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Psychology

D-Index
71
Citations
19068
World Ranking
2171
National Ranking
126

Overview

Daniel Smilek is affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Canada and has an extensive research record in psychology and neuroscience. Their work spans multiple subfields including cognitive neuroscience, experimental and cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, developmental and educational psychology, as well as sociology and political science.

The main areas of research focus include mind wandering and attention, anxiety, depression, psychometrics, treatment, and cognitive processes. Additional topics of study encompass flow experience in various fields, sleep and wakefulness research, neural and behavioral psychology studies, the impact of technology on adolescents, and mental health research topics.

Daniel Smilek has published numerous papers, some of the recent ones include:

  • Comparing attentional disengagement between Prolific and MTurk samples (2023, Scientific Reports)
  • The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Attention, Executive Control and Working Memory in Healthy Adults: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2021, Cognitive Therapy and Research)
  • Mind wandering, motivation, and task performance over time: Evidence that motivation insulates people from the negative effects of mind wandering (2020, Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice)
  • SARS-CoV-2 and learning: The impact of a global pandemic on undergraduate learning experiences (2021, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology)
  • Sustained attention and the experience of flow (2020, Psychological Research)

Frequent co-authors collaborating with Daniel Smilek include:

  • Allison C. Drody
  • Brandon C. W. Ralph
  • Alyssa C. Smith
  • Emilie E. Caron
  • Jonathan S. A. Carriere

The scientist's work is often published in venues such as Psychological Research, Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice, Scientific Reports, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, and Personality and Individual Differences.

The dominance of publications in Psychological Research and the interdisciplinary nature of their work indicate a broad engagement with topics related to the cognitive and neural bases of psychological phenomena.

Best Publications

  • The Unengaged Mind: Defining Boredom in Terms of Attention

    John D. Eastwood;Alexandra Frischen;Mark J. Fenske;Daniel Smilek

  • Differential attentional guidance by unattended faces expressing positive and negative emotion.

    John D. Eastwood;Daniel Smilek;Philip M. Merikle

  • Perception without awareness: perspectives from cognitive psychology

    Philip M. Merikle;Daniel Smilek;John D. Eastwood

  • Absent-mindedness: Lapses of conscious awareness and everyday cognitive failures

    James Allan Cheyne;Jonathan S.A. Carriere;Daniel Smilek

  • Not all synaesthetes are created equal: projector versus associator synaesthetes.

    Mike J. Dixon;Daniel Smilek;Philip M. Merikle

  • Mind-wandering with and without intention.

    Paul Seli;Evan F. Risko;Daniel Smilek;Daniel L. Schacter

  • A resource-control account of sustained attention: evidence from mind-wandering and vigilance paradigms.

    David R. Thomson;Derek Besner;Daniel Smilek

  • Anatomy of an error: A bidirectional state model of task engagement/disengagement and attention-related errors

    J. Allan Cheyne;Grayden J.F. Solman;Jonathan S.A. Carriere;Daniel Smilek

  • Everyday attention lapses and memory failures: the affective consequences of mindlessness.

    Jonathan S.A. Carriere;J. Allan Cheyne;Daniel Smilek

  • Wandering in both mind and body: Individual differences in mind wandering and inattention predict fidgeting.

    Jonathan S. A. Carriere;Paul Seli;Daniel Smilek

  • Visual search for faces with emotional expressions.

    Alexandra Frischen;John D. Eastwood;Daniel Smilek

  • Mind-wandering as a natural kind: A family-resemblances view

    Paul Seli;Michael J. Kane;Jonathan Smallwood;Daniel L. Schacter

  • On the Necessity of Distinguishing Between Unintentional and Intentional Mind Wandering

    Paul Seli;Evan F. Risko;Daniel Smilek

  • Cognitive Ethology: a new approach for studying human cognition.

    Alan Kingstone;Daniel Smilek;John D. Eastwood

  • Five plus two equals yellow

    Mike J. Dixon;Daniel Smilek;Cera Cudahy;Philip M. Merikle

  • Emotional Valence and Arousal Interact in Attentional Control

    Lisa N. Jefferies;Daniel Smilek;Eric Eich;James T. Enns

  • Out of Mind, Out of Sight: Eye Blinking as Indicator and Embodiment of Mind Wandering

    Daniel Smilek;Jonathan S.A. Carriere;J. Allan Cheyne

  • Negative facial expression captures attention and disrupts performance.

    John D. Eastwood;Daniel Smilek;Philip M. Merikle

  • Attention, Researchers! It Is Time to Take a Look at the Real World:

    Alan Kingstone;Daniel Smilek;Jelena Ristic;Chris Kelland Friesen

  • On the relation of mind wandering and ADHD symptomatology.

    Paul Seli;Jonathan Smallwood;James Allan Cheyne;Daniel Smilek

  • Cognitive Ethology : A new approach for studying human cognition. Commentaries. Authors' reply

    Alan Kingstone;Daniel Smilek;John D Eastwood;David Crundall

Frequent Co-Authors

Paul Seli
Paul Seli Duke University
Mike J. Dixon
Mike J. Dixon University of Waterloo
John D. Eastwood
John D. Eastwood York University
Philip M. Merikle
Philip M. Merikle University of Waterloo
Evan F. Risko
Evan F. Risko University of Waterloo
Alan Kingstone
Alan Kingstone University of British Columbia
Daniel L. Schacter
Daniel L. Schacter Harvard University
Derek Besner
Derek Besner University of Waterloo
Jonathan W. Schooler
Jonathan W. Schooler University of California, Santa Barbara
Caitlin Mills
Caitlin Mills University of Minnesota

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