ArticlePDF Available

Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind

Authors:

Abstract

Don't leave me alone with my thoughts Nowadays, we enjoy any number of inexpensive and readily accessible stimuli, be they books, videos, or social media. We need never be alone, with no one to talk to and nothing to do. Wilson et al. explored the state of being alone with one's thoughts and found that it appears to be an unpleasant experience. In fact, many of the people studied, particularly the men, chose to give themselves a mild electric shock rather than be deprived of external sensory stimuli. Science , this issue p. 75
DOI: 10.1126/science.1250830
, 75 (2014);345 Science
et al.Timothy D. Wilson
Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
clicking here.colleagues, clients, or customers by
, you can order high-quality copies for yourIf you wish to distribute this article to others
here.following the guidelines
can be obtained byPermission to republish or repurpose articles or portions of articles
): July 3, 2014 www.sciencemag.org (this information is current as of
The following resources related to this article are available online at
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6192/75.full.html
version of this article at:
including high-resolution figures, can be found in the onlineUpdated information and services,
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2014/07/02/345.6192.75.DC1.html
can be found at: Supporting Online Material
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6192/75.full.html#ref-list-1
, 7 of which can be accessed free:cites 31 articlesThis article
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/collection/psychology
Psychology
subject collections:This article appears in the following
registered trademark of AAAS.
is aScience2014 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved. The title
CopyrightAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005.
(print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published weekly, except the last week in December, by theScience
on July 3, 2014www.sciencemag.orgDownloaded from on July 3, 2014www.sciencemag.orgDownloaded from on July 3, 2014www.sciencemag.orgDownloaded from on July 3, 2014www.sciencemag.orgDownloaded from
Text
or by postsynthesis treatments (28,29). By con-
trast, separations such as H
2
/C
3
H
8
that involve a
fast-permeating species are not appreciably af-
fected by membrane defects. IMMP is also in-
herently a modular and parallel approach that
should allow independent and simultaneous pro-
cessing of membranes in multiple fibers. To test
this hypothesis, we applied IMMP to the simulta-
neous processing of three hollow fibers. The total
bore flow rate was increased by a factor of 3 so
that the flow rate through individual fibers was
maintained. The ends of the module were capped
with PDMS, as described earlier. Figure 3, C and
D, shows that the H
2
/C
3
H
8
and C
3
H
6
/C
3
H
8
sep-
aration behavior is essentially identical to the
single-fiber case, demonstrating the potential for
scalability of IMMP. Given the overall importance
of tunable ZIF materials for a range of hydro-
carbon and light-gas separations, the membrane-
processing approach reported here overcomes
many limitations of current processes and is a
notable step toward realizing scalable molecular
sieving MOF membranes.
REFERENCES AND NOTES
1. J. Gascon et al., Chem. Mater. 24,28292844 (2012).
2. K. Varoon et al., Science 334,7275 (2011).
3. M. Shah, M. C. McCarthy, S. Sachdeva, A. K. Lee, H. K. Jeong,
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51,21792199 (2012).
4. M. G. Buonomenna, RSC Advances 3,56945740 (2013).
5. M. Tsapatsis, Science 334,767768 (2011).
6. T. C. Pham, H. S. Kim, K. B. Yoon, Science 334,15331538
(2011).
7. J. Choi et al., Science 325,590593 (2009).
8. Y. Pan, B. Wang, Z. Lai, J. Membr. Sci. 421422,292298
(2012).
9. J. A. T homps on et al., Chem. Mater. 24,19301936
(2012).
10. K. S. Park et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103,1018610191
(2006).
11. A. Huang, W. Dou, J. Caro, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132,
1556215564 (2010).
12. A. J. Brown et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51,1061510618
(2012).
13. R. Ameloot et al., Nat. Chem. 3,382387 (2011).
14. M. Per a-Tit us, R. M allad a, J. Llo rens , F. Cuni ll, J. S antam aria,
J. Membr. Sci. 278,401409 (2006).
15. K. Li et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131,1036810369 (2009).
16. K. S. Jang et al., Chem. Mater. 23,30253028 (2011).
17. Materials and methods are available as supplementary
materials on Science Online.
18. K. Nakayama, K. Suzuki, S. Yoshida, K. Yajima, T. Tomita,
U.S. Patent 7,014,680 (2006).
19. M. Gummalla, M. Tsapatsis, J. J. Watkins, D. G. Vlachos,
AIChE J. 50,684695 (2004).
20. Y. Pan, T. Li, G. Lestari, Z. Lai, J. Membr. Sci. 390391,9398
(2012).
21. H. Bux et al., Chem. Mater. 23,22622269 (2011).
22. Y. Pan, Z. Lai, Chem. Commun. 47,1027510277 (2011).
23. H. T. Kwon, H. K. Jeong, Chem. Commun. 49,38543856
(2013).
24. R. P. Lively, J. A. Mysona, R. R. Chance, W. J. Koros,
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 3,35683582 (2011).
25. I. Pinnau, Z. He, J. Membr. Sci. 244,227233 (2004).
26. Y. Shi, C. M. Burns, X. Feng, J. Membr. Sci. 282,115123
(2006).
27. C. Zhang et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 3,21302134
(2012).
28. W. V. Chiu et al., J. Membr. Sci. 377,182190 (2011).
29. J. M. S. Henis, M. K. Tripodi, Science 220,1117 (1983).
ACKNOWL EDGME NTS
This work was supported by Phillips 66 Company. S.N., A.J.B.,
and C.W.J. conceived the research. A.J.B. and N.A.B. designed
the synthesis reactor. Hollow-fiber fabrication was carried out
by J.R.J. and W.J.K. Membrane synthesis, characterization, and
permeation measurements were carried out by A.J.B., K.E., and
F.R. Permeation modeling was carried out by S.N. and A.J.B.
All authors contributed to manuscript writing and editing. We thank
W. Qiu, R. P. Lively, and A. Rownaghi (all at Georgia Institute of
Technology) for helpful discussions. The Supplementary Materials
includes a detailed description of materials and methods, details
of the IMMP reactor, time-dependent flow profiles and synthesis
cases, SEM images of ZIF-8 membranes, XRD patterns of
membranes, schematics of permeation apparatus and gas bypass
effects, EDX mapping of the ZIF-8 membrane, permeation
modeling equations, and gas permeation data. A patent application
related to this work has been filed [U.S. patent application
61/820,489, filed 7 May 2013; S. Nair et al., Flow processing
and characterization of metal-organic framework (MOF)
membranes in tubular and hollow fiber modules].
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6192/72/suppl/DC1
Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Figs. S1 to S11
Tables S1 to S4
22 January 2014; accepted 19 May 2014
10.1126/science.1251181
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Just think: The challenges of the
disengaged mind
Timothy D. Wilson,
1
*David A. Reinhard,
1
Erin C. Westgate,
1
Daniel T. Gilbert,
2
Nicole Ellerbeck,
1
Cheryl Hahn,
1
Casey L. Brown,
1
Adi Shaked
1
In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in
a room by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane
external activities much more, and that many preferred to administer electric shocks to
themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts. Most people seem to prefer to
be doing something rather than nothing, even if that something is negative.
The mind is its own place, and in it self/
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
The ability to engage in directed conscious
thought is an integral partperhaps even
adefiningpartof what makes us human.
Unique among the species, we have the abil-
ity to sit and mentally detach ourselves from
our surroundings and travel inward, recalling
the past, envisioning the future, and imagining
worlds that have never existed. Neural activity
during such inward-directed thought, called
default-mode processing, has been the focus of a
great deal of attention in recent years, and re-
searchers have speculated about its possible
functions (15). Two related questions, how-
ever, have been overlooked: Do people choose to
put themselves in default mode by disengaging
from the external world? And when they are in
this mode, is it a pleasing experience?
Recent survey results suggest that the answer
to the first question is not very often.Ninety-
five percent of American adults reported that
they did at least one leisure activity in the past
24 hours, such as watching television, socializ-
ing, or reading for pleasure, but 83% reported
they spent no time whatsoever relaxing or think-
ing(6). Is this because people do not enjoy having
nothing to do but think?
Almost all previous research on daydream-
ing and mind wandering has focused on task-
unrelated thought, namely cases in which people
are trying to attend to an external task (such as
reading a book), but their minds wander invol-
untarily (7,8). In such cases, people tend to be
happier when their minds are engaged in what
they are doing, instead of having wandered away
(9,10). A case could be made that it is easier for
people to steer their thoughts in pleasant direc-
tions when the external world is not competing
for their attention. We suggest, to the contrary,
that it is surprisingly difficult to think in enjoy-
able ways even in the absence of competing ex-
ternal demands.
To address these questions, we conducted
studies in which college-student participants
spent time by themselves in an unadorned room
(for 6 to 15 min, depending on the study) after
storing all of their belongings, including cell
phones and writing implements. They were typ-
ically asked to spend the time entertaining them-
selves with their thoughts, with the only rules
being that they should remain in their seats and
stay awake. After this thinking period,partic-
ipants answered questions about how enjoyable
the experience was, how hard it was to concen-
trate, etc.
Table 1 summarizes the results of six studies
that followed this procedure. Most participants
reported that it was difficult to concentrate
(57.5% responded at or above the midpoint of
the point scale) and that their mind wandered
(89.0% responded at or above the midpoint of
the scale), even though there was nothing com-
peting for their attention. And on average, par-
ticipants did not enjoy the experience very much:
49.3% reported enjoyment that was at or below
the midpoint of the scale.
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 4JULY2014VOL 345 ISSUE 6192 75
1
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA, USA.
2
Department of Psychology,
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: tdw@virginia.edu
RESEARCH |REPORTS
Perhaps the unfamiliar environs of the psy-
chological laboratory made it difficult for people
to become lost in and enjoy their thoughts. In
study 7, we instructed college-student participants
to complete the study at home, by clicking on a
link to a Web program when they were alone
and free of external distractions. Many partic-
ipants found it difficult to follow these instruc-
tions: 32% reported that they had cheatedby
engaging in an external activity (such as listen-
ing to music or consulting their cell phones) or
getting up out of their chair. Furthermore, there
was no evidence that participants enjoyed the
experience more when they were in the privacy
of their homes. The mean reported enjoyment was
lower when they were at home than when they
were in the laboratory [t(188) = 2.47, P=0.014],
and participants reported that it was harder to
concentrate on their thoughts when they were at
home [t(188) = 2.87, P=0.005](Table1).These
differences must be interpreted with caution, be-
cause we did not randomly assign participants to a
location, but they suggest that just thinking is no
easier at home than it is in the laboratory.
Would participants enjoy themselves more
if they had something to do? In study 8, we
randomly assigned participants to entertain
themselves with their own thoughts or to en-
gage in external activities (such as reading a
book, listening to music, or surfing the Web).
We asked the latter participants not to commu-
nicate with others (e.g., via texting or emailing),
so that we could compare nonsocial external ac-
tivities (such as reading) with a nonsocial internal
activity (thinking). As seen in Table 1, participants
enjoyed the external activities much more than
just thinking [t(28) = 4.83, P< 0.001], found it
easier to concentrate [t(28) = 4.16, P<0.001],
and reported that their minds wandered less
[t(28) = 3.61, P= 0.001].
To see whether the difficulty with just think-
ingis distinctiv e to college s tudents, in study
9 we recruited community participants at a
farmers market and a local church. The par-
ticipants ranged in age from 18 to 77 (median
age = 48.0 years). As in study 7, they completed
the study online in their own homes, after re-
ceiving instructions to do so when they were
alone and free of any external distractions. The
results were similar to those found with college
students. There was no evidence that enjoyment
of the thinking period was related to partici-
pantsage, education, income, or the frequency
with which they used smart phones or social
media (table S2).
There was variation in enjoyment in our
studies, and we included several individual dif-
ference measures to investigate what sort of
person enjoys thinking the most (summarized
in table S3). The variables that consistently pre-
dicted enjoyment across studies were items from
two subscales of the Short Imaginal Process
Inventory (11). The Positive Constructive Day-
dreaming subscale (e.g., My daydreams often
leave me with a warm, happy feeling)corre-
lated positively with enjoyment, and the Poor
Attentional Control subscale (e.g., Itendtobe
easily bored)correlatednegativelywithenjoy-
ment. None of the other correlations exceeded
0.27 (table S3).
So far, we have seen that most people do not
enjoy just thinkingand clearly prefer having
something else to do. But would they rather do
an unpleasant activity than no activity at all? In
study 10, participants received the same instruc-
tions to entertain themselves with their thoughts
in the laboratory but also had the opportunity
to experience negative stimulation (an electric
shock) if they so desired. In part 1 of the study,
participants rated the pleasantness of several
positive stimuli (e.g., attractive photographs)
and negative stimuli (e.g., an electric shock). Par-
ticipants also reported how much they would
pay to experience or not experience each stim-
ulus again, if they were given $5. Next, partic-
ipants received our standard instructions to
entertain themselves with their thoughts (in this
case for 15 min). If they wanted, they learned,
they could receive an electric shock again during
the thinking period by pressing a button. We
went to some length to explain that the pri-
mary goal was to entertain themselves with
their thoughts and that the decision to receive
a shock was entirely up to them.
Many participants elected to receive nega-
tive stimulation over no stimulationespecially
men: 67% of men (12 of 18) gave themselves
at least one shock during the thinking period
[range = 0 to 4 shocks, mean (M)=1.47,SD=
1.46, not including one outlier who adminis-
tered 190 shocks to himself], compared to 25%
of women (6 of 24; range = 0 to 9 shocks, M=
1.00, SD = 2.32). Note that these results only
include participants who had reported that they
would pay to avoid being shocked again. (See
the supplementary materials for more details.)
The gender difference is probably due to the
tendency for men to be higher in sensation-
seeking (12). But what is striking is that simply
being alone with their own thoughts for 15 min
was apparently so aversive that it drove many
participants to self-administer an electric shock
that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid.
Why was thinking so difficult and unpleasant?
One possibility is that when left alone with
their thoughts, participants focused on their
own shortcomings and got caught in ru-
minative thought cycles (1316). Research shows,
however, that self-focus does not invariably lead
to rumination (17), a finding that was confirmed
in our studies. At the conclusion of the thinking
period, we asked participants to describe what
they had been thinking about, and we analyzed
these reports with linguistic analysis software
(18). There was no relationship between the ex-
tent of self-focus (as assessed by the use of first-
person personal pronouns) and participants
use of positive-emotion words, negative-emotion
words, or reported enjoyment of the thinking pe-
riod correlations = 0.033, 0.025, and 0.022, re-
spectively; 218 participants, ns) (see table S4 for
other results of the linguistic analyses).
Another reason why participants might have
found thinking to be difficult is that they simul-
taneously had to be a script writerand an
experiencer;thatis,theyhadtochooseatopic
to think about (Ill focus on my upcoming sum-
mer vacation), decide what would happen
(Okay, Ive arrived at the beach, I guess Ill lie
in the sun for a bit before going for a swim), and
then mentally experience those actions. Perhaps
people would find it easier to enjoy their thoughts
if they had time to plan in advance wh at they
would think about. We tested this hypothesis in
studies 1 to 7. Participants were randomly assigned
to our standard thinking periodcondition (the
results of which are shown in Table 1) or to condi-
tions in which they first spent a few minutes
planning what they would think about. We tried
several versions of these prompted fantasyinstruc-
tions (summarized in table S1) and found that
none reliably increased participantsenjoyment
of the thinking period. Averaged across studies,
participants in the prompted fantasy conditions
reported similar levels of enjoyment as did partic-
ipants in the standard conditions [M=4.97ver-
sus 4.94 (SDs = 1.80, 1.84), t(450) = 0.15, ns].
There is no doubt that people are sometimes
absorbed by interesting ideas, exciting fantasies,
76 4JULY2014VOL 345 ISSUE 6192 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
Table 1. Reactions to the thinking periodunder different conditions.
Measure
Studies 1 to 6:
In the lab
(n=146)
Study 7:
At home
(n=44)
Study 8: At home
Standard
thought
instructions
(n=15)
External
activities
(n=15)
Enjoyment* SD
M
1.77
5.12
1.95
4.35
2.23
3.20
1.91
6.87
Hard to concentrateSD
M
2.23
5.04
1.72
6.09
2.28
6.07
2.01
2.80
Mind wanderingSD
M
1.92
6.86
1.85
7.14
1.80
6.67
2.66
3.67
*Mean of three items, each answered on nine-point scales: How enjoyable and entertaining the thinking
period was and how bored participants were (reverse-scored). Cronbachsalpha=0.89. Extent to
which participants reported that it was hard to concentrate on what they chose to think about (nine-point
scale; the higher the number, the greater the reported difficulty). Extent to which participants
reporte d that their mind wandered during t he thinking period (nine-point scale; the hig her the n umber, the
greater the reported mind-wandering).
RESEARCH |REPORTS
and pleasant daydreams (1921). Research has
shown that minds are difficult to control (8,22),
however, and it may be particularly hard to
steer our thoughts in pleasant directions and
keep them there. This may be why many people
seek to gain better control of their thoughts with
meditation and other techniques, with clear ben-
efits (2327). Without such training, people prefer
doing to thinking, eve n if what they are doing is
so unpleasant that they would normally pay to
avoid it. The untutored mind does not like to be
alone with itself.
REFERENCES AND NOTES
1. M. E. Raichle et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98,676682
(2001).
2. R. L. Buckner, J. R. Andrews-Hanna, D. L. Schacter, Ann. N. Y.
Acad. Sci. 1124,138 (2008).
3. J. R. Andrews-Hanna, Neuroscientist 18,251270 (2012).
4. M. H. Immordino-Yang, J. A. Christodoulou, V. Singh, Perspect.
Psychol. Sci. 7,352364 (2012).
5. M. F. Mason et al., Science 315,393395 (2007).
6. American Time Use Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Department of Labor: www.bls.gov/tus/home.htm#data
(2012).
7. R. L. McMillan, S. B. Kaufman, J. L. Singer, Front. Psychol. 4,
626 (2013).
8. J. Smallwood, J. W. Schooler, Psychol. Bull. 132,946958
(2006).
9. M. A. K illin gswor th, D. T. G ilber t, Science 330,932(2010).
10. M. S. Franklin et al., Front. Psychol. 4,583(2013).
11. G. J. Huba, J. L. Singer, C. S. Aneshensel, J. S. Antrobus,
Short Imaginal Processes Inventory: Manual (Research
Psychologists Press, Port Huron, MI, 1982).
12. J. W. Roberti, J. Res. Pers. 38,256279 (2004).
13. S. Duval, R. A. Wicklund, ATheoryofObjectiveSelf-Awareness
(Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1972).
14. R. F. Ba umei ster, Escaping the Self (BasicBooks, New York,
1991).
15. M. Leary, The Curse of the Self (Oxford Univ. Press, New York,
2004).
16. S. Nolen-Hoeksema, B. E. Wisco, S. Lyubomirsky, Perspect.
Psychol. Sci. 3,400424 (2008).
17. N. Mor, J. Winquist, Psychol. Bull. 128,638662 (2002).
18. J. W. Pennebaker, R. J. Booth, M. E. Francis, LIWC2007: Linguistic
Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC.net, Austin, TX, 20 07).
19. J. L. Singer, Daydreaming: An Introduction to the
Experimental Study of Inner Experience (Random House, New
York, 1966).
20. J. L. Singer, Am. Psychol. 30,727738 (1975).
21. E. Klinger, Daydreaming (Tarcher, Los Angeles, CA, 1990).
22. D. M. Wegner, Psychol. Rev. 101,3452 (1994).
23. P. Grossman, L. Niemann, S. Schmidt, H. Walach, J. Psychosom.
Res. 57,3543 (2004).
24. S. G. Hofmann, P. Grossman, D. E. Hinton, Clin. Psychol. Rev.
31,11261132 (2011).
25. A. G. Harvey, S. Payne, Behav. Res. Ther. 40,267277
(2002).
26. B. Baird et al., Psychol. Sci. 23,11171122 (2012).
27. J. W. Schooler et al., Psychol. Learn. Motiv. 60,133
(2014).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We acknowledge the support of NSF grant SES-0951779. The data
from all studies can be accessed at https://osf.io/cgwdy/files/.
We thank J. Coan for his help with study 10 and E. Winkler, the
pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, for his help in
recruiting participants for study 9.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6192/75/suppl/DC1
Materials and Methods
Additional Analyses across Studies
Fig. S1
Tables S1 to S4
References (2840)
14 Janua ry 2014 ; accep ted 10 Ju ne 2014
10.1126/science.1250830
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change and wind
intensification in coastal
upwelling ecosystems
W. J. Sydeman,
1
*M. García-Reyes,
1
D. S. Schoeman,
2
R. R. Rykaczewski,
3
S. A. Thompson,
1,4
B. A. Black,
5
S. J. Bograd
6
In 1990, Andrew Bakun proposed that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations would
force intensification of upwelling-favorable winds in eastern boundary current systems
that contribute substantial services to society. Because there is considerable disagreement
about whether contemporary wind trends support Bakunshypothesis,weperformeda
meta-analysis of the literature on upwelling-favorable wind intensification. The preponderance
of published analyses suggests that winds have intensified in the California, Benguela,
and Humboldt upwelling systems and weakened in the Iberian system over time
scales ranging up to 60 years; wind change is equivocal in the Canary system. Stronger
intensification signals are observed at higher latitudes, consistent with the warming pattern
associated with climate change. Overall, reported changes in coastal winds, although subtle
and spatially variable, support Bakunshypothesisofupwellingintensificationineastern
boundary current systems.
Ineasternboundarycurrentsystems(EBCSs),
coastal upwelling fuels high productivity,
supporting vast and diverse marine popula-
tions. With a surface area of only ~2% of the
global oceans, EBCSs provide upward of 20%
of wild marine-capture fisheries (1)aswellas
essential habitat for marine biodiversity (2).
Understanding upwelling variability is also key
to assessments of marine ecosystem health, in-
fluencing factors such as ocean acidification and
deoxygenation (35). Although the ecological
relevance of upwelling is clear, the future of up-
welling under anthropogenic climate change is
not (68). In 1990, Andrew Bakun hypothesized
that global warming could result in steeper tem-
perature and sea-level pressure gradients be-
tween the oceans and the continents, causing
alongshore upwelling-favorable winds to inten-
sify (6). Although the increase in global tem-
peratures is unquestioned (7), its influence on
upwelling-favorable winds remains uncertain.
In an attempt to resolve disagreement in the
literature concerning the intensification of up-
welling winds, we conducted a preponderance
of evidencemeta-analysis on results from pre-
vious studies that tested Bakunswindintensi-
fication hypothesis. Our meta-analysis focused
on the outcome of Bakunspurportedmechanism:
upwell ing- favo rabl e wind intensification over
the past 6+ decades.
We synthesized results from 22 studies published
between 1990 and 2012, 18 of which contained
quantitative information o n wind trends. Ou r re-
sulting database contains 187 non-independent
wind trend analyses based on time series rang-
ing in duration from 17 to 61 years [tables S1 to
S3 (9)]. We tested whether the evidence from
these studies was consistent (increasing winds)
or inconsistent (weakening winds) with the Bakun
hypothesis. Bakun proposed that winds would
intensify in the upwelling or warm season; i.e.,
May to August in the Northern Hemisphere and
November to February in the Southern Hemi-
sphere. Therefore, we categorized each trend
based on the months averaged for its calculation:
warm seasonor annual(all months). Bakun
surmised that there would be latitudinal varia-
tion in wind trends and predicted that the most
substantial intensification would be in the core
of each EBCS. Therefore, to test for spatial het-
erogeneity in wind trends, we included absolute
latitude in our models (9). We compared results
from observational data and model-data re-
analysis products, because previous research has
shown different trends among these data types
(10,11).
We used logistic regression to model the con-
sistency of wind trends with the Bakun hypothesis.
Although all studies included in our analysis
undertook formal statistical analysis, they used
different analyses and stati stic al app roac hes
and also used a range of significance levels (0.01
to 0.10), many of which were reported only cat-
egorically (9). Consequently, we used a qualitative
approach (table S3) in which we down-weighted
nominally nonsignificant trends to half the weight
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 4JULY2014VOL 345 ISSUE 6192 77
1
Farallon Institute for Advanced Ecosystem Research, Suite
Q, 101 H Street, Petaluma, CA 94952, USA.
2
Faculty of
Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the
Sunshine Coast, Locked Bag 4, Maroochydore DC,
Queensland 4558, Australia.
3
Department of Biological
Sciences and Marine Science Program, University of South
Carolina, 701 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
4
Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington, Box
355674, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
5
Marine Science Institute,
University of Texas, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas,
TX 78373, USA.
6
Environmental Research Division, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southwest
Fisheries Science Center, 1352 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific
Grove, CA 93950-2097, USA.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: wsydeman@comcast.net
RESEARCH |REPORTS
... The enhanced growth performance observed in rabbits receiving Biotronic® supplementation aligns with the findings of Anderson et al. (2016), who investigated the effects of prebiotics on animal growth. Results are in line with the studies conducted by Peterson et al. (2015) and Wilson et al. (2014), which reported increased body weight in animals supplemented with β-galacto-oligosaccharide. The growth-promoting effects of prebiotic supplementation can be attributed to several mechanisms. Firstly, prebiotics act as substrates for beneficial gut bacteria, promoting their growth and metabolic activity. ...
... Rabbits supplemented with Biotronic® consistently displayed higher body weights compared to those on a basal diet. The growth-promoting effects of prebiotics may be attributed to improved energy utilization, enhanced nutrient absorption, and immunomodulatory effects (Peterson et al., 2015;Wilson et al., 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
The current study investigated the impact of dietary supplementation with β-galacto-oligosaccharides on the improvement of hepatic functions and blood metabolites in physiologically stressed rabbits. A total of 40 rabbits, including both bucks and does aged 3+0.98 months with an average weight of 1.48±0.41 Kg were randomly assigned to five different dietary treatments consisting of 8 rabbits per group in a 12-week trial. The groups included: a notable increase in the maximum body weight was observed. in Group E. Group A exhibited a markedly superior feed intake in comparison to all other groups., while FCR was better for Group E when compared to Groups AD. The comprehensive findings indicate that adding beta galacto oligosaccharide to a diet can improve daily weight gain, hepatic functions and blood metabolites for better health outcomes, especially under stressful conditions. Practical applications in animal nutrition and further investigation across various species and stress models are warranted.
... Finalmente, los entrevistados mencionan en un relato interesante y ameno, que hablar de las emociones en su proceso docente es muy sanador, y participar de esta investigación los ayudó a revelar emociones que estaban contenidas y mencionar procesos que marcan su día, que se invisibilizan con el diario convivir. Esto resulta interesante debido a que podrían incorporarse instancias de apoyo emocional como lo es la práctica de meditación, como estrategia de intervención docente, debido a los beneficios en la salud que posee (Gao et al., 2023;Wilson et al., 2014). ...
Article
El presente artículo de investigación cualitativa indaga en el proceso de enseñanza y el vínculo emocional de un grupo de docentes de la asignatura de física, impartida en el departamento de ciencias físicas en una universidad privada chilena. El objetivo del estudio fue mostrar las experiencias emocionales de un grupo de docentes en el área de física universitaria, en contexto de su trabajo, considerando las características con las que se desarrollaba su docencia. Se implementaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a seis docentes vinculados a cátedras de ciencias físicas. Los resultados, mediante un análisis de contenido realizado al corpus de las entrevistas, señalan que existe una percepción de ansiedad relacionada con la escasez de herramientas de apoyo con las que se desarrolla la docencia, junto a un agotamiento debido a la adopción de enfoques tradicionales en la enseñanza de la física, falta de apoyo emocional y percepciones de descuido en el proceso de enseñanza. Se espera que estos elementos sean considerados para propiciar un clima de apoyo y contención emocional a los docentes de física universitaria.
... The results of one of the multiple studies included in Wilson et al. (2014) gained a great deal of attention in the popular press because in that study some of the participants who were simply asked to entertain themselves only by thinking for 15 min, after being deprived of other means of distraction, self-administered electric shocks to themselves-shocks that they had stated previously they would pay to avoid. Because the Wilson et al.'s (2014) study has received some criticism (e.g., Fox, Thompson, et al., 2014), it is important to note that the selfadministered shock finding was soon after replicated in at least two other independent studies (Havermans et al., 2015;Nederkoorn et al., 2016), which employed longer and more monotonous (i.e., boring) conditions. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this article, I propose a novel theory to explain the possible physiological origins of the relatively mild mental pain that is often labeled as boredom and possibly loneliness or a negative mood, depending on one’s situation. My admittedly speculative hypothesis is that most people in modern societies are beset by a chronic level of diffuse nociception (DN), due to the lingering effects of past stressors. For most people, most of the time, their DN is mild enough to be kept out of conscious awareness by various distractions. However, when people are deprived of all their usual distractions, DN may enter awareness and provoke a feeling of pain without being associated with any noticeable bodily sensation to which the pain can be localized. Thus, the discomfort is experienced as mental pain. It follows that whatever can reduce DN and/or keep it out of awareness will be positively reinforced, leading to an addiction to various distractions, including mind wandering. In support of my theory, I discuss research on how the activity of well-known neural networks serves to regulate the intensity of physical, as well as mental, pain. I also discuss individual differences in DN and their relationship to boredom proneness and neuroticism. Finally, I describe how stress reactions can create DN, how psychological factors can mitigate mental pain, and how chronic stress reactions may begin early in human development.
... Academic boredom results in lower motivations to learn, poorer grades, and reduced academic effort and interest [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] . Behaviourally, momentary experiences of boredom can trigger sadistic aggression 5,53 , unhealthy snacking 54,55 , risk-taking 42 , ingroup favouritism, outgroup devaluation 56 , political polarization 32 , selfadministering electric shocks 54,57,58 , as well as self-administering aversive sounds despite the presence of a positive alternative 59 . Chronic experience of it is linked to poorer self-control 60,61 , binge drinking 62 , and rule-breaking 63,64 . ...
Article
Full-text available
In an era where entertainment is effortlessly at our fingertips, one would assume that people are less bored than ever. Yet, reports of boredom are higher now than compared to the past. This rising trend is concerning because chronic boredom can undermine well-being, learning, and behaviour. Understanding why this is happening is crucial to prevent further negative impacts. In this Perspective, we explore one possible reason—digital media use makes people more bored. We propose that digital media increases boredom through dividing attention, elevating desired level of engagement, reducing sense of meaning, heightening opportunity costs, and serving as an ineffective boredom coping strategy.
... In these contexts, mind wandering is operationalized by the degree of task unrelatedness. The general consensus from these studies is that attention state predicts subsequent mood (Marchetti et al., 2012;Ruby et al., 2013;Wilson et al., 2014), specifically, greater task unrelatedness at time 0 predicts poorer mood at time 1 (noting that Ruby et al. observed a "two-way" street, in that poorer mood at time 0 also predicts greater task unrelatedness at time 1). However, several criticisms have arisen regarding the generalizability of findings regarding task-unrelated thoughts induced in a laboratory setting compared to other forms of naturally occurring mind wandering (e.g., see Murray et al., 2020). ...
Article
Full-text available
The current research represents one of the first attempts to investigate how various thought qualities that naturally fluctuate across attention states (i.e., mind wandering vs. present-focused attention) impact mood. Of specific interest was whether thought valence may account for previously reported effects of attention state on mood. To examine this, an experience sampling methodology was used to capture participants’ (N = 337) attention state (present or mind wandering), thought valence, and mood 6 times per day for 7 days during daily life (all data collected in 2022–2023). Participants further indicated the form of their thoughts (e.g., inner speech), as well as their clarity and interestingness. This design allowed for a conceptual replication and expansion of Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) in which it was observed that mind wandering leads to relatively poorer mood compared to present-focused attentional states, with the poorest mood for negatively valenced wandering thoughts. Unlike their study, however, we inquired about thought valence for both mind-wandering and present moments. Our findings revealed that the relationship between attention state and mood is substantially accounted for by thought valence, while interestingness and clarity further provided significant, albeit much weaker, indirect effects on mood. Exploratory analyses suggested that the effect of attention state on mood is greatest for older people. Overall, these findings suggest that the commonly reported detrimental impact of mind wandering on mood may largely be accounted for by certain confounding variables.
... In many real effort experiments, subjects are given the opportunity to engage in some task with their output labeled as "effort" and they are given no alternative activity to engage in; the only thing a subject must give up to generate output is sitting idly. Existing studies show that subjects in experiments would rather experience painful electric shocks than sit idly for a few minutes (Wilson et al., 2014), indicating that the outside option allowed in these designs likely generates negative utility, or a positive cost. While this may seem an odd result, some real effort designs have unintentionally replicated this finding, e.g. ...
Article
Full-text available
A growing number of studies use “real” effort designs for laboratory experiments where subjects complete an actual task to exert effort rather than using a stylized effort design where subjects simply choose an effort level from a predefined set. The commonly argued reason for real effort is that it makes the results more generalizable and field relevant. We investigate the nature of modeling effort provision by first trying to provide a clear theoretical understanding of the nature of effort costs. We then empirically examine claims about the differences between real effort and stylized effort. A key to our examination is ensuring that we compare the two modes of effort provision keeping effort costs constant, which is a point overlooked in many past examinations. In our data, when controlling for effort costs, we find no differences in behavior between real and stylized effort. Given the importance of effort costs and the lack of a generally accepted way to include them in real effort designs, we provide a simple add-on that any researcher can use with their real effort experiments to incorporate a theoretically appropriate and controlled cost of effort even in a real effort setting. We also discuss ways to better approach modeling effort costs in experiments, whether one is conducting real or stylized designs, to improve inference on research questions.
Chapter
Motivation science is a field that delves into the very core of what drives us—why we do what we do. It's a field that bridges several disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, economics, and even sociology. Researchers in this field are fascinated by the question of what makes people tick. In particular, they focus on understanding what motivates us and how we deal with challenges. Researchers investigate in depth the desires, needs, and goals that propel humans into action, and what processes they go through to translate those motivations into behaviors. They are also looking at how people persevere and overcome obstacles to achieving their goals.
Article
Although solitude is a common experience in daily life, empirical research on its effects is scarce and challenging to interpret. Here, we propose a methodological framework to study solitude and highlight its value in understanding the link between solitude and well‐being. First, we advocate for clear conceptualization and operationalizations of solitude and provide recommendations for how to achieve these objectives. Second, we tease apart various dimensions of solitude, including its duration and underlying motivational, emotional and cognitive qualities. Finally, we integrate research from various subfields of psychology (e.g., social‐personality, clinical, developmental) and summarize the nuanced and complex relationship between solitude and well‐being, which depends on the specific dimensions being studied. Taken together, we hope the proposed framework will equip the next generation of researchers with a systematic methodology for studying solitude and ultimately facilitate more productive research in this domain.
Article
For the last century, the roadway design paradigm has been grounded in the physics of point masses, adjusted for human limitations. However, this is inadequate to assure pedestrian safety in complete streets where vehicle kinematics no longer control. Instead, social and psychological factors manage behavior. Unfortunately, the appropriate design critical psychological principles have yet to be elucidated. We posit that interpersonal perception governs drivers’ behavior, attentiveness and speed in streets. This is bounded by previously delineated human neurological and perceptual propensities. Using these perceptual limitations as postulates in a geometric style proof, we derive the person perception panorama (PPP): a window of interactivity around the moving driver that is continuously monitored for human presence, roughly 60 to 90 feet wide. In this area interpersonal interaction is implicit, functional, and has an impact on driver behavior. Validating evidence, additional governing principles, and an initial speed prediction formula are also included.
Preprint
Full-text available
Boredom is a common experience in daily life, yet it has been largely overlooked in the context of sports and exercise. This neglect is perplexing, especially considering that endurance sports can have characteristics conducive to boredom. To fill this gap, we investigated boredom in endurance sports, along with its antecedents and consequences, through the lens of control-value theory (CVT). In a study involving 667 recreational runners and cyclists, we found support for CVT’s predictions. Specifically, lower levels of self-concept, greater levels of underchallenge and overchallenge, as well as lower levels of value were all linked to increased boredom. In turn, higher levels of boredom were associated with more negative psychological (e.g., less satisfaction) and behavioral consequences (e.g., reduced training). Few differences emerged between runners and cyclists, and these differences were primarily in the magnitude of effects. Overall, our research demonstrates that CVT is a promising theoretical framework for studying boredom in sports and exercise. Conversely, endurance sports provides a natural environment in which people experience boredom, and studying boredom in this context might thus provide novel insights into boredom research and CVT. This perspective also suggests actionable insights for practitioners and researchers to mitigate boredom more effectively.
Article
Full-text available
We developed a multidimensional coping inventory to assess the different ways in which people respond to stress. Five scales (of four items each) measure conceptually distinct aspects of problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support); five scales measure aspects of what might be viewed as emotion-focused coping (seeking of emotional social support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, denial, turning to religion); and three scales measure coping responses that arguably are less useful (focus on and venting of emotions, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement). Study 1 reports the development of scale items. Study 2 reports correlations between the various coping scales and several theoretically relevant personality measures in an effort to provide preliminary information about the inventory's convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 uses the inventory to assess coping responses among a group of undergraduates who were attempting to cope with a specific stressful episode. This study also allowed an initial examination of associations between dispositional and situational coping tendencies.
Article
Full-text available
A theory of ironic processes of mental control is proposed to account for the intentional and counterintentional effects that result from efforts at self-control of mental states. The theory holds that an attempt to control the mind introduces 2 processes: (a) an operating process that promotes the intended change by searching for mental contents consistent with the intended state and (b) a monitoring process that tests whether the operating process is needed by searching for mental contents inconsistent with the intended state. The operating process requires greater cognitive capacity and normally has more pronounced cognitive effects than the monitoring process, and the 2 working together thus promote whatever degree of mental control is enjoyed. Under conditions that reduce capacity, however, the monitoring process may supersede the operating process and thus enhance the person's sensitivity to mental contents that are the ironic opposite of those that are intended.
Article
Full-text available
A distinction between ruminative and reflective types of private self-attentiveness is introduced and evaluated with respect to L. R. Goldberg's (1982) list of 1,710 English trait adjectives (Study 1), the five-factor model of personality (FFM) and A. Fenigstein, M. F. Scheier, and A. Buss's(1975) Self-Consciousness Scales (Study 2), and previously reported correlates and effects of private self-consciousness (PrSC; Studies 3 and 4). Results suggest that the PrSC scale confounds two unrelated motivationally distinct disposition-rumination and reflection-and that this confounding may account for the "self-absorption paradox" implicit in PrSC research findings: Higher PrSC sources are associated with more accurate and extensive self-knowledge yet higher levels of psychological distress. The potential of the FFM to provide a comprehensive Framework for conceptualizing self-attentive dispositions, and to order and integrate research findings within this domain, is discussed.
Article
Full-text available
Nearly 60 years ago, Jerome L. Singer launched a groundbreaking research program into daydreaming (Singer, 1955, 1975, 2009) that presaged and laid the foundation for virtually every major strand of mind wandering research active today (Antrobus, 1999; Klinger, 1999, 2009). Here we review Singer's enormous contribution to the field, which includes insights, methodologies, and tools still in use today, and trace his enduring legacy as revealed in the recent proliferation of mind wandering studies. We then turn to the central theme in Singer's work, the adaptive nature of positive constructive daydreaming, which was a revolutionary idea when Singer began his work in the 1950s and remains underreported today. Last, we propose a new approach to answering the enduring question: Why does mind wandering persist and occupy so much of our time, as much as 50% of our waking time according to some estimates, if it is as costly as most studies suggest?
Article
Full-text available
The negative effects of mind-wandering on performance and mood have been widely documented. In a recent well-cited study, Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) conducted a large experience sampling study revealing that all off-task episodes, regardless of content, have equal to or lower happiness ratings, than on-task episodes. We present data from a similarly implemented experience sampling study with additional mind-wandering content categories. Our results largely conform to those of the Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) study, with mind-wandering generally being associated with a more negative mood. However, subsequent analyses reveal situations in which a more positive mood is reported after being off-task. Specifically when off-task episodes are rated for interest, the high interest episodes are associated with an increase in positive mood compared to all on-task episodes. These findings both identify a situation in which mind-wandering may have positive effects on mood, and suggest the possible benefits of encouraging individuals to shift their off-task musings to the topics they find most engaging.
Article
Full-text available
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Utilizing sophisticated methodology and three decades of research by the world's leading expert on happiness, Happiness challenges the present thinking of the causes and consequences of happiness and redefines our modern notions of happiness. shares the results of three decades of research on our notions of happiness covers the most important advances in our understanding of happiness offers readers unparalleled access to the world's leading experts on happiness provides "real world" examples that will resonate with general readers as well as scholars Winner of the 2008 PSP Prose Award for Excellence in Psychology, Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers.
Article
Human beings are unique in their ability to think consciously about themselves. Because they have a capacity for self-awareness not shared by other animals, people can imagine themselves in the future, anticipate consequences, plan ahead, improve themselves, and perform many other behaviors that are uniquely characteristic of human beings. Yet, despite the obvious advantages of self-reflection, the capacity for self-thought comes at a high price as people's lives are adversely affected and their inner chatter interferes with their success, pollutes their relationships, and undermines their happiness. Indeed, self-relevant thought is responsible for most of the personal and social difficulties that human beings face as individuals and as a species. Among other things, the capacity for self-reflection distorts people's perceptions, leading them to make bad decisions based on faulty information. The self conjures up a great deal of personal suffering in the form of depression, anxiety, anger, envy, and other negative emotions by allowing people to ruminate about the past or imagine the future. Egocentrism and egotism blind people to their own shortcomings, promote self-serving biases, and undermine their relationships with others. The ability to self-reflect also underlies social conflict by leading people to separate themselves into ingroups and outgroups. Ironically, many sources of personal unhappiness - such as addictions, overeating, unsafe sex, infidelity, and domestic violence - are due to people's inability to exert self-control. For those inclined toward religion and spirituality, visionaries throughout history have proclaimed that the egoic self stymies the quest for spiritual fulfillment and leads to immoral behavior.
Article
The difficulties inherent in obtaining consistent and adequate diagnoses for the purposes of research and therapy have been pointed out by a number of authors. Pasamanick12 in a recent article viewed the low interclinician agreement on diagnosis as an indictment of the present state of psychiatry and called for "the development of objective, measurable and verifiable criteria of classification based not on personal or parochial considerations, but on behavioral and other objectively measurable manifestations."Attempts by other investigators to subject clinical observations and judgments to objective measurement have resulted in a wide variety of psychiatric rating scales.4,15 These have been well summarized in a review article by Lorr11 on "Rating Scales and Check Lists for the Evaluation of Psychopathology." In the area of psychological testing, a variety of paper-and-pencil tests have been devised for the purpose of measuring specific
Chapter
non-commercial research and educational use only. Not for reproduction, distribution or commercial use. This chapter was originally published in the book The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Vol. 60, published by Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the author's benefit and for the benefit of the author's institution, for non-commercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues who know you, and providing a copy to your institution's administrator. All other uses, reproduction and distribution, including without limitation commercial reprints, selling or licensing copies or access, or posting on open internet sites, your personal or institution's website or repository, are prohibited. For exceptions, permission may be sought for such use through Elsevier's permissions site at: