The Wandering Mind Flashcards
Recall:
Definition of Attention
A spotlight or gatekeeper that shifts or focuses our resources on the external world.
Notice:
When you are awake you have two states:
Attentive and Inattentive
How was mind wondering defined in the 1960s - 1970s?
Mind-wandering was defined more in terms of personality than as a science. We would consider mind wandering as daydreaming and fantasy styles.
The book “The Inner World of Daydreaming was the foundation” of studying the subconscious thoughts.
The Three Core Styles of Daydreaming
- Positive/Constructive: Playful, vivid imagination
- Negative/Guilt: Filled with aggression and failure
- Distracted: Unable to focus, difficulty concentrating
How was daydreaming viewed in the 1990s?
It was explored as the process underlying why we stray from external events.
It was investigated as stimulus-independent thought.
How did we perceived mind-wandering in the 2000s?
In the 2000s a scientific perspective was starting to be used to explore Mind-Wandering.
Moreover, the items mind-wandering was expanded to encompass aspects of attention, cognition, memory and consciousness.
True or False
Mind-wandering happens in various activities and put to 20% to 30% of our waking time.
True
Name 4 ways of measuring Mind Wandering
- Objective methods
- Subjective methods
- Physiological methods
- Neurological methods
Subjective methods
Usually, participants are asked to do a task, then they are interrupted and they are asked if their mind was wandering.
This same process is applied multiple times and is a good method since the tasks can vary and the questions too.
Objective methods
In this case, we are getting further from the idea of introspection. We want an ‘unbiased’ measure of mind wandering.
What usually happens is that participants are asked to complete a sustained attention task during which their reaction time and accuracy are measured.
By using these methods we found that there was a strong correlation between mind wandering and reaction time and accuracy when we would ask the participants if they were mind wandering at a given point in time.
The only problem with this is that we are not directly measuring mind wandering but rather attention.
Physiological methods
- Pupil dilation: Pupils dilation shows a greater cognitive/emotional process. Moreover, pupil dilation tends to happen after an episode of mind wandering.
- Posture/fidgeting: Lower tension at the back of your back and a lot of fidgeting is associated with a greater number of mind wandering episodes.
Neurological methods
During these methods usually, patients just lie in a rest state. Then with something like EEG, the researchers measure the brain activity that activates during mind wandering.
What studies tend to do is to take the measure of a region in the brain and try to map it to the activity in another brain region.
True or False
An increased Mind wandering has a big impact across costs.
True
It is known to disrupt task performance, disrupt processing and is associated with a depressing mood.
What are the increased costs of an increased mind wandering?
- Interferes with sustained attention
- Impairs performance in real-world tasks
- Decreases happiness
What are the increased benefits of mind wandering?
- Enhances creativity
- Facilitates problem solving
Which are the three primary brain networks involved in mind wandering?
- Central Executive control
- Salience Network
- Default Network
The Central Executive Network (CEN)
Typically involved in external focusing:
- Maintenance of attention
- Suppression of impulses
- Conscious Executive control
The Default Network (DN)
Typically involved in internal focusing:
- Memory of one’s past
- Projection into the future
- Self-referential and social processes
The Salience Network (SN)
Typically involved in awareness and refocusing:
- Processing input from multiple sources
- Dynamic switching
The Theories of Mind Wandering
There are primarily two leading theories on how and why mind wandering occurs which are based on the relationship between CEN and DN. These theories are called:
- Executive Failure Hypothesis
- Executive Function Hypothesis
Executive Failure Hypothesis
In this case, we consider mind wandering as a failure of the system to properly regulate or assign attention.
Notice that DN and CEN act as opposites. When a person is focused on a task, the CEN is active and the DN is suppressed. On the other hand, when a person starts to mind wandering, DN is active and CEN suppressed.
What does the Executive Failure Hypothesis suggest?
- Attending to a task: CEN
- Mind Wandering: DN
- Awareness: SN
Executive Function Hypothesis
In this case, we consider mind wandering as a function of the system where CEN and DN work together.
What does the Executive Function Hypothesis suggest?
- Attending to Task: CEN
- Mind Wandering: CEN + DN
- Refocusing: SN
What happens when the DN is impaired?
- Schizophrenia
- Depression
Schizophrenia
Symptoms:
- Distorsion in internal self-reference
- Loss of external perception
- Structural deficits
- Loss of brain integrity
-Reduction on brain matter and overlapping of brain regions
Depression
Symptoms:
- Disorder in the content of thoughts (negative thoughts)
- Excessive focus on negative thoughts
- Prolonged focus on pass events
Hippocampal damage
The hippocampus is involved in:
- Memory for events
- Mental time travel
- Imagery
