Forgetting or Blanking? Evaluating the Role of a Forgot Option in a Thought Sampling Method for Mind Blanking Research

Background Mind blanking describes a state of consciousness in which a person reports an absence of thought, sensation, or awareness. Although thought sampling methods (TSMs) have been used to capture mind blanking during sustained attention tasks, concerns remain about whether individuals' reports of mind blanking during the task reflect genuine blankness or failures in memory retrieval. Methods We investigated whether adding a 'Forgot' option to a TSM probes improves the interpretability of mind-blanking assessments. Japanese participants (n = 183) completed a sustained attention to response task (SART) under two probe conditions: one with five common categorical options and another with an added sixth 'Forgot' option. A within-subject crossover design allowed for a direct comparison of the results in each condition. Results The participants' responses demonstrated that the 'Forgot' option was selected infrequently, especially in the first session, but its inclusion clarified introspective reporting. The participants' behavioral performance (represented by the hit response time, variability, and d-prime values) was unaffected by the probe condition, suggesting no disruption. A correlation analysis revealed the expected associations between the participants' reports of mind-wandering (MW) during the SART and questionnaire-based trait MW scores across both conditions. In contrast, the participants' reports of mind blanking during the SART were related to the trait MB scores only when the response option 'Forgot' was included. Conclusions These results indicate that the 'Forgot' option helps distinguish genuine mind blanking from memory lapses without influencing an individual's behavioral performance, thus refining the taxonomy of experiential states. This methodological refinement enhances the precision of mind-blanking measurements and offers a practical tool for studying cognitive absence.