Assistant Professor · University of Minnesota
PUBLICATIONS
Journal Publications
Kam, J., Wong, A., Andrews-Hanna, J. R., & Mills, C. (in press). On the relationship between unprompted thoughts and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
Kuvar, V., Bailenson, J., Mills, C. (in press). A novel quantitative assessment of engagement in virtual reality: Task-unrelated thought is reduced compared to 2D videos. Computers & Education.
Kochanowska, E., Coleman, M., Reutskaja, E., Mills, C., Wormwood, J. (in press). Discount rates vary within individuals throughout daily life in conjunction with momentary changes in affect. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Mills, C., Southwell, R., & D'Mello, S. K. (in press). Sadness facilitates “deeper” reading comprehension: A behavioral and eye tracking study. Cognition and Emotion.
Cleary, A., Irving, Z., Mills, C. (2023). What flips attention? Cognitive Science, 47(4). e13274.
Raffaelli, Q., Malusa, R., de Stefano, N., Andrews, E., Grilli, M. D., Mills, C., . . . Andrews-Hanna, J. R. (2023). Creative minds at rest: Creative individuals are more associative and engaged with their idle thoughts. Creativity Research Journal.
Poulos, M., Zamani, A., Pillemer, D., Lietchman, M., Christoff, K., & Mills, C. (2023). Investigating the Appraisal Structure of Spontaneous Thoughts: Evidence for Differences Among Unexpected Thought, Involuntary Autobiographical Memories, and Ruminative Thought.
Hutt, S., Wong, A., Ogunlade, O., Papoutsaki, A., Gold, J., Baker, R. S., & Mills, C. (2023). Automatically detecting task-unrelated thought and comprehension during reading using a webcam-based eye-tracker. Behavior Research Methods. Advance Online Publication.
Colby, A., Wong, A., Allen, L. K., Kun, A., & Mills, C. (advance online, 2023). Be like me: Group identity and task-unrelated thought during conversations. Cognitive Science. Advance Online Publication.
Ch, N., Ansah, A., Katrahmani, A., Burmeister, J., Kun, A., Mills, C., . . . Lee, J. (2023). Virtual nature experiences and mindfulness practices while working from home during COVID-19: Effects on stress, focus, and creativity. International Journal of Human Computer Interaction. 171, 102982.
Theimann, R., Mills, C., & Kam, J. (2023). Different relationships between thought dimensions and momentary affect in daily life. Psychological Research. 1-12. Advance Online Publication.
Irving, Z., McGrath, C., Glaser, A., Flynn, L., & Mills, C. (2023). The shower effect: Mind-wandering facilitates creative incubation during moderately-engaging activities. Psychology of Creativity, Aesthetics, and the Arts. Advance Online Publication.
Southwell, R., Mills, C., Caruso, M., & D'Mello, S. K. (2023). A gaze-based predictive model of deep comprehension based on self-explanations. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, 1-39. Advance Online Publication.
Kuvar, V., Blanchard, N., Colby, A., Allen, L., & Mills, C. (2023). Automatically detecting task unrelated thoughts during conversations using keystroke analysis. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, 1-25. Advance Online Publication.
Wong, A., Smith, S., McGrath, C., Flynn, L., & Mills, C. (2022). In class but off-task: A meta-analysis on task-unrelated thought during learning activities. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 71, 102098.
Zhang, J., Andres, A., Hutt, S., Baker, R. S., Ocumpaugh, J., Mills, C., . . . Young, T. (2022). Using Machine Learning to Detect SMART Model Cognitive Operations in Mathematical Problem-Solving Process. Journal of Educational Data Mining. 14(3), 76-108.
Smith, S., Ward, R., Allen, L., Wormwood, J., & Mills, C. (2022). Mind your words: Affective experience during reading mediates the effect of textual valence on reading comprehension. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36(5), 1131-1141.
Hart, C., Mills, C., Andrews-Hanna, J. R., Tomfohr-Madsen, L., & Kam, J. W. Y. (2022). Task-unrelated thought increases after consumption of COVID-19 related news. Cognitive Research: Practical Implications, 7(1), 1-14.
Kam, J. W. Y., Javed, J., Hart, C., Andrews-Hanna, J., Tomfohr-Madsen, L., & Mills, C. (2022). Daily practice of brief mindfulness training reduces negative impact of COVID-19 news exposure on affective well-being. Psychological research, 86(4), 1203-1214.
Raffaelli, Q., Mills, C., de Stefano, N.A., Mehl, M.R., Chambers, K., Fitzgerald, S., Wilcox, R., Christoff, K., Andrews, E.S., Grilli, M.D., O’Connor, M-F., & Andrews-Hanna, J.R. (in press). The think aloud paradigm reveals differences in the content, dynamics and conceptual scope of resting state thought in trait brooding. Scientific Reports.
Alperin, B., Christoff, K., Mills, C., Karalunas, S. (2021). More than off task: Increased freely moving thought in ADHD. Consciousness and Cognition. 93, 103156.
Mills, C., Porter, A., Andrews-Hanna, J., Christoff, K., Colby, A., (2021). How task-unrelated and freely-moving thought relate to affect: Evidence for dissociable patterns in everyday life. Emotion.
Kam, J.W.Y., Irving, Z.C., Mills, C., Gopnik, A., Knight, R.T. (2021). Distinct electrophysiological signatures of task-unrelated and dynamic thoughts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dong, H., Mills, C., Knight, R.T., Kam, J.W.Y. (2021). Detection of mind wandering using EEG: within and across individuals. PLOS One. 16(5): e025149
Mills, C., Zamani, A., White, R.A., Christoff, K. (2021). Out of the blue: Understanding abrupt and wayward transitions in thought through probability and predictive processing. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
D’Mello, S.K., Mills, C. (2021). Mind wandering during reading: A review of cognitive, behavioral, computational, and intervention research. Language and Linguistics Compass. 15(4), e12412
Mills, C., Gregg, J., Bixler, R., D’Mello, S.K. (2021). Eye-Mind Reader: An intelligent reading interface that promotes long-term comprehension by detecting and responding to mind wandering. Human Computer Interaction.
Forner, N., Mills, C., Ross, R. (2020). Tendency to ruminate and anxiety are associated with altered alpha and beta oscillatory power dynamics during memory for contextual details. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience.
Girn, M., Mills, C., Roseman, L., Carhart-Harris, R.L., Christoff, K. (2020). The dynamic framework of thought: creativity and psychedelics. NeuroImage.
Forrin, N., Mills, C., Seli, P., D’Mello, S.K., Risko, E.F., Smilek, D. (2020). TL;DR: Longer sections of text increase rates of unintentional mind-wandering. Journal of Experimental Education.
Girn, M., Mills, C., Christoff, K. (2019). Linking Brain Network Reconfiguration and Intelligence: Are we there yet? Trends in Neuroscience and Education.
Hutt, S., Krasich, K., Mills, C., Bosch, N., Brockmole, J., D’Mello, S.K. (2019). Automated Gaze-Based Mind Wandering Detection during Computerized Learning in Classrooms. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction.
Wammes, J.D., Ralph, B.C.W., Mills, C., Bosch, N., Duncan, T.L., Smilek, D. (2019). On disengagement during lectures: Media multitasking and mind wandering in the university classroom. Computers & Education. 132, 76-89.
Smith, G.K., Mills, C., Paxton, A., Christoff, K. (2019). Mind wandering rates fluctuate across the day: Evidence from an experience sampling study. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 3(1), 54.
Zedelius, C., Mills, C., Schooler, J. (2019). Beyond Subjective Judgments: Predicting Evaluations of Creative Writing from Computational Linguistic Features. Behavior Research Methods. 51(2), 879-894.
Mills, C. & Christoff, K. (2018). Finding Consistency in Boredom by Appreciating its Instability. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 22(9) 744-747.
Mills, C., Wu, J., D’Mello, S.K. (2019). Being sad is not always bad: The influence of affect on expository text comprehension. Discourse Processes,1-18.
*Fox, K.C.R., *Andrews-Hanna, J., Mills, C., Dixon, M.L., Marcovic, J., Thompson, E., Christoff, K. (2018). Affective neuroscience of self-generated thought. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences. 38(29) 6439-6441.
Calderon, M., Mills, C., D’Mello, S.K., Risko, E.F. (2018). Re-watching lectures as a study strategy and its effect on mind wandering. Experimental Psychology. 1-9.
Wilson, K., Martinez, M., Mills, C., D’Mello, S.K., Smilek, D., Risko, E.F. (2018). Instructor presence effect: Liking does not always lead to learning. Computers & Education, 122, 205-220.
Dixon, M.L., De La Vega, A., Mills, C., Andrews-Hanna, J., Spreng, R.N., Cole, M., Christoff, K. (2018). Heterogeneity within the frontoparietal control network and its relationship to the default and dorsal attention networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201715766.
Mills, C., Raffaelli, Q., Irving, Z.C., Stan, D., Christoff, K. (2018). Is an off-task mind a freely-moving mind? Examining the relationship between different dimensions of thought. Consciousness & Cognition, 58, 20-33.
Joksimović, S., Oleksandra, S., Kovanović, V., Dowell, N. M., Mills, C., Gašević, D., Dawson, S., Graesser, A. C., & Brooks, C. (2018). How do we model learning at scale? A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 88(1), 43-86
Mills, C., Graesser, A.C., Risko, E.F., D’Mello, S.K. (2017). Cognitive Coupling during Reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 146(6), 872-883.
Dixon, M.L., Andrews-Hanna, J.R., Spreng, R.N., Irving, Z.C., Mills, C., Girn, M., Christoff, K., (2017). Interactions between the default network and dorsal attention network vary across default subsystems, time, and cognitive states. NeuroImage. 147(15), 632-649.
Raffaelli, Q., Mills, C., Christoff, K. (2017). The knowns and unknowns of boredom: A review of the literature. Experimental Brain Research.
Faber, M., Mills, C., Kopp, K. D’Mello, S.K. (2016). The effect of disfluency on mind wandering during text comprehension. Psychological Bulletin and Review, 1-6.
Kopp, K., Mills, C., & D’Mello, S.K. (2016). Mind wandering during film comprehension. Psychological Bulletin and Review. 23(3), 842-848.
Phillips, N., Mills, C., & D’Mello, S.K., Risko, E.F. (2016). On the influence of re-reading on mind wandering. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1-20.
Mills, C., & Kopp, K., D’Mello, S.K. (2015). The influence of consequence value and text difficulty on affect, attention, and learning while reading instructional texts. Learning and Instruction. 40, 9-20.
Kopp, K., D’Mello, S.K. & Mills, C. (2015). Influencing the occurrence of mind wandering while reading. Consciousness and Cognition. 34, 52-62.
Mills, C., & D’Mello, S.K. (2014). On the Validity of the Autobiographical Emotional Memory Task for Emotion Induction. PLOS One, 9(4): e95837.
D’Mello, S.K., Mills, C., (2014). Emotions during Emotional and Non-emotional Writing. Motivation and Emotion, 38(1), 140-156.
Lehman, B., D’Mello, S.K., Strain, A.C., Mills, C. Gross, M., Dobbins, A., Wallace, P., Millis, K., Graesser, A.C. (2013). Inducing and Tracking Confusion with Contradictions During Complex Learning. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 22(2), 85-105.
Book Chapters
Zamani, A., Mills, C., Girn, M., & Christoff, K. (in press). A closer look at transitions between generative and evaluative phases of creative thought. Handbook of Creativity.
Mills, C. & Christoff, K. (2018). Constructed Futures. In P. Tortell, M. Turin, & M. Young (Eds.) Memory. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Mills, C., Herrera-Bennett, A., Faber, M., Christoff, K. (in press). Why the mind wanders: How spontaneous thought’s default variability may support episodic efficiency and semantic optimization. In K.C.R. Fox & K. Christoff (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Spontaneous Thought: Mind-wandering, Creativity, Dreaming, and Clinical Conditions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Published Proceedings (strictly peer reviewed)
Kuvar, V., Kam, J., Hutt, S., Mills, C. (in press). Detecting when the mind wanders off-task in real-time: An overview and systematic review. Proceedings of the International Conference on Multi-modal Interaction (ICMI) 23. ACM: New York, NY.
Kuvar, V., Flynn, L., Allen, L., & Mills, C. (2023). Partner keystrokes predict attentional states during chat-based conversations. In M. Feng, T. Käser, and P. Talukdar (Eds.), Proceedings of the Educational Data Mining Conference 2023. India.
Andres, J.M.A.L., Baker, R.S., Hutt, S.J., Mills, C., Zhang, J., Rhodes, S., DePiro, A. (in press) Anxiety, Achievement, and Self-Regulated Learning in CueThink. Proceedings of the International Society of the Learning Sciences 2023.
Wong, A. Y., Bryck, R., Hutt, S., Baker, R. S., & Mills, C. (2023). Using a webcam-based eye-tracker to understand reading behaviors in neurodivergent classrooms. In proceedings of the 13th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2023). ACM: New York, NY.
Zhang, J., Andres, A., Hutt, S., Baker, R.S., Ocumpaugh, J., Mills, C., Brooks, J., Sethuraman, S., Young, T. (2022). Detecting SMART Model Cognitive Operations in Mathematical Problem-Solving Process. International Conference on Educational Data Mining. International Educational Data Mining Society.
Choi, H., Mills, C., Brooks, C., Singh, A., Doherty, S. (2022). Design recommendation for using textual aids in data-science programming courses. International Conference on Computer Science Education. ACM: New York, NY.
Katrahmani, A., Ansah, A., Ch, N., Burmeister, J., Kun, A.K., Mills, C., Shaer, O., Lee, J. (in press). The instability of creativity over weeks through the lens of distributional models. In Proceedings of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Conference (HFES 2021).
Baker, R., Mills, C., Boser, U. (in press). Workshop for undergraduates in educational data mining and learning engineering. In Proceedings of International Educational Data Mining Conference (EDM 2021).
Ch, N. Ansah, A., Katrahmani, A., Burmeister, J., Kun, A., Mills, C., Shaer, O., Lee, J. (in press). Conducting a remote virtual reality experiment during COVID-19. In Workshop Proceedings of XR Remote Research at CHI 2021.
°Ansah, A., Mills, C., Shaer, O., Kun, A. (2020). Towards Computational Identification of Visual Attention on Interactive Tabletops. In Proceedings of the International Conference Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS 2020).
Gliser, I., Mills., C., Bosch, N., Smith, S. L., Smilek, D., Wammes, J.D. (in press). The Sound of Inattention: Predicting Mind Wandering with Automatically Derived Features of Instructor Speech. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2020). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Kothari, V., Ramkumar, N., Mills, C., Koppel, R., Blythe, J., Smith, S., Kun, A. (in press). Eyes on URLs: Relating Visual Behavior to Safety Decisions. In Proceedings of the 12th ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (ETRA). ACM: New York.
Varao-Sousa, T., Mills, C., Kingstone, A. (in press). Where You Are, Not What You See: The Impact of Learning Environment on Mind Wandering and Material Retention. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2019). ACM: New York, NY. (Best Short Paper Award Winner)
Allen, L.K., Mills, C., McNamara, D.S. (in press). Are You Talking to Me? Multi-Dimensional Language Analysis of Explanations during Reading. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2019). ACM: New York, NY.
Bosch, N., Mills, C., Wammes, J. D., & Smilek, D. (2018). Quantifying classroom instructor dynamics with computer vision. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2018). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Krasich, K., Hutt, S., Mills, C., Spann, C., Brockmole, J. & D’Mello, S.K. (2018). "Mind" TS: Testing a brief mindfulness intervention with an intelligent tutoring system. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2018). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
D’Mello, S.K, Mills, C., Bixler, R., Bosch, N. (2017). Zone out no more: Mitigating mind wandering during computerized reading. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2017). International Educational Data Mining Society. (Best Paper Award Nominee)
Hutt, S., Mills, C., Bosch, N., Krasich, K., Brockmole, J., D’Mello, S.K. (2017). Out of the Fr-“Eye”-ing Pan: Towards Gaze-Based Models of Attention during Learning with Technology in the Classroom. Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation, and Personalization (UMAP 2017). ACM: New York, NY. (James Chen Best Student Paper Award winner)
Girn, M., Mills, C., Laycock, E., Ellamil, M., Ward, L., Christoff, K. (2017). Neural Dynamics of Spontaneous Thought: An EEG Study. Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI 2017) (pp. XX- XX). Springer. (Best Paper Award winner)
Mills, C., Fridman, I., Soussou, W., Waghray, D., Onley, A., D’Mello, S.K. (2017). Put your thinking cap on: Detecting Cognitive Load using EEG during Learning. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK 2017). ACM: New York, NY.
Hutt, S., Mills, C., White, S., Donnelly, P.J., D’Mello, S.K. (2016). The eyes have it: Gaze-based detection of mind wandering during learning with an intelligent tutoring system. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2015). International Educational Data Mining Society.
Mills, C.*, Bixler, R.*, Wang, X., D’Mello, S.K. (2016). Automatic gaze-based detection of mind wandering during film viewing. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2015). International Educational Data Mining Society. *equal contributing authors
Allen, L.K., Mills, C., Crossely S., Jacovina, M., D’Mello, S.K. McNamara, D.S. (2016). Investigating boredom and engagement during writing using multiple sources of information: The essay, the writer, and keystrokes. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. (LAK 2016) (pp. 114-123). ACM: NewYork, NY.
Mills, C., D’Mello, S.K. (2015). Toward a Real-time (Day) Dreamcatcher: Detecting Mind Wandering Episodes During Online Reading. In C. Romero, M. Pechenizkiy, J. Boticario, & O. Santos (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2015) (pp. 69- 76). International Educational Data Mining Society.
Mills, C., D’Mello, S. K., Bosch, N., & Olney, A. (2015). Mind Wandering during Learning with an Intelligent Tutoring System. In C. Conati, N. Heffernan, A. Mitrovic, & M. Felisa Verdejo (Eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on ArtificialIntelligence in Education (AIED 2015) (pp. 267- 276). Springer-Verlag: Berlin Heidelberg.
Mills, C., Bosch, N., Graesser, A., & D’Mello, S. K. (2014). To Quit or Not to Quit: Predicting Future Behavioral Disengagement from Reading Patterns. In S. Trausan-Matu et al. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS 2014) (pp. 19-28). Springer International Publishing: Switzerland.
Mills, C., D’Mello, S.K. (2013). Sorry, I Must Have Zoned Out: Tracking Mind Wandering Episodes in an Interactive Learning Environment. In H.C. Lane and K. Yacef (Eds.) Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. 896-899). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Mills, C., D’Mello, S.K., Lehman, B., Bosch, N., Strain, A.C., Graesser, A.C. (2013) What Makes Learning Fun? Exploring the Influence of Choice and Difficulty on Mind Wandering and Engagement during Learning. In H.C. Lane and K. Yacef (Eds.) Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. 71-80). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Bosch. N., D’Mello, S.K., Mills, C. (2013). What Emotions do Novices Experience During their First Computer Programming Learning Session? In H.C. Lane and K. Yacef (Eds.) Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. 11-20). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Mills, C. & D’Mello, S. K. (2013). Emotions During Writing about Socially-Charged Issues: Effects of the (Mis)Alignment of Personal Positions with Instructed Positions. Proceedings of 26th Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society Conference (pp. 509-514). Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press (Best Overall Paper and Best Student Paper Award winner)
Mills, C. & D’Mello, S. K. (2012). Emotions During Writing on Topics that Align or Misalign with Personal Beliefs. In S. Cerri & W. Clancey (Eds.) Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 638-639). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Lehman, B., Mills, C., D’Mello, S. K., & Graesser, A. C. (2012). Automatic Evaluation of Learner Self-Explanations and Erroneous Responses for Dialogue-Based ITSs. In S. Cerri & W. Clancey (Eds.) Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 541-550). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Dowell, N., D’Mello, S. K., Mills, C. & Graesser, A. C., (2011). Does Topic Matter? Topical Influences on Linguistic and Rubric-Based Evaluation of Writing. In G. Biswas, S. Bull, J. Kay, & A. Mitrovic (Eds.), Proceedings of 15th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp.450-452). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Other Publications
Mills, C., °McGrath, C. (2020). A Boring Overview. Frontiers for Young Minds. **invited submission, peer reviewed by children/editors
Faber, M. & Mills, C. (2018). The critical role of the hippocampus in mind wandering. Journal of Neuroscience.
Christoff, K., Mills, C., Andrews-Hanna, J.R., Irving, Z.C., Thompson, E., Fox, K.C.R., Kam, J. (2018). Mind wandering as a scientific construct: Cutting through the definitional haze. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Mills, C. (2017). An Evidence-Centered Design Approach to Mind Wandering. Invited white paper. Analytics for Learning (A4L).