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Letting go of the present: Mind-wandering is associated with reduced delay discounting
Abstract
The capacity to self-generate mental content that is unrelated to the current environment is a fundamental characteristic of the mind, and the current experiment explored how this experience is related to the decisions that people make in daily life. We examined how task-unrelated thought (TUT) varies with the length of time participants are willing to wait for an economic reward, as measured using an inter-temporal discounting task. When participants performed a task requiring minimal attention, the greater the amount of time spent engaged in TUT the longer the individual was prepared to wait for an economic reward. These data indicate that self-generated thought engages processes associated with the successful management of long-term goals. Although immersion in the here and now is undeniably advantageous, under appropriate conditions the capacity to let go of the present and consider more pertinent personal goals may have its own rewards.
... Where such gaps were highlighted by the above-mentioned studies, others have linked conscious thoughts regarding the future with prospection (Gilbert and Wilson, 2006). Mind wandering in the future had culminated into a better performance on protracting the gratification that is tied with maximizing benefits (Smallwood, Ruby and Singer, 2013). Such wandering in the future is predominantly tied with making predictions in the future. ...
Future can be punctuated with various forms of uncertainties. Some recent studies have
conceptualised it as the radical uncertainty, which is characterised by the events that can’t be
allotted meaningful probabilities. Despite the perennial need to fathom and manage uncertainty, a
comprehensive framework illustrating how the sense of radical uncertainty is made especially
when the rationality-based probability models are only able to provide a very limited outlook of
the future is missing. Harkening to these pressing concerns in the extant literature, this conceptual
paper aims to depict the process of sensemaking of the uncertainty. Furthermore, the dimension of
the prospective sensemaking is under researched in the literature of sensemaking. Therefore, the
emphasis of this paper is to shed light on the prospective sensemaking of uncertainty by showing
its linkages with the underexplored dimension of temporality (by discussing the novel concept of
the collective mental time travel) and the narratives. This paper proposes a new comprehensive
framework that shows that people make sense of a radically uncertain future with narratives and
collective mental time travel is used to construct them.
Keywords: Radical Uncertainty, Sensemaking, Prospective sensemaking, Collective mental time
travel (MTT), Narratives
... We thus examined whether Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) is associated with reward-dependent connectivity strength with DMN. In addition, we examined the association between rewarddependent connectivity strength with DMN and delayed discounting since previous work showed that the ability to wait for a larger reward is positively associated with mind-wandering ( Smallwood et al., 2013 ), a behavior that characterizes DMN. ...
The default mode network (DMN) has been theorized to participate in a range of social, cognitive, and affective functions. Yet, previous accounts do not consider how the DMN contributes to other brain regions depending on psychological context, thus rendering our understanding of DMN function incomplete. We addressed this gap by applying a novel network-based psychophysiological interaction (nPPI) analysis to the reward task within the Human Connectome Project. We first focused on the task-evoked responses of the DMN and other networks involving the prefrontal cortex, including the executive control network (salience network) and the left and right frontoparietal networks. Consistent with a host of prior studies, the DMN exhibited a relative decrease in activation during the task, while the other networks exhibited a relative increase during the task. Next, we used nPPI analyses to assess whether these networks exhibit task-dependent changes in connectivity with other brain regions. Strikingly, we found that the experience of reward enhances task-dependent connectivity between the DMN and the ventral striatum, an effect that was specific to the DMN. Surprisingly, the strength of DMN-VS connectivity was correlated with personality characteristics relating to openness. Taken together, these results advance models of DMN by demonstrating how it contributes to other brain systems during task performance and how those contributions relate to individual differences.
... It is known that state sadness exacerbates mind wandering in experimental contexts and reduces the amount of attentional commitment to the task by increasing the participant's focus on task-irrelevant personal concerns (Smallwood et al., 2009); it is also known that women are generally more prone to ruminative thinking when they experience negative affect (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2001) and are generally more likely (in comparison to men) to report mind wandering about the future (Mar et al., 2012). As previous studies found that those who ruminated on sadness made less risky decisions (Szasz et al., 2016) and that mind wandering is associated with a tendency toward less extreme delay discounting (Smallwood et al., 2013), it is possible that female participants in the sadness conditions were less attracted to gambling. Contrary to our Hypothesis 2, we also found that men did not bet more money than women in the neutral condition, implying that both genders refrain from gambling when they are not faced with emotional contexts. ...
Previous research indicates that the invigorating effect of stress sensitivity on gambling behavior might be moderated by individual differences. The current preregistered study tested whether gender and negative urgency (i.e. an emotion-related impulsivity trait) moderate the relationship between perceived stress and laboratory gambling following experimentally induced sadness. One hundred twenty college students were randomly assigned to a sadness versus a control condition before completing a laboratory gambling task. Although the distribution of the main study variables forced us to slightly deviate from the preregistered data analysis plan, we were able to show that heightened stress sensitivity affects gambling behavior and that this effect differs by gender (but not in terms of negative urgency) under conditions of sadness versus neutral mood. Men with high stress sensitivity gambled more money and more frequently selected the riskier betting option in the sadness condition, whereas women with heightened stress sensitivity display the same pattern in the neutral condition. Our study is relevant from a methodological standpoint and answers recent calls for endorsing open-science practices in gambling research. Findings also suggest that more research into female gambling is warranted and that emotion-regulation skills should be a central component of problem gambling prevention.
... Working memory (WM) allows us to hold information actively in mind (Baddeley and Hitch 1974;Baddeley 1983;Baddeley 1992) and supports multiple facets of complex behavior including the ability to learn about and comprehend the world around us and to perform numerical calculations and reasoning tasks (Waltz et al. 1999;Geary et al. 2004;Gathercole et al. 2019). It also provides the workspace in which naturally occurring spontaneous thoughts emerge, especially those with social episodic features (Teasdale et al. 1993;Teasdale et al. 1995;Smallwood et al. 2009;Smallwood et al. 2013;Turnbull, Wang, Schooler, et al. 2019;Turnbull, Wang, Murphy, et al. 2019). The behavioral f lexibility that WM conveys is thought to depend on two distinct processes: this system's capacity to encode goal-relevant information during period of external focus (Myers et al. 2017;Lewis-Peacock et al. 2018;Van Ede et al. 2019) and its role in maintaining internal representations with current relevance even as the external world changes (Konstantinou et al. 2014;McNab and Dolan 2014;Lorenc et al. 2021). ...
Working memory (WM) allows goal-relevant information to be encoded and maintained in mind, even when the contents of WM are incongruent with the immediate environment. While regions of heteromodal cortex are important for WM, the neural mechanisms that relate to individual differences in the encoding and maintenance of goal-relevant information remain unclear. Here, we used behavioural correlates of two large-scale heteromodal networks at rest, the default mode (DMN) and frontoparietal (FPN) networks, to understand their contributions to distinct features of WM. We assessed each individual’s ability to resist distracting information during the encoding and maintenance phases of a visual WM task. Individuals with stronger connectivity of DMN with medial visual and retrosplenial cortex were less affected by encoding distraction. Conversely, weaker connectivity of both DMN and FPN with visual regions was associated with better WM performance when target information was no longer in the environment and distractors were presented in the maintenance phase. Our study suggests that stronger coupling between heteromodal cortex and visual-spatial regions supports WM encoding by reducing the influence of concurrently-presented distractors, while weaker visual coupling is associated with better maintenance of goal-relevant information because it relates to the capacity to ignore task-irrelevant changes in the environment.
... Furthermore, several adaptive properties of MW have been identified. For example, MW may be important for many other mental functions, including the delay of discounting [35] and problem-solving abilities [32]. ...
In this study, the integrated roles of mind wandering (MW) and mindfulness on creative thinking were explored even though these have been regarded previously as separate and antithetical constructs. the current study attempted to refute this notion that mindfulness sit on one end of a spectrum apart from which mind-wandering sits opposite. Instead, it argued that mind-wandering is a core human state, and that healthy human functioning sits in the balance between MW and mindfulness. Objective: The study hypothesized that mindfulness mediates the relationship between MW and creative abilities (fluency, flexibility, originality and maintenance of direction). In particular, MW was analyzed in the light of a recent approach that posits a differentiation between deliberate and spontaneous MW. Mindfulness was analyzed by means of distinguishing its five different constitutional dimensions: observing, acting with awareness, describing, non-reactivity, and non-judging. Materials and methods: The participants comprised 321 undergraduate students aged between 18 and 23 years and enrolled at Cairo and Helwan universities in Egypt. The participants completed deliberate and spontaneous MW questionnaires, a mindfulness questionnaire, and subscales from the Arabic version of Guilford's creative thinking battery and Torrance's creative thinking battery. Results: The results revealed that mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between deliberate MW and creative abilities-namely, verbal and figural fluency, verbal flexibility, and maintenance of direction-whereas it completely mediates the relationship between deliberate MW and figural flexibility. However, mindfulness did not mediate the relationship between spontaneous MW and creative abilities.
... Moreover, evidence suggests that people adaptively adjust both forms of mind-wandering as a function of task demands. Mindwandering is reduced during demanding tasks compared to non-demanding tasks (Smallwood et al., 2013). found that participants were less likely to multitask when engaged in a demanding task as compared to a less demanding task. ...
Smartphone use plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Philosophical research that has used first-wave or second-wave theories of extended cognition in order to understand our engagement with digital technologies has focused on the contribution of these technologies to the completion of specific cognitive tasks (e.g., remembering, reasoning, problem-solving, navigation). However, in a considerable number of cases, everyday smartphone use is either task-unrelated or task-free. In psychological research, these cases have been captured by notions such as absent-minded smartphone use (Marty-Dugas et al., 2018) or smartphone-related inattentiveness (Liebherr et al., 2020). Given the prevalence of these cases, we develop a conceptual framework that can accommodate the functional and phenomenological characteristics of task-unrelated or task-free smartphone use. To this end, we will integrate research on second-wave extended cognition with mind-wandering research and introduce the concept of ‘extended mind-wandering’. Elaborating the family resemblances approach to mind-wandering (Seli, Kane, Smallwood, et al., 2018), we will argue that task-unrelated or task-free smartphone use shares many characteristics with mind-wandering. We will suggest that an empirically informed conceptual analysis of cases of extended mind-wandering can enrich current work on digitally extended cognition by specifying the influence of the attention economy on our cognitive dynamics.
... Less well known perhaps is the fact that daydreaming can create real emotions for daydreamers and hence provide considerable pleasure (Singer, 1966), excitement, interest or intrigue (Singer, 1975), although not all daydreams are positive and constructive (McMillan et al., 2013). Neuroscientists have also argued that daydreaming is a driver of many everyday individual choices (Smallwood et al., 2013). Considering its prevalence and its potential to be an emotion-laden experience as well as to influence behaviour, it is surprising that there has been relatively little empirical research into consumers' experiences of daydreaming and its intersection with consumption. ...
Imaginative pleasure through daydreaming has been theorized to be important in understanding the experience of desire and as a factor in escalating consumption. However, there is a risk this underplays the range of potentially immersive and intense experiences of daydreaming, prior to and independent of the purchase or use of marketplace commodities. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant diaries and projective techniques, this study brings empirical data to extant conceptual work on the consumer imagination to examine the variety of consequences of elaborate daydreaming for commodity acquisition. We suggest that it need not necessarily perpetuate or expand ‘actual’ consumption but may instead engender a longer, more reflective, pleasurable and meaningful experience from which purchase or acquisition may never materialize. Our study challenges accepted theories that associate daydreaming with consumerism or see it as an inevitable precursor to consumer disappointment, while shining a more positive light on the role of fantasizing in shaping consumers’ decisions.
... Thus, it is possible that age differences in MW frequency are determined by several factors. MW frequency alters in different conditions, especially with different task difficulty (Konishi, Brown, Battaglini, & Smallwood, 2017;Smallwood, et al., 2013), or in different emotions (He, et al., 2018;Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010). ...
Mind wandering (MW) refers to a drift of attention away from the ongoing events to internal concerns and activates brain regions in the default mode network (DMN) and the frontoparietal control network (FPCN). Although a number of studies using rest-fMRI data have shown that static and dynamic functional connectivity within the DMN were related to individual variations in self-reported MW, whether the brain functional connectivity could predict MW remained unclear. Here, we carried out longitudinal data collection from 122 participants that underwent three times of MRI scans and simultaneously completed self-reported MW scales over the course of two years to clarify whether a direct relationship existed between brain functional connectivity and MW. We identified 16 functional connectivity involving the DMN and FPCN that were consistently and stably associated with MW across the three time points. However, there were only significant cross-lagged effects between DMN-involved connections and MW frequency rather than FPCN-involved connections. In addition, the results indicated that the mean value of functional connectivity involving the DMN (FC-DMN) in the low stable (LS) group was the weakest, followed by mean connectivity in the moderate increasing (MI) group and mean connectivity in the high stable (HS) group. These results support previous research linking MW with connections between partial areas involving the DMN and FPCN. Importantly, our findings indicated that brain functional connectivity involving DMN predicted the subsequent MW and provided further support for the trait-based nature of MW.
... For example, thinking in words has been shown to be linked to the capacity to introspect [22] and maybe important in planning the future [23]. When tasks demands are low, the expression of TUT is often linked to more positive outcomes, such as a more patient style of decision-making [55,56], or better working memory [13,57]. Since our study links thinking in words, to the expression of TUT in easy task contexts, it is possible that the contribution of language to off-task thought facilitates positive aspects of this state, such as the process of autobiographical planning [5]. ...
We often think about people, places and events that are outside of our immediate environment. Although prior studies have explored how we can reduce the occurrence of these experiences, the neurocognitive process through which they are produced are less understood. The current study builds on developmental and evolutionary evidence that language helps organise and express our thoughts. Behaviorally, we found the occurrence of task unrelated thought (TUT) in easy situations was associated with thinking in words. Using experience sampling data, in combination with online measures of neural function, we established that activity in a region of anterior cingulate cortex / medial-prefrontal cortex (mPFC) tracked with changes in the expression of TUT. This region is at the intersection of two mPFC clusters identified through their association with variation in aspects of spontaneous thought: thinking in words (dorsal) and mental time travel (ventral). Finally, using meta-analytic decoding we confirmed the dorsal/ventral distinction within mPFC corresponding to a functional difference between domains linked to language and meaning and those linked to memory and scene construction. This evidence suggests a role for mPFC in the expression of TUT that may emerge from interactions with distributed neural signals reflecting processes such as language and memory.
... In addition, MDES highlights the important role of task context on the nature of ongoing experience. For example, tasks with lower levels of cognitive demand produce fewer on-task thoughts (Konishi et al., 2017;Smallwood, Ruby, & Singer, 2013) and increase individuals' tendencies to think deliberately about other things (Seli et al., 2016(Seli et al., , 2018. In our study, we explored the association between autism and the patterns of thought highlighted by MDES using a paradigm that moderates task demands by inducing a working memory load. ...
Autism symptomology has a profound impact on cognitive and affective functioning, yet we know relatively little about how it shapes patterns of ongoing thought. In an exploratory study in a large population of neurotypical individuals, we used experience sampling to characterise the relationship between ongoing cognition and self-reported autistic traits. We found that with increasing autistic symptom score, cognition was characterised by thinking more in words than images. Analysis of structural neuroimaging data found that autistic traits linked to social interaction were associated with greater cortical thickness in a region of lingual gyrus (LG) within the occipital cortex. Analysis of resting state functional neuroimaging data found autistic traits were associated with stronger connectivity between the LG and a region of motor cortex. Importantly, the strength of connectivity between the LG and motor cortex moderated the link between autistic symptoms and thinking in words: individuals showing higher connectivity showed a stronger association between autistic traits and thinking in words. Together we provide behavioural and neural evidence linking autistic traits to the tendency to think in words which may be rooted in underlying cortical organisation. These observations lay the groundwork for research into the form and content of self-generated thoughts in individuals with the established diagnosis of autism.
... Further work by Smallwood et al. (2013) found that the more people mind-wandered, presumably into the future, the better they performed on a delay of gratification measure linked to maximize benefits. That important finding indicates that thinking about the future can be adaptive insofar as it increases long-term benefits. ...
Time is among the most important yet mysterious aspects of experience. We investigated everyday mental time travel, especially into the future. Two community samples, contacted at random points for three (Study 1; 6,686 reports) and 14 days (Study 2; 2,361 reports), reported on their most recent thought. Both studies found that thoughts about the present were frequent, thoughts about the future also were common, whereas thoughts about the past were rare. Thoughts about the present were on average highly happy and pleasant but low in meaningfulness. Pragmatic prospection (thoughts preparing for action) was evident in thoughts about planning and goals. Thoughts with no time aspect were lower in sociality and experiential richness. Thoughts about the past were relatively unpleasant and involuntary. Subjective experiences of thinking about past and future often were similar — while both differed from present focus, consistent with views that memory and prospection use similar mental structures.
... Further work by Smallwood et al. (2013) found that the more people mind-wandered, presumably into the future, the better they performed on a delay of gratification measure linked to maximize benefits. That important finding indicates that thinking about the future can be adaptive insofar as it increases long-term benefits. ...
Time is among the most important yet mysterious aspects of experience. We investigated everyday mental time travel, especially into the future. Two community samples, contacted at random points for 3 (Study 1; 6,686 reports) and 14 days (Study 2; 2,361 reports), reported on their most recent thought. Both studies found that thoughts about the present were frequent, thoughts about the future also were common, whereas thoughts about the past were rare. Thoughts about the present were on average highly happy and pleasant but low in meaningfulness. Pragmatic prospection (thoughts preparing for action) was evident in thoughts about planning and goals. Thoughts with no time aspect were lower in sociality and experiential richness. Thoughts about the past were relatively unpleasant and involuntary. Subjective experiences of thinking about past and future often were similar—while both differed from present focus, consistent with views that memory and prospection use similar mental structures.
Recent studies on mind‐wandering reveal its potential role in goal exploration and planning future actions. How to understand these explorative functions and their impact on planning remains unclear. Given certain conceptions of intentions and beliefs, the explorative functions of mind‐wandering could lead to regular reconsideration of one's intentions. However, this would be in tension with the stability of intentions central to rational planning agency. We analyze the potential issue of excessive reconsideration caused by mind‐wandering. Our response resolves this tension, presenting a model that aligns the roles of mind‐wandering in planning with empirical evidence and the sustained stability of intentions.
Delay discounting occurs when a reward loses value as a function of delay. Episodic future thinking (EFT) reliably decreases delay discounting. EFT may share cognitive features with recalling episodic memories such as constructive episodic simulation. We therefore explored whether recalling episodic memories also reduces delay discounting. In Experiment 1, participants wrote about episodic memories and recalled those memories before completing a delay discounting task. Episodic memories reduced delay discounting according to one commonly used delay discounting measure (area under the curve) but not another (using the hyperbolic model). Experiment 2 compared the effects of general and episodic memories. Neither general nor episodic memories significantly decreased delay discounting compared with a control “counting” condition, but episodic memories reduced delay discounting compared with general memories under some conditions. In Experiment 3, episodic memories did not decrease delay discounting compared with three other control conditions while EFT did. Experiment 3 therefore found that thinking must be both episodic and future orientated to reduce delay discounting. Together, these results suggest that episodic thinking is not sufficient to reliably decrease delay discounting, rather, features unique to episodic future thinking are required. Episodic memory might reduce delay discounting in some contexts, but this effect is small and fragile.
Mind wandering is a common occurrence that can have serious consequences, but estimating when mind wandering occurs is a challenging research question. Previous research has shown that during meditation, people may spontaneously alternate between task-oriented and mind-wandering states without awareness (Zukosky & Wang, 2021, Cognition, 212, Article 104689). However, under what conditions such alternations occur is not clear. The present study examined the effects of task type on spontaneous alternations between task focus and mind wandering. In addition to a meditation task, participants performed either a scene-categorization-based CPT or a visual detection task while attentional orientation was assessed via self-monitoring and intermittent probes. The three tasks differ in the extent of their reliance on continuous monitoring (less required in the detection than meditation and CPT tasks) and attentional orientation (oriented internally in meditation task and externally in CPT and detection tasks). To overcome prior methodological challenges, we applied a technique designed to detect spontaneous alternations between focused and mind-wandering states without awareness, based on how the proportion of “focused” responses/ratings to intermittent probes changes during a focus-to-mind-wandering interval (i.e., the period from one self-report of mind wandering to the subsequent self-report). Our results showed that the proportion of “focused” responses to intermittent probes remained constant with increasing interprobe interval during meditation (consistent with previous work), but declined significantly in the CPT and detection tasks. These findings support the hypothesis that spontaneous alternations of attentional states without self-awareness occur during tasks emphasizing internally but not externally oriented attention.
p>The article presents a description of the theoretical model of dreams and constructive dreaming, developed by a team of authors (Osin E.N., Kedrova N.B., Egorova P.A.). The dreaming is considered by the authors as a phenomenon of culture. The article provides a brief comparative analysis of the content of the concepts of “dream” and “dreaming” in English-speaking and Russian-speaking cultures, and also shows the differences in psychological approaches to understanding dreams and dreaming, depending on the cultural context. The paper provides definitions of dreams and constructive dreaming, discusses in detail the genesis of a dream, its content and types, as well as the positive functions of daydreams and constructive dreaming in the regulation of mental activity: development of intrinsic motivation, orientation in the decision-making process, development of a future time perspective, development of values-based motivation, support of psychological well-being. Based on the theoretical model we formulate the hypotheses for an empirical study of the positive functions of dreams and constructive dreaming. The results are presented in the second part of the work.</p
Mind wandering plays a significant role in the psychological construction of possible worlds. It has a functional connection with pretend play, autobiographical planning, and creativity. Because of its association with pretend play, mind wandering is a precursor of creativity and imagination. Additionally, mind wandering is involved in the preparation for alternative futures during autobiographical planning. Thus, it has a strong connection with autonoetic awareness and episodic memory. Mind wandering is also related to idea generation during the incubation stage of the creative process. Moreover, during long-term endeavors, creative individuals adopt a disposition of mindful mind wandering. By advancing research on mind wandering, we will gain more knowledge about the multiple ways human beings transcend their current experience, in addition to open new inquiries about the relationship between consciousness, memory, and creativity.
Smartphones are a ubiquitous part of many people's lives, but little is known about their impact on everyday thought processes. Here we introduce the spontaneous smartphone checking scale (SSCS)—which measures the tendency to direct attention toward one's smartphone, unpreceded by external prompts (e.g., notifications, or alerts) and with no specific conscious goal in mind, as a parallel to mind‐wandering directed toward internal thoughts. The SSCS showed good psychometric properties and construct validity. It separated from measures of daydreaming and mind‐wandering by not loading on dimensions related to self‐consciousness, reflection, and rumination, but instead loading highly on a factor associated with other aspects of digital communication and concerns about public appearance on social media. This suggests that spontaneous smartphone checking serves different mental and social functions than internally generated spontaneous thought processes. We discuss possible long‐term effects of spontaneous smartphone checking taking up time for internally generated spontaneous thoughts.
Ongoing cognition supports behavioral flexibility by facilitating behavior in the moment, and through the consideration of future actions. These different modes of cognition are hypothesized to vary with the correlation between brain activity and external input, since evoked responses are reduced when cognition switches to topics unrelated to the current task. This study examined whether these reduced evoked responses change as a consequence of the task environment in which the experience emerges. We combined electroencephalography (EEG) recording with multidimensional experience sampling (MDES) to assess the electrophysiological correlates of ongoing thought in task contexts which vary on their need to maintain continuous representations of task information for satisfactory performance. We focused on an event-related potential (ERP) known as the parietal P3 that had a greater amplitude in our tasks relying on greater external attention. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the MDES data revealed four patterns of ongoing thought: off-task episodic social cognition, deliberate on-task thought, imagery, and emotion. Participants reported more off-task episodic social cognition and mental imagery under low external demands and more deliberate on-task thought under high external task demands. Importantly, the occurrence of off-task episodic social cognition was linked to similar reductions in the amplitude of the P3 regardless of external task. These data suggest the amplitude of the P3 may often be a general feature of external task-related content and suggest attentional decoupling from sensory inputs are necessary for certain types of perceptually-decoupled, self-generated thoughts.
Introduction
Mind wandering is generally considered an endogenous mental state that arises spontaneously, which is one of the most common experiences of consciousness and typically occurs at a significant cost to mental health and behavioral performance. Previous studies have shown that mind wandering appears to be a stable trait and can be assessed reliably in adults. Surprisingly little, however, is known about how to measure the frequency of mind wandering in children, given that children can accurately introspect their experiences. The present studies aimed to develop the Frequency of Children's Mind Wandering Scale (CMWS-F) and the Context of Children's Mind Wandering Scale (CMWS-C) to assess the frequency of mind wandering and contexts in which mind wandering occurs for children aged 8 to 11 years.
Methods
The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to develop the CMWS-F and CMWS-C. To further assess the validity of the scales, we compared the scores in CMWS-F/CMWS-C and the frequencies of probe-caught mind wandering in the typical tasks.
Results
In study 1a, the EFA (n = 292) and CFA (n = 346) showed that attentional failure and spontaneous thinking were the two main dimensions of CMWS-F. In study 1b, contexts about mind wandering in children could be divided into high-demand and low-demand contexts using EFA (n = 258) and CFA (n = 347). Study 2 showed moderate positive correlations between the frequencies of probe-caught mind wandering in the tasks and the scores in the scales.
Discussion
The results showed that scores on the two scales could predict the performance on the experimental tasks and further demonstrated empirical validity of the CMWS-F and CMWS-C scales. Taken together, the results of the current studies provided preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of CMWS-F and CMWS-C in children, which can be used as a reference to balance its downsides and productive aspects of mind wandering.
Objective
Road traffic crash fatalities disproportionately affect young male drivers. Driver distraction is a leading contributor to crashes. Mind wandering (MW) is a prevalent form of driver distraction that is linked to certain unsafe driving behaviours that are associated with increased crash risk (e.g., faster driving). Negative mood can lead to MW, and thus may represent a causal pathway to MW-related unsafe driving. This preliminary pre-post (T1, T2), randomized, controlled, single-blinded experiment tested whether negative mood, compared to neutral mood, increases MW while driving as well as unsafe driving and emotional arousal during MW. It also tested the moderating contribution of trait rumination and inhibitory control to this proposed causal pathway.
Methods
Forty healthy male drivers aged 20 to 24 were randomly allocated to a negative or neutral mood manipulation involving deception. Individual differences in trait rumination and inhibitory control were measured at T1. At T1 and T2, participants drove in a driving simulator measuring driving speed, headway distance, steering behaviour, and overtaking. Heart rate and thought probes during simulation measured emotional arousal and MW, respectively.
Results
Negative mood exposure led to more MW while driving (Odds Ratio = 1.79, p = .022). Trait rumination positively moderated the relationship between negative mood and MW (Odds Ratio = 2.11, p = .002). Negative versus neutral mood exposure led to increases in headway variability (Cohen’s d = 1.46, p = .026) and steering reversals (Rate Ratio = 1.33, p = .032) during MW relative to focused driving. Between-group differences in emotional arousal were not significant.
Conclusion
Results support a causal pathway from negative mood to unsafe driving via MW, including the moderating contribution of trait rumination. If replicated, these preliminary findings may inform the development of interventions targeting this potential crash-risk pathway in vulnerable young driver subgroups.
While the initial research on the wandering mind usually saw it as a problem, recent research tends to have a more positive view of its adaptive functions. This has also influenced our understanding of meditative practice. While mindfulness techniques have often been argued to reduce mind wandering, it has been suggested that nondirective meditation facilitates mind wandering and default mode network activity. This chapter explores the implications of this for emotional processing. It is based on an fMRI study suggesting that nondirective meditation activates the default mode network and in particular brain areas associated with emotional processing.KeywordsMind-wanderingEmotional processingNondirective meditationDefault mode network
In this chapter, perspectives on mind wandering will be explored from the point of view of contemplative practices, such as meditation and mindfulness.To the contemplative practitioner, mind wandering directs attention toward mental constructions, such as imagined futures, which are considered central to human suffering (Bartok J, Roemer L (2017) Remembering-and-receiving: mindfulness and acceptance in Zen. In: Masuda A, O’Donohue WT (eds) Handbook of zen, mindfulness, and behavioral health. Springer, p 237-250; Hazlett-Stevens H (2017) Zen, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavior therapy. In: Masuda A, O’Donohue WT (eds) Handbook of Zen, mindfulness, and behavioral health. Springer, p 255-270; Im S (2017) What is measured by self-report measures of mindfulness?: Conceptual and measurement issues. In: Masuda A, O’Donohue WT (eds) Handbook of Zen, mindfulness, and behavioral health. Springer, p 215-235; Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness 7:277-278, 2016). When attention is diverted away from what is happening here and now in favor of past events or prospective futures, a sense of dissatisfaction, or dukkha, is created (Hazlett-Stevens H (2017) Zen, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavior therapy. In: Masuda A, O’Donohue WT (eds) Handbook of Zen, mindfulness, and behavioral health. Springer, p 255-270; Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness 7:277-278, 2016; Li P, Ramirez DR (2017) Zen and psychotherapy. In: Masuda A, O’Donohue WT (eds) Handbook of Zen, mindfulness, and behavioral health. Springer, p 169-194; Rosch,E (2015) The Emperor’s clothes: A look behind the Western mindfulness mystique. In: Ostafin BD, Robinson MD, Meier BP (eds) Handbook of mindfulness and self-regulation. Springer, p 271-292) which the contemplative practitioner regards as something to wake up from.Mind wandering describes thoughts and feelings that deviate from the present task of the here and now (Smallwood and Schooler, Psychological Bulletin 132(6):946-958, 2006). Mind wandering can occur involuntary while engaged in various tasks, drawing attentional resources away by thinking of something, or sometime, else (Mason et al., Science 315(5810):393-395, 2007). For instance, task-unrelated thinking, or mind wandering, during reading or other academic activities can affect reading comprehension and cause a decrease in academic performance (Mooneyham and Schooler. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale 67(1):11-18, 2013; Smallwood et al., Consciousness and Cognition 12(3):452-484, 2003; Smallwood et al., Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14(2):230-236, 2007; Smallwood et al., Memory & Cognition 36(6):1144-1150, 2008). Mind wandering can take the form of rumination or worry, key factors underlining mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Mind wandering has also been described as a deficit in attentional control and memory (McVay & Kane, 2009; Unsworth & McMillan, 2014) and is a predictor of performance errors and negative mood and correlates with depression (Smallwood et al., Memory & Cognition 36(6):1144-1150, 2008; Smallwood and O’Connor. Cognition & Emotion 25(8):1481-1490, 2011; Smallwood and Schooler, Psychological Bulletin 132(6):946-958, 2006).The use of contemplative practice to alleviate some of the negative effects of mind wandering is presented. How mind wandering is seen from a contemplative point of view will be presented along with application of contemplative practice in mental health professional and educational settings. Mind wandering also plays a role in self-identity. The contemplative perspective on this is that the sense of self is, in part, a result of mind wandering.KeywordsContemplative practiceDefault mode networkMeditationMindfulnessMBSRMBCTMind wandering
We provide an overview of the “lines” and “circles” of knowledge that represent the key to reading this collective volume. The two sections of the book are described, introducing the content of each chapter and their connections, resonances and dialectics. The goal of the book is to present an overview of the many interesting emerging perspectives on mind wandering in human development and education. Through it we recreate a dance of interacting parts: scrolling through the different contributions, one can grasp the rhythm of convergences and interconnections that animates them. The gaze is generative-systemic because we are attentive both to the emergency processes and to the interactions between parts(zigzag).KeywordsMind-wanderingNeurosciencesCultural-historical psychologyGenerativityHigher mental functions
Physical activity is critical for maintaining cognitive and brain health. Previous studies have indicated that the effect of physical activity on cognitive and brain function varies between individuals. The present study aimed to examine whether mind wandering modulated the relations between physical activity and resting-state hippocampal functional connectivity. A total of 99 healthy adults participated in neuroimaging data collection as well as reported their physical activity in the past week and their propensity to mind wandering during typical activities. The results indicated that mind wandering was negatively related to the resting-state functional connectivity between hippocampus and right inferior occipital gyrus. Additionally, for participants with higher level of mind wandering, physical activity was negatively related to hippocampal connectivity at left precuneus and right precentral gyrus. In contrast, such relations were positive at right medial frontal gyrus and bilateral precentral gyrus for participants with lower level of mind wandering. Altogether, these findings indicated that the relations between physical activity and hippocampal functional connectivity vary as a function of mind wandering level, suggesting that individual differences are important to consider when we aim to maintain or improve cognitive and brain health through increasing physical activity.
People have a higher preference for immediate over delayed rewards, and it is suggested that such an impulsive tendency is governed by one’s ability to simulate future rewards. Consistent with this view, recent studies have shown that enforcing individuals to focus on episodic future thoughts reduces their impulsivity. Inspired by these reports, we hypothesized that administration of a simple cognitive task linked to future thinking might effectively modulate individuals’ delay discounting. Specifically, we used one associative memory task targeting intervention of context information, and one working memory task targeting enhancement of individual’s ability to construct a coherent future event. To measure whether each type of cognitive task reduces individuals’ impulsivity, a classic intertemporal choice task was used to quantify individuals’ baseline and post-intervention impulsivity. Across two experiments and data from 216 healthy young adult participants, we observed that the impacts of intervention tasks were inconsistent. Still, we observed a significant task repetition effect such that the participants showed more patient choices in the second impulsivity assessment. In conclusion, there was no clear evidence supporting that our suggested intervention tasks reduce individuals’ impulsivity, and that the current results call attention to the importance of taking into account task repetition effects in studying the impacts of cognitive training and intervention.
Mind wandering plays a significant role in the psychological construction of possible worlds. It has a functional connection with pretend play, autobiographical planning, and creativity. Because of its association with pretend play, mind wandering is a precursor of creativity and imagination. Additionally, mind wandering is involved in the preparation for alternative futures during autobiographical planning. Thus, it has a strong connection with autonoetic awareness and episodic memory. Mind wandering is also related to idea generation during the incubation stage of the creative process. Moreover, during long-term endeavors, creative individuals adopt a disposition of mindful mind wandering. By advancing research on mind wandering, we will gain more knowledge about the multiple ways human beings transcend their current experience, in addition to open new inquiries about the relationship between consciousness, memory, and creativity.
The present study seeks to examine individuals' stream of thought in real time. Specifically, we asked participants to speak their thoughts freely out loud during a typical resting-state condition. We first examined the feasibility and reliability of the method and found that the oral reporting method did not significantly change the frequency or content characteristics of self-generated thoughts; moreover, its test-retest reliability was high. Based on methodological feasibility, we combined natural language processing (NLP) with the Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT) model to directly quantify thought content. We analyzed the divergence of self-generated thought content and expressions of sadness and empirically verified the validity and behavioral significance of the metrics calculated by BERT. Furthermore, we found that reflection and brooding could be differentiated by detecting the divergence of self-generated thought content and expressions of sadness, thus deepening our understanding of rumination and depression and providing a way to distinguish adaptive from maladaptive rumination. Finally, this study provides a new framework to examine self-generated thoughts in a resting state with NLP, extending research on the continuous content of instant self-generated thoughts with applicability to resting-state functional brain imaging.
Mind wandering is a ubiquitous experience during adulthood and has received significant scholarly attention in recent years. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the phenomenon in children. Building on recent work, the current study examined the frequency and validity of children’s reports of mind wandering while completing a minimalistic task previously unused in past child research—the Metronome Response Task (MRT) [Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (2013), Vol. 39, pp. 1–5]. Furthermore, the current study examined how parent reports of executive dysfunction in daily life relate to children’s reports of mind wandering and behavioral performance in the MRT. A total of 81 children aged 7–9 years completed the MRT, the demands of which simply involved pressing a key on a computer keyboard in concert with the unwavering tones of a metronome. Sporadic experience-sampling probes gauged whether children were on-task or mind wandering. Parents also reported on their children’s day-to-day difficulties with executive functioning across several domains. A series of multilevel models revealed that children reported being on-task more frequently then mind wandering and that children were more variable and less synchronous in their keypresses preceding reports of mind wandering than preceding reports of being on task. In addition, parent-reported difficulties with behavioral regulation predicted higher rates of mind wandering, whereas both behavioral dysregulation and metacognitive difficulties predicted lower MRT performance. These findings suggest that children are able to reliably report on their experiences of mind wandering in boredom-inducing contexts and advance our understanding of the factors underlying children’s experience of mind wandering under real-world conditions.
The ability to self-generate thoughts in imagination is a central aspect of the human experience. Mind-wandering episodes are multifaceted and are heterogeneous in terms of their content, form (e.g. modality, level of detail), and behavioural outcomes. Older adults’ neurocognitive profile shows impairments in functions highly linked to the generation and management of such episodes, namely episodic memory, attentional control, and abilities associated with the recruitment of the default mode network (DMN). Robust findings have documented a decrease in the frequency of mind-wandering with increasing age. However, age-related changes in thought content, and how this is related to the cerebral organisation of the brain, has largely been neglected. This PhD project aimed to: (i) investigate older adults’ neurocognitive profile alongside the complexities of mind-wandering, and importantly (ii) explore the impact of moderating factors on thought content as we grow older. Converging behavioural and neuroimaging methods were employed to provide a comprehensive account of self-generated thoughts. The first two chapters combined self-reports with electrophysiological and fMRI connectivity data, and demonstrated associations between changes in the recruitment of the DMN and age-related changes in self-generated thoughts. Subsequent experimental chapters considered the influence of key factors believed to impact on the content of thoughts. Examining the influence of culture revealed that native French speakers favoured self-reflection and engaged in more positively oriented thoughts, in comparison to English native speakers. In addition, the manipulation of task difficulty encouraged verbal rehearsal, and meta-awareness mainly targeted the temporal characteristics of thoughts. Finally, after a 4-week meditation intervention, there was a reduction in both negative and past-oriented thoughts. Throughout, behavioural measures demonstrated older adults’ bias toward deliberate on-task thoughts, with evidence of a decrease of negatively oriented thoughts, stable rates of positively oriented thoughts, and an increase of visual thoughts, and task-related interference. Overall, the systematic use of convergent behavioural and neuroimaging methodology has provided a more in-depth understanding of mind-wandering experiences in ageing where previously the frequency of these episodes has only been considered.
A core goal in cognitive neuroscience is identifying the physical substrates of the patterns of thought that occupy our daily lives. Contemporary views suggest that the landscape of ongoing experience is heterogeneous and can be influenced by features of both the person and the context. This perspective piece considers recent work that explicitly accounts for both the heterogeneity of the experience and context-dependence of patterns of ongoing thought. These studies reveal systems linked to attention and control are important for organising experience in response to changing environmental demands. These studies also establish a role of the default mode network beyond task-negative or purely episodic content, for example, implicating it in the level of vivid detail in experience in both task contexts and in spontaneous self-generated experiential states. Together this work demonstrates the landscape of ongoing thought is reflected in the activity of multiple neural systems and it is important to distinguish between processes contributing to how the experience unfolds from those linked to how these experiences are regulated.
Mind-wandering (MW) is ubiquitous and has been extensively studied in young adults. Studies have shown that MW, daydreaming, and sluggish cognitive tempo symptoms (SCT; e.g., staring, mental fogginess, confusion, hypoactivity, sluggishness, lethargy, and drowsiness) are interrelated constructs and all relate to mood and stress-related symptoms. The aims of the current review are to a) document the associations between MW (and related constructs: daydreaming, and SCT) and mood/stress-related symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression symptoms) in young adults and b) identify potential mechanisms underlying these relationships. We conducted a narrative review of the literature on the subject. We searched MEDLINE (Ovid) and PsycINFO® (Ovid) databases and performed duplicate and independent screening. A total of 559 unique records were identified, and 22 records (published between 1978 and 2017) were included. We confirmed existing evidence of the associations between MW, daydreaming, SCT and mood/stress-related symptoms in young adults (aged 18 - 30 years). Although these associations are reported, our understanding of its directionality and underlying mechanisms remains incomplete. These findings highlight the need for further research combining experimental and correlational designs and including possible mechanisms of these associations in this population.
The process of valuation assists in determining if an object or course of action is rewarding. Delay discounting is the observed decay of a rewards' subjective value over time. Encoding the subjective value of rewards across a spectrum has been attributed to brain regions belonging to the valuation and executive control systems. The valuation system (VS) encodes reward value over short and long delays, influencing reinforcement learning and reward representation. The executive control system (ECS) becomes more active as choice difficulty increases, integrating contextual and mnemonic information with salience signals in the modulation of decision-making. Here, we aimed to identify resting-state functional connectivity-based patterns of the VS and ECS correlated with value-setting and delay discounting (outside-scanner paradigm) in a large (n = 992) cohort of healthy young adults from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Results suggest the VS may be involved in value-setting of small, immediate rewards while the ECS may be involved in value-setting and delay discounting for large and small rewards over a range of delays. We observed magnitude sensitive connections involving the posterior cingulate cortex, time-sensitive connections with the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex while connections involving the posterior parietal cortex appeared both magnitude-and time-sensitive. The ven-tromedial prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex could act as ''comparator" regions, weighing the value of small rewards against large rewards across various delay duration to aid in decision-making. Ó 2020 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
We propose a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of mind wandering and meta-awareness into the practice of mindfulness meditation, referring to the Meta-Awareness Hypothesis (Smallwood, 2013) and to the cycle of cognitive states theorized by Hesenkamp et al. (2012). We present a study that investigates the relationship between mind wandering and mindfulness and the effects of mindfulness training on spontaneous thoughts. Thirty-one students attended an 8-week Mindfulness- Oriented Meditation program and underwent 4 experience sampling tasks, with probe-caught and self-caught measures. Self-report questionnaires (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and Mind Wandering Questionnaire) were also used pre- and post-training. The results confirm the existence of a negative relationship between the constructs of mindfulness and mind wandering and the reduction of mind wandering episodes after the meditation training. Therefore, the practice of mindfulness meditation could be a useful tool for reducing the wandering of the mind and its negative consequences. Finally, different effects of mindfulness meditation training were found once the whole group of participants was median split into two subgroups according to the frequency of mind wandering episodes (high and low). Such effects will need to be further explored in future studies.
This chapter introduces the concept of embodied cognition that is the base for embodied choices. Therefore, this chapter summarizes different perspectives of how our bodies and movements shape our thinking. Examples are given from language and other abstract concepts to concrete movement behaviors and how they shape our thoughts. One famous thought experiment from Searle “The Chinese room” will be used to illustrate what the limits are to observe intelligent behavior by observation and explain it by knowledge. Developments in robotics and human experiments will serve as examples on how using movement experiences can produce behavior that is based on those experiences.
This chapter covers first time choices, for example, the first time voting a political party or making climate choices. As studies show that city dwellers have an increased risk for developing anxiety or mood disorders compared with people living in less urban areas, action should be taken. Cities and local communities need to fight for more green areas and provide ways to support city dwellers to experience nature. Talking about moral embodied choices, the term “to wash one’s hands off responsibility” is shown to be not just metaphoric. But, studies show that the physical act of washing hands seems to reduce or even remove the feeling associated with moral transgression. This chapter will provide a general principle of first time choices in which a person needs to delay choice to gain more information if possible.
This chapter deals with the question, why body conditions and the environment influence our choices. Therefore this chapter summarizes plenty of research and combines it with own experiences. One famous study cited is the one by Strack and colleagues [12] concerning the facial feedback effect: Subjects had to rate the funniness of cartoons which either a pen between their lips or their teeth. Depending on the condition, the movement facilitated either a smile or a neutral expression which transferred to the ratings of the cartoons. Also, the role of gut feelings is discussed again, as research shows that the state of hunger may influence judges’ decisions at the court and this connection therefore should not the neglected. Talking about the bacteria-brain-behavior relationship, research on probiotics is very promising, although the exact mechanism of action is not completely discovered yet. A last aspect covered in this chapter is the influence of the gut on risky behavior, which has not been fully explored neurophysiological, maybe due to the deficient distinction between risk and uncertainty.
This chapter deals with the role of heuristics in decision-making. Heuristics are like shortcuts, enabling humans to make decisions under constrained conditions. For example, the recognition heuristic indicates that if you recognize one option over the other, you always choose the one you recognize. The recognition heuristic and other heuristics are explained in more detail in this chapter. To illustrate the significance of heuristics in our lives, the author describes one of his experiences with heuristics in the healthcare sector and generalizes the empirical findings on heuristics for the application to embodied choices when deciding on medical diagnostics or interventions.
This chapter is an introduction to the concept of embodied choices. Embodied choices will be defined as rules of thumb or shortcuts that take sensorimotor experiences into account. These rules of thumb are meaningful when limited time and resources force people to decide quickly between two or more options. A second aspect covered in this chapter is the role of gut feelings and the brain-gut-behavior connection, which appears to be stronger than expected. The chapter will describe and explain gut feelings and their consequences to real-life choices. Finally, there is a short overview for each chapter and a description of the topics covered in this book.
This chapter argues from an evolutionary perspective that cognition which includes making choices should be defined as “situated activity” (holistic) rather than the traditional basic approach (separated). Embodied choices uncover the evolutionary links between the motor system, perception, and decision-making. Thus the motor system evolves much earlier than language and problem-solving skills in the prefrontal areas of the brain. The important consequence is that behavioral flexibility and thus our ability to adapt to changing environments is a property of both bodies and brains and our representation of the world is formed through acting in the world and by definition choices are embodied.
Human attention is subject to fluctuations. Mind-wandering (MW) - attending to thoughts unrelated to the current task demands - is considered a ubiquitous experience. According to the Control Failure x Concerns view (McVay & Kane, 2010), MW is curbed by executive control, and task-irrelevant thoughts enter consciousness due to attentional control lapses. The generation of off-task thoughts is assumed to increase with higher number of personal concerns. Challenging this view, older adults report less MW than younger adults. Here, we addressed the hypothesis that older adults report less MW due to a lower ability to notice attention lapses and to appraise their current on-task focus. In an age-comparative study (N = 40 younger and N = 44 older adults) using a battery of three tasks spanning working memory, reading comprehension, and sustained attention, we assessed the correlation between the degree of self-reported on-task focus and task performance on a trial-by-trial basis. Younger and older adults' degree of on-task attention measured through thought probes was correlated equally strongly with performance across trials in all tasks, indicating preserved ability to monitor attentional fluctuations in healthy aging. Self-reported current concerns' number and importance did not differ across age, and they did not predict self-reported attention across tasks. Our study shows that lower rates of MW in aging do not reflect lower validity of older adults' attentional appraisal or lower levels of current concerns.
Researchers have examined mind wandering as a universal phenomenon in daily life since the 21st century. Mind wandering is characterized by reduced focus on the current task, which means it may have a negative effect on activity performance. However, as an essential part of the “stream of consciousness,” mind wandering also has some adaptive functions. This chapter reviews the main theories and historical research of mind wandering, discusses its costs and benefits, and provides evidence of the relationship between mind wandering and creativity. Possible explanations for this relationship are explored.
This book focuses on judgment and decision-making from an embodied
cognition perspective that is how our bodies influence how we think,
decide, and act. I coined the term embodied choices for the fact that indeed
the body plays a major role in our daily choices, even often as an unnoticed
player. Understanding judgment and decision-making without being
embodied has been advanced mainly in isolation within cognitive psychology,
and the movement science played no role. Recently, this has changed.
Rather than viewing observable actions as merely the outcome of some
mental processes the bidirectional interactions of mind and body as a coherent
system became a new paradigm in cognitive sciences.
The book is structured in 13 chapters that use scientific findings on how
people decide in daily situations, lab experiments spanning from millisecond,
based on our intuitions or long-term decisions, from whom to marry
to what to do next in life. In simple words, examples from research as well as
individual or group choices are presented to explain how our movements,
our current body postures, or our gut feelings affect our choices. Examples
will cover decisions based on experience and when we make them the first
time. I hope that this book will increase our acknowledgment of embodied
choices and how to trust them.
Objective
We aimed to understand the association between MW frequency and clinical measures, context regulation of MW and group differences in task performance.
Method
27 adults with ADHD and 29 controls performed tasks manipulating demand on working memory and sustained attention, and recorded their MW frequency using probes.
Results
A significant association between MW frequency and the clinical measures was demonstrated. Along with increased MW frequency, individuals with ADHD reported decreasing MW frequency during increasing demands on working memory (context regulation), but not on sustained attention (deficient context regulation). Controls, however, maintained continuous task focus across all conditions. Group differences in task performance were no longer significant after adding MW frequency as a covariate.
Conclusion
Deficient context regulation during increasing demands on sustained attention suggests that sustained attention deficits may play a more important role in regulation of MW in ADHD. MW frequency might also underpin performance deficits in ADHD.
Just few centuries back our health concerns were more related to physical illness; a century back we had more concerns related to physiological health problems; since the last few decades we have more mental health concerns. But now with general observation, it seems we have more health concerns related to: emotions, motivations, feelings, imaginations, thoughts, etc.; well-being of all these may be categorized as "Psychological Health". Though in present scenario "Psychological Health" is a relatively negligible term; may be because it does not attract much commercial interests. But if we analyze, all our being is based on Psychological Health. Psychological Health is based on interaction of our biological system with the society and the nature. Biological aspects needs biological intervention, and social and nature interactions needs psychological intervention; hence interdisciplinary. Majority of the health issues like cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, insomnia, depression, etc., has some link with Psychological Health. Quality sleep which is the basis of almost all health aspects has direct link with psychological health. Our behavior, relevancy and efficiency of our working, our comprehending ability, etc., are based on our Psychological Status. Thus we can say our happiness depends on Physiological Health; as better health, and better performance and good behavior, makes us happy and satisfied. We have explored in this article importance of Psychological Health, in context to overall health related to: thoughts, superiority, romance, learning, physical activity, etc; and for what interventions can be made, at both psychological and physical level. As our topic may interest even common individual, hence language has been purposely kept simple. Since the last few decades our health expenditure is raising exponentially, with good achievement of higher life expectancy and survival rates.
Examined were the relationships between task‐unrelated thoughts (TUTs), self‐reported sensation seeking, retrospective self‐reported personality characteristics, laterality, eye dominance, and allergies in college students who were diagnosed in childhood as attention deficit/hyperactive disordered (ADHD) and in four control groups (high‐ and low‐activity males and females). Both spontaneous and deliberate TUTs were reported during a vigilance task. Left‐eye dominance was related to increased childhood hyperactive behaviors and to spontaneous TUTs. Of the five groups, subjects diagnosed as ADHD had more spontaneous TUTs and false alarms, whereas those subjects reporting high‐activity characteristics as children gave more deliberate TUTs and fewer false alarms, and low‐activity subjects responded with the fewest TUTs and false alarms. These results are consistent with the interpretation that in a boring task ADHD children have higher levels of nonconscious processing and poor inhibitory control and that these factors produce greater frequencies of spontaneous intrusive thoughts.
Proposes an integrative theoretical framework for studying psychological aspects of incentive relationships. During the time that an incentive is behaviorally salient, an organism is especially responsive to incentive-related cues. This sustained sensitivity requires postulating a continuing state (denoted by a construct, current concern) with a definite onset (commitment) and offset (consummation or disengagement). Disengagement follows frustration, accompanies the behavioral process of extinction, and involves an incentive-disengagement cycle of invigoration, aggression, depression, and recovery. Depression is thus a normal part of disengagement that may be either adaptive or maladaptive for the individual but is probably adaptive for the species. Implications for motivation; etiology, symptomatology, and treatment of depression; drug use; and other social problem areas are discussed. (41/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A MODEL IS PROPOSED FOR RELATING PRODUCTION OF SPONTANEOUS COGNITIVE EVENTS SUCH AS DAYDREAMS TO THE ORGANISM'S CONTINUOUS RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL STIMULI. EMPLOYING A SIMPLE SIGNAL-DETECTION TASK UNDER CONDITIONS OF PARTIAL SENSORY DEPRIVATION, A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT TO TEST SPECIFIC PREDICTIONS FROM THE MODEL. IN 1 EXPERIMENT INCREASING SPEED OF SIGNAL PRESENTATION OR DEMANDS UPON SHORT-TERM MEMORY BOTH SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED REPORTS OF TASK-IRRELEVANT COGNITIVE ACTIVITY AND IMAGERY. IN A 2ND EXPERIMENT GRADED FINANCIAL REWARD FOR ACCURACY OF DETECTION LED TO PROGRESSIVE DECREASE IN EXTRANEOUS FANTASIES. IN A 3RD EXPERIMENT DISTRESSING INFORMATION PRIOR TO THE TRIALS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED REPORTS OF SPONTANEOUS DAYDREAMING DURING DETECTION PERFORMANCE. (19 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Although anecdotes that creative thoughts often arise when one is engaged in an unrelated train of thought date back thousands of years, empirical research has not yet investigated this potentially critical source of inspiration. We used an incubation paradigm to assess whether performance on validated creativity problems (the Unusual Uses Task, or UUT) can be facilitated by engaging in either a demanding task or an undemanding task that maximizes mind wandering. Compared with engaging in a demanding task, rest, or no break, engaging in an undemanding task during an incubation period led to substantial improvements in performance on previously encountered problems. Critically, the context that improved performance after the incubation period was associated with higher levels of mind wandering but not with a greater number of explicitly directed thoughts about the UUT. These data suggest that engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving.
Tests of working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid intelligence (gF) are thought to capture variability in a crucial cognitive capacity that is broadly predictive of success, yet pinpointing the exact nature of this capacity is an area of ongoing controversy. We propose that mind-wandering is associated with performance on tests of WMC and gF, thereby partially explaining both the reliable correlations between these tests and their broad predictive utility. Existing evidence indicates that both WMC and gF are correlated with performance on tasks of attention, yet more decisive evidence requires an assessment of the role of attention and, in particular, mind-wandering during performance of these tests. Four studies employing complementary methodological designs embedded thought sampling into tests of general aptitude and determined that mind-wandering was consistently associated with worse performance on these measures. Collectively, these studies implicate the capacity to avoid mind-wandering during demanding tasks as a potentially important source of success on measures of general aptitude, while also raising important questions about whether the previously documented relationship between WMC and mind-wandering can be exclusively attributed to executive failures preceding mind-wandering (McVay & Kane, 2010b). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
In temporal discounting, individuals often prefer smaller immediate rewards to larger delayed rewards, implying a trade off between the magnitude and delay of future rewards. While recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) investigations of temporal discounting have generated conflicting findings, no studies have focused on whether distinct neural substrates respond to the magnitude and delay of future rewards. Combining a novel, temporally distributed discounting task with event-related fMRI, we found that while nucleus accumbens (NAcc), mesial prefrontal cortical (MPFC), and posterior cingulate cortical (PCC) activation positively correlated with future reward magnitude, dorsolateral prefrontal cortical (DLPFC) and posterior parietal cortical (PPC) activation negatively correlated with future reward delay. Further, more impulsive individuals showed diminished NAcc activation to the magnitude of future rewards and greater deactivations to delays of future rewards in the MPFC, DLPFC, and PPC. These findings suggest that while mesolimbic dopamine projection regions show greater sensitivity to the magnitude of future rewards, lateral cortical regions show greater (negative) sensitivity to the delay of future rewards, potentially reconciling different neural accounts of temporal discounting.
A combined experimental, individual-differences, and thought-sampling study tested the predictions of executive attention (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004) and coordinative binding (e.g., Oberauer, Süβ, Wilhelm, & Sander, 2007) theories of working memory capacity (WMC). We assessed 288 subjects' WMC and their performance and mind-wandering rates during a sustained-attention task; subjects completed either a go/no-go version requiring executive control over habit or a vigilance version that did not. We further combined the data with those from McVay and Kane (2009) to (1) gauge the contributions of WMC and attentional lapses to the worst performance rule and the tail, or τ parameter, of reaction time (RT) distributions; (2) assess which parameters from a quantitative evidence-accumulation RT model were predicted by WMC and mind-wandering reports; and (3) consider intrasubject RT patterns--particularly, speeding--as potential objective markers of mind wandering. We found that WMC predicted action and thought control in only some conditions, that attentional lapses (indicated by task-unrelated-thought reports and drift-rate variability in evidence accumulation) contributed to τ, performance accuracy, and WMC's association with them and that mind-wandering experiences were not predicted by trial-to-trial RT changes, and so they cannot always be inferred from objective performance measures.
Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind-wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on 3 WMC span tasks, 7 varied reading-comprehension tasks, and 3 attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during 4 different tasks (2 reading, 2 attention-control). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the 4 tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most important, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension.
Humans and animals prefer immediate over delayed rewards (delay discounting). This preference for smaller-but-sooner over larger-but-later rewards shows substantial interindividual variability in healthy subjects. Moreover, a strong bias towards immediate reinforcement characterizes many psychiatric conditions such as addiction and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. We discuss the neural mechanisms underlying delay discounting and describe how interindividual variability (trait effects) in the neural instantiation of subprocesses of delay discounting (such as reward valuation, cognitive control and prospection) contributes to differences in behaviour. We next discuss different interventions that can partially remedy impulsive decision-making (state effects). Although the precise neural mechanisms underlying many of these modulating influences are only beginning to be unravelled, they point towards novel treatment approaches for disorders of impulse control.
Accumulating evidence suggests that the brain can efficiently process both external and internal information. The processing of internal information is a distinct "offline" cognitive mode that requires not only spontaneously generated mental activity; it has also been hypothesized to require a decoupling of attention from perception in order to separate competing streams of internal and external information. This process of decoupling is potentially adaptive because it could prevent unimportant external events from disrupting an internal train of thought. Here, we use measurements of pupil diameter (PD) to provide concrete evidence for the role of decoupling during spontaneous cognitive activity. First, during periods conducive to offline thought but not during periods of task focus, PD exhibited spontaneous activity decoupled from task events. Second, periods requiring external task focus were characterized by large task evoked changes in PD; in contrast, encoding failures were preceded by episodes of high spontaneous baseline PD activity. Finally, high spontaneous PD activity also occurred prior to only the slowest 20% of correct responses, suggesting high baseline PD indexes a distinct mode of cognitive functioning. Together, these data are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis, which suggests that the capacity for spontaneous cognitive activity depends upon minimizing disruptions from the external world.
This study used event-related potentials to explore whether mind wandering (task-unrelated thought, or TUT) emerges through general problems in distraction, deficits of task-relevant processing (the executive-function view), or a general reduction in attention to external events regardless of their relevance (the decoupling hypothesis). Twenty-five participants performed a visual oddball task, in which they were required to differentiate between a rare target stimulus (to measure task-relevant processes), a rare novel stimulus (to measure distractor processing), and a frequent nontarget stimulus. TUT was measured immediately following task performance using a validated retrospective measure. High levels of TUT were associated with a reduction in cortical processing of task-relevant events and distractor stimuli. These data contradict the suggestion that mind wandering is associated with distraction problems or specific deficits in task-relevant processes. Instead, the data are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis: that TUT dampens the processing of sensory information irrespective of that information's task relevance.
The default mode network (DMN) is a set of brain regions that consistently shows higher activity at rest compared to tasks requiring sustained focused attention toward externally presented stimuli. The cognitive processes that the DMN possibly underlies remain a matter of debate. It has alternately been proposed that DMN activity reflects unfocused attention toward external stimuli or the occurrence of internally generated thoughts. The present study aimed at clarifying this issue by investigating the neural correlates of the various kinds of conscious experiences that can occur during task performance. Four classes of conscious experiences (i.e., being fully focused on the task, distractions by irrelevant sensations/perceptions, interfering thoughts related to the appraisal of the task, and mind-wandering) that varied along two dimensions ("task-relatedness" and "stimulus-dependency") were sampled using thought-probes while the participants performed a go/no-go task. Analyses performed on the intervals preceding each probe according to the reported subjective experience revealed that both dimensions are relevant to explain activity in several regions of the DMN, namely the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, and posterior inferior parietal lobe. Notably, an additive effect of the two dimensions was demonstrated for midline DMN regions. On the other hand, lateral temporal regions (also part of the DMN) were specifically related to stimulus-independent reports. These results suggest that midline DMN regions underlie cognitive processes that are active during both internal thoughts and external unfocused attention. They also strengthen the view that the DMN can be fractionated into different subcomponents and reveal the necessity to consider both the stimulus-dependent and the task-related dimensions of conscious experiences when studying the possible functional roles of the DMN.
Everyday intuitions suggest full conscious control of behavior, but evidence of unconscious causation and automaticity has sustained the contrary view that conscious thought has little or no impact on behavior. We review studies with random assignment to experimental manipulations of conscious thought and behavioral dependent measures. Topics include mental practice and simulation, anticipation, planning, reflection and rehearsal, reasoning, counterproductive effects, perspective taking, self-affirmation, framing, communication, and overriding automatic responses. The evidence for conscious causation of behavior is profound, extensive, adaptive, multifaceted, and empirically strong. However, conscious causation is often indirect and delayed, and it depends on interplay with unconscious processes. Consciousness seems especially useful for enabling behavior to be shaped by nonpresent factors and by social and cultural information, as well as for dealing with multiple competing options or impulses. It is plausible that almost every human behavior comes from a mixture of conscious and unconscious processing.
Five empirically based critiques have undermined the standard assumption that conscious thought is primarily for input (obtaining information from the natural environment) or output (the direct control of action). Instead, we propose that conscious thought is for internal processing, to facilitate downstream interaction with the social and cultural environment. Human consciousness enables the construction of meaningful, sequential thought, as in sentences and narratives, logical reasoning, counting and quantification, causal understanding, narratives, and the simulation of events (including nonpresent ones). Conscious thought sequences resemble short films that the brain makes for itself, thereby enabling different parts of brain and mind to share information. The production of conscious thoughts is closely linked to the production of speech because the human mind evolved to facilitate social communication and information sharing, as culture became humankind's biological strategy. The influence of conscious thought on behavior can be vitally helpful but is mostly indirect. Conscious simulation processes are useful for understanding the perspectives of social interaction partners, for exploring options in complex decisions, for replaying past events (both literally and counterfactually) so as to learn, and for facilitating participation in culture in other ways.
Humans discount the value of future rewards over time. Here we show using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neural coupling analyses that episodic future thinking reduces the rate of delay discounting through a modulation of neural decision-making and episodic future thinking networks. In addition to a standard control condition, real subject-specific episodic event cues were presented during a delay discounting task. Spontaneous episodic imagery during cue processing predicted how much subjects changed their preferences toward more future-minded choice behavior. Neural valuation signals in the anterior cingulate cortex and functional coupling of this region with hippocampus and amygdala predicted the degree to which future thinking modulated individual preference functions. A second experiment replicated the behavioral effects and ruled out alternative explanations such as date-based processing and temporal focus. The present data reveal a mechanism through which neural decision-making and prospection networks can interact to generate future-minded choice behavior.
In this comment, we contrast different conceptions of mind wandering that were presented in 2 recent theoretical reviews: Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). We also introduce a new perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering by integrating empirical evidence presented in Smallwood and Schooler with 2 theoretical frameworks: Watkins’s elaborated control theory and Klinger’s (1971, 2009) current concerns theory. In contrast to the Smallwood–Schooler claim that mind wandering recruits executive resources, we argue that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control and that it is dually determined by the presence of automatically generated thoughts in response to environmental and mental cues and the ability of the executive-control system to deal with this interference. We present empirical support for this view from experimental, neuroimaging, and individual-differences research.
Top–down control of visual sensory cortex has long been tied to the orienting of visual spatial attention on a rapid, moment-to-moment basis. Here, we examined whether sensory responses in visual cortex are also modulated by natural and comparatively slower fluctuations in whether or not one is paying attention to the task at hand. Participants performed a simple visual discrimination task at fixation as the ERPs to task-irrelevant probes in the upper visual periphery were recorded. At random intervals, participants were stopped and asked to report on their attentional state at the time of stoppage—either “on-task” or “off-task.” ERPs to the probes immediately preceding these subjective reports were then examined as a function of whether attention was in an on-task versus off-task state. We found that sensory-evoked responses to the probes were significantly attenuated during off-task relative to on-task states, as measured by the visual P1 ERP component. In two additional experiments, we replicated this effect while (1) finding that off-task sensory attenuation extends to the auditory domain, as measured by the auditory N1 ERP component, and (2) eliminating state-dependent shifts in general arousal as a possible explanation for the effects. Collectively, our findings suggest that sensory gain control in cortex is yoked to the natural ebb and flow in how much attention we pay to the current task over time.
During decision making, valuation of different types of rewards may involve partially distinct neural systems, but efficient choice behavior requires a common neural coding of stimulus value. We addressed this issue by measuring neural activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while volunteers processed delayed and probabilistic decision options. Behaviorally, participants discounted both types of rewards in a hyperbolic manner, and discount rates, reflecting individual preferences, varied considerably between participants. Ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex showed a domain-general coding of subjective value regardless of whether rewards were delayed or probabilistic, strongly implicating these regions in the implementation of a common neural currency of value. In contrast, fronto-polar and lateral parietal cortex, as well as a region in the posterior cingulate cortex only correlated with the value of delayed rewards, whereas superior parietal cortex and middle occipital areas only represented the value of probabilistic rewards. These results suggest a mechanism for the neural coding of subjective value in the human brain that is based on the combination of domain-general and domain-specific valuation networks.
Although mind wandering occupies a large proportion of our waking life, its neural basis and relation to ongoing behavior remain controversial. We report an fMRI study that used experience sampling to provide an online measure of mind wandering during a concurrent task. Analyses focused on the interval of time immediately preceding experience sampling probes demonstrate activation of default network regions during mind wandering, a finding consistent with theoretical accounts of default network functions. Activation in medial prefrontal default network regions was observed both in association with subjective self-reports of mind wandering and an independent behavioral measure (performance errors on the concurrent task). In addition to default network activation, mind wandering was associated with executive network recruitment, a finding predicted by behavioral theories of off-task thought and its relation to executive resources. Finally, neural recruitment in both default and executive network regions was strongest when subjects were unaware of their own mind wandering, suggesting that mind wandering is most pronounced when it lacks meta-awareness. The observed parallel recruitment of executive and default network regions--two brain systems that so far have been assumed to work in opposition--suggests that mind wandering may evoke a unique mental state that may allow otherwise opposing networks to work in cooperation. The ability of this study to reveal a number of crucial aspects of the neural recruitment associated with mind wandering underscores the value of combining subjective self-reports with online measures of brain function for advancing our understanding of the neurophenomenology of subjective experience.
We estimate discount rates of 555 subjects using a laboratory task and find that these individual discount rates predict inter-individual variation in field behaviors (e.g., exercise, BMI, smoking). The correlation between the discount rate and each field behavior is small: none exceeds 0.28 and many are near 0. However, the discount rate has at least as much predictive power as any variable in our dataset (e.g., sex, age, education). The correlation between the discount rate and field behavior rises when field behaviors are aggregated: these correlations range from 0.09-0.38. We present a model that explains why specific intertemporal choice behaviors are only weakly correlated with discount rates, even though discount rates robustly predict aggregates of intertemporal decisions.
Dieter's Dilemma
The ability to exercise self-control is central to human success and well-being. However, little is known about the neurobiological underpinnings of self-control and how or why these neural mechanisms might differ between successful and unsuccessful decision-makers. Hare et al. (p. 646 ) used brain imaging in a dieting population undergoing real-life decisions between a healthy or a tempting, yet nutritionally inferior, choice of food. Activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex correlated with the value of the stimulus, termed goal value. Importantly, this activity integrated both health and taste values in individuals who were able to exert self-control in their choices, while reflecting only taste in those unable to exert self-control.
On the basis of the executive-attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC; e.g., M. J. Kane, A. R. A. Conway, D. Z. Hambrick, & R. W. Engle, 2007), the authors tested the relations among WMC, mind wandering, and goal neglect in a sustained attention to response task (SART; a go/no-go task). In 3 SART versions, making conceptual versus perceptual processing demands, subjects periodically indicated their thought content when probed following rare no-go targets. SART processing demands did not affect mind-wandering rates, but mind-wandering rates varied with WMC and predicted goal-neglect errors in the task; furthermore, mind-wandering rates partially mediated the WMC-SART relation, indicating that WMC-related differences in goal neglect were due, in part, to variation in the control of conscious thought.
Attention plays an essential role in the construction of the mental models necessary to make sense of ongoing events. In this article, we consider the implications of temporary inattention during reading for the construction and updating of the situation model during text comprehension. We examined how self-reported mind wandering during reading relates to the online construction of the situation model of the narrative, which in this case involved the pseudonym used by a villain in a detective novella. In successful readers, mind wandering without awareness, referred to as zoning out, was less frequent when the text revealed a clue about the villain's identity. Additional analyses indicated that mind wandering interfered with the construction of the situation model independent of the participants' ability to retrieve factual information. The analysis of the temporal consequences of zoning out indicated that lapses had the greatest influence when they occurred early in the narrative. These results confirm the intuition that zoning out during reading is an indication that the construction of the situation model has gone awry, and underscore the fact that our ability to understand ongoing events depends on the ability to pay attention when it matters.
Behavioral economics examines conditions that influence the consumption of commodities and provides several concepts that may be instrumental in understanding drug dependence. One such concept of significance is that of how delayed reinforcers are discounted by drug dependent individuals. Discounting of delayed reinforcers refers to the observation that the value of a delayed reinforcer is discounted (reduced in value or considered to be worth less) compared to the value of an immediate reinforcer. This paper examines how delay discounting may provide an explanation of both impulsivity and loss of control exhibited by the drug dependent. In so doing, the paper reviews economic models of delay discounting, the empirical literature on the discounting of delayed reinforcers by the drug dependent and the scientific literature on personality assessments of impulsivity among drug-dependent individuals. Finally, future directions for the study of discounting are discussed, including the study of loss of control and loss aversion among drug-dependent individuals, the relationship of discounting to both the behavioral economic measure of elasticity as well as to outcomes observed in clinical settings, and the relationship between impulsivity and psychological disorders other than drug dependence.
This article reviews the hypothesis that mind wandering can be integrated into executive models of attention. Evidence suggests that mind wandering shares many similarities with traditional notions of executive control. When mind wandering occurs, the executive components of attention appear to shift away from the primary task, leading to failures in task performance and superficial representations of the external environment. One challenge for incorporating mind wandering into standard executive models is that it often occurs in the absence of explicit intention--a hallmark of controlled processing. However, mind wandering, like other goal-related processes, can be engaged without explicit awareness; thus, mind wandering can be seen as a goal-driven process, albeit one that is not directed toward the primary task.
Despite evidence pointing to a ubiquitous tendency of human minds to wander, little is known about the neural operations that
support this core component of human cognition. Using both thought sampling and brain imaging, the current investigation demonstrated
that mind-wandering is associated with activity in a default network of cortical regions that are active when the brain is
“at rest.” In addition, individuals' reports of the tendency of their minds to wander were correlated with activity in this
network.
Five dimensions have been used to define or characterize "fantasy" or "daydreaming"—operant vs respondent, stimulus dependence vs independence, fancifulness, degenerateness, and ego relationship to content—and others characterize variations in mental imagery—vividness, modality, and controllability. In the present study, at the sound of an aperiodic signal, 20 undergraduates reported their latest thoughts and rated them on a number of such variables. Thoughts were sampled during dichotic listening to taped narratives or during the course of Ss' everyday activities. Intraindividual analyses of rating variables showed that the majority of Ss' thoughts were operant. Most contained some respondent elements, most were related to ongoing activity and contained fairly usual kinds of content, they were largely visual, and the median thought segment was only 5 sec long. Correlations within individuals, pooled across Ss, revealed that (a) "respondent-ness," stimulus independence, and fancifulness operate as independent dimensions of thought; (b) "vividness" can be differentiated into 2 orthogonal dimensions of sensory saturation and clarity; and (c) the duration of thought segments is orthogonal to all of these. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Behavioral economics examines conditions that influence the consumption of commodities and provides several concepts that may be instrumental in understanding drug dependence. One such concept of significance is that of how delayed reinforcers are discounted by drug dependent individuals. Discounting of delayed reinforcers refers to the observation that the value of a delayed reinforcer is discounted (reduced in value or considered to be worth less) compared to the value of an immediate reinforcer. This paper examines how delay discounting may provide an explanation of both impulsivity and loss of control exhibited by the drug dependent. In so doing, the paper reviews economic models of delay discounting, the empirical literature on the discounting of delayed reinforcers by the drug dependent and the scientific literature on personality assessments of impulsivity among drug-dependent individuals. Finally, future directions for the study of discounting are discussed, including the study of loss of control and loss aversion among drug-dependent individuals, the relationship of discounting to both the behavioral economic measure of elasticity as well as to outcomes observed in clinical settings, and the relationship between impulsivity and psychological disorders other than drug dependence.
Tasks that tax working memory (WM) have consistently been found to decrease mind wandering. These findings may indicate that maintenance of mind wandering requires WM resources, such that mind wandering cannot persist when WM resources are being consumed by a task. An alternative explanation for these findings, however, is that mind wandering persists without the support of WM but is nonetheless decreased during any demanding task because good task performance requires that attention be restricted from task-unrelated thought (TUT). The present study tested these two competing theories by investigating whether individuals with greater WM resources mind-wander more during an undemanding task, as would be predicted only by the theory that WM supports TUT. We found that individuals with higher WM capacity reported more TUT in undemanding tasks, which suggests that WM enables the maintenance of mind wandering.
In the recent subprime crisis, many individuals defaulted on their loans. Though the institutional sources of defaulting and delinquencies were much debated in the aftermath of the crisis, much less attention was given to individual differences in defaulting behavior. How do individuals decide whether to repay borrowed money? The decision to default can be viewed as an intertemporal choice, as defaulting provides monetary benefits in the near future and costs in the more distant future (Chatterjee, Corbae, Nakajima, & Rios-Rull, 2007; Fehr, 2002). Therefore, interpersonal differences in time discounting may influence defaulting. Psychological research shows substantial heterogeneity in time discounting and often large degrees of time discounting, especially if immediate rewards are available (e.g., Frederick, Loewenstein, & O’Donoghue, 2002; Kirby & Herrnstein, 1995). Measured time discounting is predictive of life outcomes such as scholastic achievement and health-related behavior (Chabris, Laibson, Morris, Schuldt, & Taubinsky, 2008; Chapman, 1996; Eigsti et al., 2006; Kirby, Petry, & Bickel, 1999; Mischel, Shoda, & Rodriguez, 1989). In this report, we document that the degree of time discounting predicts repayment as measured using the standard U.S. metric of creditworthiness, an individual’s Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) credit score. The component of time discounting previously found to be associated with deliberate decision making (Figner et al., 2010; McClure, Laibson, Loewenstein, & Cohen, 2004) is more predictive of creditworthiness than is the immediacy-bias component associated with affective or impulsive decision making. The findings indicate that time discounting predicts creditworthiness and that repayment decisions may be associated with deliberative, rather than affective, processes.
Daydreaming appears to have a complex relationship with life satisfaction and happiness. Here we demonstrate that the facets of daydreaming that predict life satisfaction differ between men and women (Study 1; N=421), that the content of daydreams tends to be social others (Study 2; N=17,556), and that who we daydream about influences the relation between daydreaming and happiness variables like life satisfaction, loneliness, and perceived social support (Study 3; N=361). Specifically, daydreaming about people not close to us predicts more loneliness and less perceived social support, whereas daydreaming about close others predicts greater life satisfaction. Importantly, these patterns hold even when actual social network depth and breadth are statistically controlled, although these associations tend to be small in magnitude. Individual differences and the content of daydreams are thus important to consider when examining how happiness relates to spontaneous thoughts.
Given that as much as half of human thought arises in a stimulus independent fashion, it would seem unlikely that such thoughts would play no functional role in our lives. However, evidence linking the mind-wandering state to performance decrement has led to the notion that mind-wandering primarily represents a form of cognitive failure. Based on previous work showing a prospective bias to mind-wandering, the current study explores the hypothesis that one potential function of spontaneous thought is to plan and anticipate personally relevant future goals, a process referred to as autobiographical planning. The results confirm that the content of mind-wandering is predominantly future-focused, demonstrate that individuals with high working memory capacity are more likely to engage in prospective mind-wandering, and show that prospective mind-wandering frequently involves autobiographical planning. Together this evidence suggests that mind-wandering can enable prospective cognitive operations that are likely to be useful to the individual as they navigate through their daily lives.
Evidence suggests that mind wandering is a frequent accompaniment to an unhappy mood. Building on such work, two laboratory experiments used mood induction to assess whether the greater frequency of mind wandering in a low mood is also accompanied by a shift towards a focus on events from the past. Experiment 1 induced moods via video and induction of an unhappy mood was associated with a greater tendency for past-related mind wandering as measured by a post-task questionnaire. In Experiment 2, negative and positive moods were induced in a group of participants using the Velten mood-induction procedure and the temporal focus of mind wandering was measured using experience sampling probes. Analyses indicated that induction of an unhappy mood led to an increase in past-related mind wandering and the magnitude of this change increased with scores on a measure of depressive symptoms. Together these experiments suggest that when the mind wanders in an unhappy mood it is drawn to events from its past.
We developed a smartphone technology to sample people’s ongoing thoughts, feelings, and actions and found (i) that people
are thinking about what is not happening almost as often as they are thinking about what is and (ii) found that doing so typically
makes them unhappy.
Task unrelated thought (TUT) refers to thought directed away from the current situation, for example a daydream. Three experiments were conducted on healthy participants, with two broad aims. First, to contrast distributed and encapsulated views of cognition by comparing the encoding of categorical and random lists of words (Experiments One and Two). Second, to examine the consequences of experiencing TUT during study on the subsequent retrieval of information (Experiments One, Two, and Three). Experiments One and Two demonstrated lower levels of TUT and higher levels of word-fragment completion whilst encoding categorical relative to random stimuli, supporting the role of a distributed resource in the maintenance of TUT. In addition the results of all three experiments suggested that experiencing TUT during study had a measurable effect on subsequent retrieval. TUT was associated with increased frequency of false alarms at retrieval (Experiment One). In the subsequent experiments TUT was associated with no advantage to retrieval based on recollection, by manipulating instructions at encoding (Experiment Two), and/or at retrieval (Experiment Three). The implications of the results of all three experiments are discussed in terms of recent accounts of memory retrieval and conscious awareness.
In this longitudinal study, the proportion of time preschoolers directed their attention away from rewarding stimuli during a delay-of-gratification task was positively associated with efficiency (greater speed without reduced accuracy) at responding to targets in a go/no-go task more than 10 years later. The overall findings suggest that preschoolers' ability to effectively direct their attention away from tempting aspects of the rewards in a delay-of-gratification task may be a developmental precursor for the ability to perform inhibitory tasks such as the go/no-go task years later. Because performance on the go/no-go task has previously been characterized as involving activation of fronto-striatal regions, the present findings also suggest that performance in the delay-of-gratification task may serve as an early marker of individual differences in the functional integrity of this circuitry.
When thinking about the future or the upcoming actions of another person, we mentally project ourselves into that alternative situation. Accumulating data suggest that envisioning the future (prospection), remembering the past, conceiving the viewpoint of others (theory of mind) and possibly some forms of navigation reflect the workings of the same core brain network. These abilities emerge at a similar age and share a common functional anatomy that includes frontal and medial temporal systems that are traditionally associated with planning, episodic memory and default (passive) cognitive states. We speculate that these abilities, most often studied as distinct, rely on a common set of processes by which past experiences are used adaptively to imagine perspectives and events beyond those that emerge from the immediate environment.
Neuroimaging studies of decision-making have generally related neural activity to objective measures (such as reward magnitude, probability or delay), despite choice preferences being subjective. However, economic theories posit that decision-makers behave as though different options have different subjective values. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that neural activity in several brain regions--particularly the ventral striatum, medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex--tracks the revealed subjective value of delayed monetary rewards. This similarity provides unambiguous evidence that the subjective value of potential rewards is explicitly represented in the human brain.
Consequences of commitment to and disengagement from incentives
- M A Killingsworth
- D T Gilbert
Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439.
Klinger, E. (1975). Consequences of commitment to and disengagement from incentives. Psychological Review, 82(1), 25.
The stream of consciousness: Scientific investigations into the flow of human experience
- E Klinger
Klinger, E. (1978a). Modes of normal conscious flow. In K. S. Pope & J. L. Singer (Eds.), The stream of consciousness: Scientific investigations into the flow of
human experience (pp. 225-258). New York: Plenum.
Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure?
- J C Mcvay
- M J Kane
McVay, J. C., & Kane, M. J. (2010). Does mind wandering reflect executive function or executive failure? Comment on Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and
Watkins (2008). Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 188-197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018298 (discussion 198-207).
Imprisoned by the past: Unhappy moods lead to a retrospective bias to mind wandering
- J Smallwood
- R C Connor
Smallwood, J., & O'Connor, R. C. (2011). Imprisoned by the past: Unhappy moods lead to a retrospective bias to mind wandering. Cognition and Emotion, 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10(1080/02699931), 2010, 545263.