Response Time Fluctuations in the Sustained Attention to Response Task Predict Performance Accuracy and Meta-Awareness of Attentional States

Previous research suggests that response time (RT) patterns in the sustained attention to response task (SART) differentially predict different features of mind wandering but it is unknown how they relate to meta-awareness of attentional states. We applied principal component analysis to blocks of nontarget (go) trials prior to target (no-go) trials and attentional state and meta-awareness probes in the SART and identified 3 distinct patterns that replicated those observed in previous research. A stable response rate was associated with superior target performance, whereas RT acceleration prior to targets was associated with poorer target performance. Self-reported attentional state was not significantly predicted by any of the pattern components. By contrast, meta-awareness was independently associated with two distinct RT fluctuation patterns with evidence that each pattern was specifically related to either meta-awareness of off-task or on-task states. These results suggest that mind wandering and meta-awareness of attentional states have distinct and overlapping imprints on RT patterns in the SART. We conclude by highlighting implications of these results for introspective methods and the measurement of mind wandering.