Mind wandering is a prevalent but highly subjective phenomenon
that is difficult to measure. Typically studies use probes at
random points throughout at study that pop in and ask participants
“Are you mind wandering” where they indicate yes or no, and
then resume the study. This study investigated a method of
extracting eye blinks from raw eye tracking data while
participants were reading texts that varied in degree of
engagingness on a similar topic. Blink durations were found to
increase for less engaging texts. We hypothesize that eye blink
durations may increase with mind wandering and discuss
implications for mind wandering research.
