Individual differences and state effects on mind-wandering: Hypnotizability, dissociation, and sensory homogenization

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1097-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Marcusson-Clavertz ◽  
Devin B. Terhune ◽  
Etzel Cardeña
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mind Wandering

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Task-Unrelated Thought in University Classrooms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Kane ◽  
Nicholas Carruth ◽  
John Lurquin ◽  
Paul Silvia ◽  
Bridget Anne Smeekens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Situational Interest ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Media Multitasking ◽  
Final Grade ◽  
Multiple Group ◽  
Course Grades ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
Course Outcomes

This study investigated what academic traits, attitudes, and habits predict individual differences in task-unrelated thought (TUT) during lectures, and whether this TUT propensity mediates associations between academic individual differences and course outcomes (final grade and situational interest evoked by material). Undergraduates (N=851) from 10 psychology classes at two U.S. universities responded to thought probes presented during two early-course lectures; they also indicated sitting in the front, middle, or back of the classroom. At each probe, students categorized their thought content, such as indicating on-task thought or TUT. Students also completed online, academic-self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the course and a situational interest questionnaire at the end. Average TUT rate was 24% but individuals’ rates varied widely (SD=18%). TUT rates also increased substantially from the front to back of the classroom, and modestly from the first to second half of class periods. Multiple-group analyses (with 10 classroom groups) indicated that: (a) classroom media-multitasking habits, initial interest in the course topic, and everyday propensity for mind-wandering and boredom accounted for unique variance in TUT rate (beyond other predictors); (b) TUT rate accounted for unique (modest) variance in course grades and situational interest; and (c) classroom media multitasking and propensity for mind-wandering and boredom had indirect associations with course grades via TUT rate, and these predictor variables, along with initial interest, had indirect associations with end-of-term situational interest via TUT rate. Some academic traits and behaviors predict course outcomes in part because they predict off-task thought during class.

scholarly journals Individual differences in task-unrelated thought in university classrooms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Kane ◽  
Nicholas P. Carruth ◽  
John H. Lurquin ◽  
Paul J. Silvia ◽  
Bridget A. Smeekens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Situational Interest ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Media Multitasking ◽  
Final Grade ◽  
Multiple Group ◽  
Course Grades ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
Course Outcomes

AbstractThis study investigated what academic traits, attitudes, and habits predict individual differences in task-unrelated thought (TUT) during lectures, and whether this TUT propensity mediates associations between academic individual differences and course outcomes (final grade and situational interest evoked by material). Undergraduates (N = 851) from ten psychology classes at two US universities responded to thought probes presented during two early-course lectures; they also indicated sitting in the front, middle, or back of the classroom. At each probe, students categorized their thought content, such as indicating on-task thought or TUT. Students also completed online, academic-self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the course and a situational interest questionnaire at the end. Average TUT rate was 24% but individuals’ rates varied widely (SD = 18%). TUT rates also increased substantially from the front to back of the classroom, and modestly from the first to second half of class periods. Multiple-group analyses (with ten classroom groups) indicated that: (a) classroom media-multitasking habits, initial interest in the course topic, and everyday propensity for mind-wandering and boredom accounted for unique variance in TUT rate (beyond other predictors); (b) TUT rate accounted for unique (modest) variance in course grades and situational interest; and (c) classroom media multitasking and propensity for mind-wandering and boredom had indirect associations with course grades via TUT rate, and these predictor variables, along with initial interest, had indirect associations with end-of-term situational interest via TUT rate. Some academic traits and behaviors predict course outcomes in part because they predict off-task thought during class.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Analysis of Individual Differences in Mind Wandering Content and Consistency

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Welhaf ◽  
Bridget Anne Smeekens ◽  
Paul Silvia ◽  
Matt Ethan Meier ◽  
Thomas Richard Kwapil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Adult Individual ◽  
The Moment

We conducted an exploratory study of adult individual differences in the contents of mind-wandering experiences and in the moment-to-moment consistency of that off-task thought content within tasks. This secondary analysis of a published dataset (Kane et al., 2016) examined the content-based thought reports that 472-541 undergraduates made within five probed tasks across three sessions, and tested whether executive-control abilities (working memory capacity [WMC], attention-restraint ability), or personality dimensions of schizotypy (positive, disorganized, negative), predicted particular contents of task-unrelated thought (TUT) or the (in)stability of TUT content across successive thought reports. Latent variable models indicated trait-like consistency in both TUT content and short-term TUT content stability across tasks and sessions; some subjects mind-wandered about some things more than others, and some subjects were more temporally consistent in their TUT content than were others. Higher executive control was associated with more evaluative thoughts about task performance and fewer thoughts about current physical or emotional states; higher positive and disorganized schizotypy was associated with more fantastical daydream and worry content. Contrary to expectations, executive ability correlated positively with TUT instability: higher-ability students had more shifting and varied TUT content within a task. Post hoc analysis suggested that better executive control predicted inconsistent TUT content because it also predicted shorter streaks of mind-wandering; tuning back in to task-related thought may decouple trains of off-task thought and afford novel, spontaneous, or cued thought content. [Data, sample analysis scripts and output, and manuscript preprint are available via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/guhw7/.]

scholarly journals PCA-based source-space contrast maps reveal psychologically meaningful individual differences in continuous MEG activity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erkka Heinilä ◽  
Aapo Hyvärinen ◽  
Tapani Ristaniemi ◽  
Lauri Parkkonen ◽  
Tiina Parviainen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Behavioral Characteristics ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Specific Method ◽  
List Type ◽  
The Brain

AbstractWithin the field of neuroimaging, there has been an increasing trend towards studying brain activity in naturalistic conditions, and it is possible to robustly estimate networks of on-going oscillatory activity in the brain. However, not many studies have focused on differences between individuals in on-going brain activity that would be associable to psychological or behavioral characteristics. Existing standard methods can perform well at single-participant level, but generalizing the methodology across many participants is challenging due to individual differences of brains. As an example of a clinically relevant, naturalistic condition we consider here mindfulness. Trait mindfulness, as well as a mindfulness-based intervention cultivating focused attention, is often associated with benefits for psychological health. Therefore, the manner in which the brain engages in focused attention vs. mind wandering is likely to associate with individual differences in psycho–behavioral tendencies.We recorded MEG from 29 participants both in a state of focused attention and in a state of simulated mind wandering. We used Principal Component Analysis to decompose spatial average activation maps of focused attention contrasted with two different mind wandering states. The first principal component, which reflected differential engagement of bilateral parietal areas during focused attention vs. mind wandering, was associated with behavioral characteristics of inhibition, anxiousness and depression, as measured by standard questionnaires. We demonstrated that such decomposition of time-averaged contrast maps can overcome some of the challenges in methods based on concatenated data, especially from the perspective of behaviorally and clinically relevant characteristics in the ongoing brain oscillatory activity.HighlightsWe present a specific method to analyse/establish associations between brain oscillations and behavioral characteristics.We found that activity levels in parietal areas during mind wandering compared to focused attention were associated with the behavioral trait of inhibition and anxiety.

scholarly journals Daydream believer: Rumination, self-reflection and the temporal focus of mind wandering content

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 794-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisy Shrimpton ◽  
Deborah McGann ◽  
Leigh M. Riby
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Temporal Perspective ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Temporal Focus ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dispositional Differences

Current research into mind-wandering is beginning to acknowledge that this process is one of heterogeneity. Following on from previous findings highlighting the role of self-focus during mind wandering, the present study aimed to examine individual differences in rumination and self-reflection and the impact such styles of self-focus may have on mind-wandering experiences. Thirty-three participants were required to complete the Sustained Attention Response Task (SART), aimed at inducing mind-wandering episodes, whilst also probing the content of thought in terms of temporal focus. Self-report questionnaires were also administered after the SART to measure dispositional differences in style and beliefs regarding mind-wandering and assessments of individual differences in rumination and self-reflection. Those individuals with reflective self-focus showed a strong positive association with positive and constructive thoughts. Critically, ruminative self-focus was positively associated with a tendency for the mind to wander towards anguished fantasies, failures and aggression, but it was also positively associated with positive and constructive thoughts. Furthermore, while dispositional differences in self-focus showed no relationship with the temporal perspective of thoughts when probed during a cognitive task, performance on the task itself was related to whether participants were thinking about the past, present or future during that activity. Such findings are discussed in line with previous research, and provide a further step towards accounting for the heterogeneous nature of mind-wandering.

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