Dynamics of Internal Attention and Internally-Directed Cognition: The Attention-to-Thoughts (A2T) Model

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/3qpgb ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Iftach Amir ◽

Amit Bernstein

Keyword(s):

Dynamic System ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Dynamic Systems ◽

Focused Attention ◽

Dynamic Systems Theory ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Self Reflection ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Attention Selection ◽

Internal Attention

The propensity to focus inward – internal attention – is fundamental to human mental life and internally-directed cognition (IDC) such as mindwandering and (mal)adaptive self-reflection. Yet, our understanding of the mechanisms through which internal attention shapes IDC is limited. We argue that our capacity to predict and model (mal)adaptive IDC may be significantly facilitated through understanding the complexity and dynamics of how internal attention interacts with other cognitive processes from which higher-level IDC emerges. We therefore introduce the Attention-to-Thoughts (A2T) model – a dynamic systems theory and computational model of internal attention in IDC. Through the model we aim to, first, conceptually and computationally define momentary states of this dynamic system; and, second, to simulate and predict differential temporal trajectories of this dynamic system through which IDC emerge. Through a series of experimental simulations, we explore how A2T may be used to better understand how internal attention selection is expressed from moment-to-moment; how the dynamic system of internal attention unfolds by documenting how, as a function of contextual demands for focused attention, internal attentional selection iteratively transacts with working-memory and emotion; and, in turn, how higher-level maladaptive IDC (e.g., repetitive negative thinking, cognitive dyscontrol) emerges from temporal trajectories of the dynamic system of internal attention. Finally, we highlight key conceptual, computational and methodological directions for the study of internal attention, IDC and related phenomena (e.g., mindfulness).

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Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder Show Increased Repetitive Negative Thinking During the Luteal Phase of the Menstrual Cycle

Clinical Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/2167702620929635 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1037-1045

Author(s):

Sophie H. Li ◽

Thomas F. Denson ◽

Bronwyn M. Graham

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Luteal Phase ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Negative Thinking

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic feature of psychiatric disorders. Women report greater RNT than do men, yet the association between uniquely female characteristics, such as fluctuating sex hormones during the menstrual cycle, and RNT has not been established. Here we examined changes in RNT and anxiety symptoms across the menstrual cycle in women with ( n = 40) and without ( n = 41) generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Women with GAD reported an increase in RNT and negative affect from the follicular phase to the luteal phase; unexpectedly, this was not associated with changes in anxiety symptoms, estradiol, or progesterone. Nonanxious women reported no changes in RNT or anxiety symptoms over the menstrual cycle, but higher within-participants progesterone was associated with reduced RNT and negative affect. These results indicate that uniquely female biological processes may influence core cognitive processes that underlie anxiety disorders, but further investigations to determine the implications for symptom severity are required.

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Responses to Affect Subtypes Differentially Associate with Anxious and Depressive Symptom Severity

10.31234/osf.io/epykn ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rebekah J. Mennies ◽

Samantha L. Birk ◽

Julia Case ◽

Thomas M Olino

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

State Anxiety ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Factor Model ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Cognitive Interventions ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Depressive Symptom Severity ◽

Three Factor

Responses to affect include cognitive processes (i.e., perseverative vs. non-perseverative) and valence (i.e., modulation of positive vs. negative affect). However, little research has examined how the factor structure of responses to affect is defined along one or both of these dimensions. The present study conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of items from assessments of repetitive negative thinking, rumination on positive affect (PA), and dampening. We also examined the associations between emergent factors and measures of depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and non-social state anxiety. EFA results suggested a three-factor model of repetitive negative thinking, dampening, and rumination on PA. There was a significant association between repetitive negative thinking and dampening factors, but not between other factors. Repetitive negative thinking and dampening were associated with greater internalizing symptoms, whereas rumination on PA was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms. These findings clarify the structure of these responses to affect and their differential associations with symptoms, which may be used to tailor cognitive interventions for anxiety and/or depression.

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Absorption and Mindfulness Reflect Distinct Patterns of Attentional Control and Self-Related Processing

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000360 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marcus L. Leppanen ◽

Kyungmi Kim

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Self Report ◽

Focused Attention ◽

Cognitive Mechanisms ◽

Self Reflection ◽

External Stimuli ◽

Reflective Processing ◽

Insight Into ◽

Gaining Insight

Abstract. Absorption and mindfulness are personality traits associated with experiencing states of highly-focused attention. Despite this apparent commonality, these two traits have rarely been directly compared, and little is known about what differentiates absorbed from mindful states. The present study explored how individual differences in the cognitive processes of attentional control and self-related processing relate to absorption and mindfulness. Participants completed four self-report measures assessing absorption, mindfulness, style of attentional control over internal/external stimuli, and self-related processing. Absorption and mindfulness were negatively correlated in our sample. Absorption was predicted by a propensity for stimulus-driven attention to external stimuli and frequent engagement in self-reflection without gaining insight into those reflections. Mindfulness was predicted by a propensity for goal-driven attentional control over external stimuli and a tendency to engage in insightful self-reflective processing. Our findings can inform research efforts to further elucidate cognitive mechanisms underlying the relationships of absorption and mindfulness with mental health.

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Using schema theory to support a whole-word approach to phonological acquisition

Cognitive Linguistics ◽

10.1515/cog-2016-0044 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 155-191

Author(s):

Sara Sowers-Wills

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Dynamic Systems ◽

American English ◽

Schema Theory ◽

Dynamic Systems Theory ◽

Phonological Acquisition ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Ambient Language ◽

Whole Word ◽

Analysis Schema

AbstractEarly child phonological acquisition data typically contain exceptional phonetic forms that defy segment-based rules and have long challenged traditional theoretical frameworks. The templatic approach to phonological acquisition claims that whole-word phonotactic patterns emerge as the first primary units of representation, later giving way to segmental knowledge. This approach places importance on the relationships among a child’s forms in addition to those between child forms and their corresponding adult targets. Inscribed within dynamic systems theory, the templatic approach assumes a developing phonological system to be self-organizing and driven by general cognitive processes in response to patterns in the ambient language. This paper analyzes data from a diary study of one monolingual child acquiring American English. Data collected during the first six months of word production were put to templatic analysis, then examined for evidence of schematic structure. Incorporating the chronology of utterances the child produced, analysis revealed varying degrees of abstraction as early patterns integrated with newer patterns. The results reveal schema theory to be an informative supplementary framework for templatic analysis. Schema theory provides a structured way to trace the emergence and interaction of whole-word patterns a child uses to facilitate the production of first words.

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Enacting the aesthetic: A model for raw cognitive dynamics

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11097-021-09737-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carlos Vara Sánchez

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Dynamic Systems ◽

The Body ◽

Dynamic Systems Theory ◽

Cognitive Sciences ◽

Aesthetic Experiences ◽

Cognitive Dynamics ◽

General Experience ◽

The Aesthetic ◽

The Brain

AbstractOne challenge faced by aesthetics is the development of an account able to trace out the continuities and discontinuities between general experience and aesthetic experiences. Regarding this issue, in this paper, I present an enactive model of some raw cognitive dynamics that might drive the progressive emergence of aesthetic experiences from the stream of general experience. The framework is based on specific aspects of John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy and embodied aesthetic theories, while also taking into account research in ecological psychology, cognitive sciences, and dynamic systems theory. The model focuses on dynamically relevant nodes at the pre-reflective and the reflective side of experience that would work as nested rhythmic constraints at different cognitive timescales with the potential to shunt experiences toward the aesthetic in everyday situations. My proposal constitutes a way to explore aesthetic experiences from an enactive perspective that regards them as transformative events in which cognitive processes entrain and are entrained by changes taking place in the environment, the brain, and the body.

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Improving Feeding Outcomes in the NICU: Moving From Volume-Driven to Infant-Driven Feeding

Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) ◽

10.1044/sasd19.3.68 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 68-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Catherine S. Shaker

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Dynamic Systems ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Well Being ◽

Dynamic Systems Theory ◽

Feeding Problems ◽

Care Giving ◽

Extremely Preterm ◽

Extremely Preterm Infants

Current research on feeding outcomes after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) suggests a need to critically look at the early underpinnings of persistent feeding problems in extremely preterm infants. Concepts of dynamic systems theory and sensitive care-giving are used to describe the specialized needs of this fragile population related to the emergence of safe and successful feeding and swallowing. Focusing on the infant as a co-regulatory partner and embracing a framework of an infant-driven, versus volume-driven, feeding approach are highlighted as best supporting the preterm infant's developmental strivings and long-term well-being.

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