediction of training success above and beyond the current composite scores used by the U.S. Military. For air traffic controllers in training, attention control explained 9.1% of the unique variance in academic performance, whereas the Armed Forces Qualification Test explained 5.2% of the unique variance. For student naval aviators, incremental validity estimates were generally small and non-significant. For student naval flight officers, attention control measures explained 11.8% of the unique variance in aviation preflight indoctrination training performance and 4.3% of the unique variance in flight performance. In general, attention control measures improved training outcome classification accuracy, and the antisaccade and selective visual arrays tests of attention control demonstrated relatively small differences between majority and minority subgroups.

There is an increasing consensus among researchers that traditional attention tasks do not validly index the attentional mechanisms that they are often used to assess. We recently tested and validated several existing, modified, and new tasks and found that accuracy-based and adaptive tasks were more reliable and valid measures of attention control than traditional ones, which typically rely on speeded responding and/or contrast comparisons in the form of difference scores (Draheim et al., 2021). With these improved measures, we found that attention control fully mediated the working memory capacity-fluid intelligence relationship, a novel finding that we argued has significant theoretical implications. The present study was both a follow-up and extension to this “toolbox approach” to measuring attention control. Here, we tested updated versions of several attention control tasks in a new dataset (N = 301) and found, with one exception, that these tasks remain strong indicators of attention control. The present study also replicated two important findings: 1) that attention control accounted for nearly all the variance in the relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence, and 2) that the strong association found between attention control and other cognitive measures is not because the attention control tasks place strong demands on processing speed. These findings show that attention control can be measured as a reliable and valid individual differences construct and that attention control shares substantial variance with other executive functions.