The science of mind wandering: empirically navigating the stream of consciousness.
Jonathan Smallwood, Jonathan W. Schooler
Annual Review of Psychology January 3, 2015 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015331 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Mental time travel Meta-awareness Mind wandering Perceptual decoupling Self-generated thought |
| Key findings | Mind wandering involves perceptual decoupling, arises from episodic and affective processes, is regulated by executive control, and has both costs (errors) and benefits (creativity, future planning). |
Abstract
Conscious experience is fluid; it rarely remains on one topic for an extended period without deviation. Its dynamic nature is illustrated by the experience of mind wandering, in which attention switches from a current task to unrelated thoughts and feelings. Studies exploring the phenomenology of mind wandering highlight the importance of its content and relation to meta-cognition in determining its functional outcomes. Examination of the information-processing demands of the mind-wandering state suggests that it involves perceptual decoupling to escape the constraints of the moment, its content arises from episodic and affective processes, and its regulation relies on executive control. Mind wandering also involves a complex balance of costs and benefits: Its association with various kinds of error underlines its cost, whereas its relationship to creativity and future planning suggest its potential value. Although essential to the stream of consciousness, various strategies may minimize the downsides of mind wandering while maintaining its productive aspects.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Brain's Default Mode Network | 2015 | Review | |
| Default Mode Network Activity and Connectivity in Psychopathology | 2012 | Review | |
| 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis | 2023 | Review | |
| On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” | 2012 | Review | |
| The default mode network and social understanding of others: what do brain connectivity studies tell us Healthy subjects, with some studies on patients with autism and psychopathy | 2014 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 168
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 5, 2021
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes Neuroimage February 25, 2015
- The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world Nature Reviews Neuroscience January 22, 2021
and 163 more in the library
Cites 20
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012
- Not all minds that wander are lost: the importance of a balanced perspective on the mind-wandering state Frontiers in Psychology 2013
and 15 more in the library