New perspectives on mind-wandering
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New perspectives on mind-wandering
Springer, c2022
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Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In the last decade, a great variety and volume of scholarly work has appeared on mind-wandering, a mental process involving a vast range of human life, connected with "first-person perspective" and "personhood", submental thinking, mental autonomy, etc. While different and emerging features that flow into and out of one another (second field, mental travel, visual imagery, inner speech, unspecific memory, autobiographical memory, fantasies, introspection, etc.) and negative and positive approaches seem to describe mind-wandering, we offer an interdisciplinary theoretical and empirically informed and informative overview on mind-wandering studies and methodologies oriented toward the educational field. The aim is to transform and enrich the debate on mind-wandering but also to show how theoretical arguments and research findings could inform the teaching-learning context.
This groundbreaking book, moves along three representations of developed scientific knowledge: imaginary lines, circles and spirals. The first section, "The Lines", develops new lines of inquiry on attention (selective and sustained) and mind-wandering, the influence of age and mind-wandering, embodiment, consciousness and experience and mind-wandering. In the second section, the "Circles", groups of Chapters on the same topic, methodology (tasks and measurement), intervention (auditory beat stimulation and mindfulness practices) and creativity, recreate a dance of interacting parts in which there are always profitable, decisive and retroactive exchanges between the information that each group or author activates. The last section, "The Spirals", critically discusses the absence of a unified theoretical perspective, in the pedagogical field, attentive both to the processes of emergence and the interactions between parts.
Table of Contents
- Section 1: Theoretical Issues on Mind-wandering Chapter 1: The bored and the restless: Boredom, attentional lapses, and mind wandering. Authors: Jennifer Windt & Thomas Andrillon. Keywords: attentional lapses, boredom, mind wandering, mind blanking, ADHD Chapter 2: Why mind-wandering interesting for Philosophers? Author: Thomas Metzinger Keywords: mental autonomy, mind- wandering, philosophy of mind, self- knowledge, consciousness, Chapter 3: The mind wanders: Where does it go, and how are we affected when it returns? Authors: Jared Weintraub, Hofstra University Scott Dust, Miami University Keywords: mind wandering, flow, mindfulness, performance Description: A growing body of research explores how varying states of consciousness -- mind wandering, flow, mindfulness -- affect employee performance and well-being in the workplace. To date, very little research has examined these states through a holistic lens. In this chapter, we offer a dynamic model of workplace states, which acknowledges the fluid nature of these phenomena, and how they may be intertwined. In particular, we review prior literature on the subject, offer suggestions for future research questions, and make recommendations on methodological approaches for investigating said research questions. Chapter 4: A Gestalt psychologist's view on mind-wandering Author: Dr. Gerhard Stemberger, Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA) Keywords: Gestalt psychology, multiple-field-approach, experimental phenomenology Preliminary description: Gestalt psychology offers a specific view on the phenomena of mind-wandering. Based on experimental phenomenological research it was possible to identify the conditions that determine phenomena such as mind-wandering and related processes. This also allows for an appropriate appreciation of the possibilities that this human ability offers in different situations. Chapter 5: Where, why and when our mind wanders? Author and Affiliation: Guillaume PEPIN, University of Lyon, Lyon, France
- Lafont Alex, ISAE-SUPAERO Keywords: Mind wandering, Inattention, Education, Thoughts Description: Daily, our minds wander a lot and we are often devolved from the task we should be focused on. Mind Wandering (MW) is damaging for tasks requiring sustained attention. Although MW can be beneficial, it is often detrimental by impairing current task performance. Recent findings seem to indicate that our mind do not escape from the here and now in a lawless way. Most of our off-task thoughts are future-oriented and emotionally neutral. In the future, digging into off-task characteristics might be a good way to better understand the modulation of the disruptiveness of MW, particularly in a learning context. Chapter 6: Mind wandering, mindfulness and the contemplative mind: informing education in agency Oren Ergas, Faculty of Education, Beit Berl College Keywords: education, mind, contemplation, agency, mindfulness Abstract: The concept of mind-wandering and its research have grown substantially in the past decade with some implications drawn from this field to education. Given that mind-wandering occurs a lot, including (and maybe even more) in schools, and given that it has been found to shape our behaviors and sense of identity and well-being - it is argued that education should become more interested in such inner processes, that essentially school us from within. One particular theme of interest in this respect concerns the nexus of agency, mind-wandering and education. As interpreted in this proposed chapter, we do not choose to mind-wander, rather we find ourselves wandering. This puts into question who/what is the agent behind these shifts? In moment (a) we are on task, in phase (b) we wander, and in (c) we find ourselves having wandered upon which we surmise that (b) had occurred. In this chapter I analyze these different moments/phases in relation to the concepts of thinking, awareness, mind-wandering and mindfulness. I then argue that cultivating understanding of these natural phenomena must be part of any curriculum because it teaches us to understand the limits of our own agency, and over what we can practice that agency. This discussion raises moral questions for educators as to how much we can be held responsible for our actions if we have little control over our wandering habits. It leads us to consider whether practices, such as mindfulness that generally have been found to reduce mind-wandering and cultivate agency over our attentional faculties, should not be given center stage in the curriculum. Chapter 7: Is a wandering mind an unhappy mind? Creativity and Resistance as an unavoidable process of crossing borders Authors: Pablo Fossa, Faculty of Psychology Universidad del Desarrollo Nicolas Marchant School of Psychology Universidad Adolfo Ibanez Nicolas Gonzalez Faculty of Psychology Universidad del Desarrollo Description: In recent years, research on mind-wandering has increased. Much of this scientific evidence has shown the negative effects of mind-wandering, such as everyday accidents, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and concentration and learning problems in educational processes. Although there is scientific evidence of the positive aspects of mind-wandering, this is still scarce in the literature. In 2010, Killingsworth & Gilbert published a study in which they correlated mind-wandering with a low level of subjective well-being. In this chapter, we propose the important role of mind-wandering in creative processes and its resistance function to cross personal borders. Chapter 8: Keeping an Open Mind about Mind Wandering: Art, Technique, and Education Author: Davood Gozli Keywords: Imagination, Technique, Innovation, Goal Hierarchies, Education Description: As human beings, our concerns go beyond our immediate goals and tasks. We are also at least potentially concerned with "why" and "how" questions. "Why" questions lead us to reflect and re-examine our superordinate goals, and "how" questions lead us to reflect and re-examine our subordinate goals and actions. Both types of reflection can lead to disengagement from immediate tasks and both can de-stabilize and change our tasks. Inspired by Gilbert Simondon and Alva Noe, I consider the possibility of imaginative reflections, driven by "why" and "how" questions, and their possible accommodation within a framework of mind wandering. Session 2: Methodology and methods at school Chapter 9: Measuring Mind Wandering During Learning Author: Myrthe Faber, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Keywords: Mind Wandering
- Reading
- Eye Tracking
- Neural Signatures
- Machine Learning Description: Most studies in the field of mind wandering research rely on self-reports of this phenomenon. However, a recent emergent line of research has established methods of measuring mind wandering from other sources, such as eye gaze and neural data. I will review methods for measuring mind wandering, and convergence across them, and I will discuss implications for measuring mind wandering in education. Chapter 10: Objective measures of mind wandering in interactive environments: Behavioral and (neuro)physiological correlates of spontaneous thought. Authors: Mariana Rachel Dias da Silva - Tilburg University, School of Humanity and Digital Sciences, Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Diogo Antonio de Andrade Branco, University of Minho, School of Psychology, Psychological Neuroscience Lab Keywords: mind wandering, attention, embodied cognition, interactive environments Description: Often defined as a decoupling of thought from the external environment into a focus on internal thoughts and feelings, mind wandering is characteristic to our human existence. It enables us to dwell on the past, plan for the future, and navigate this world without having to physically displace ourselves from where we are. It enables us to be creative and to generate ideas that can yet (and already did) change the world. Despite being such a fascinating and beneficial aspect of our humanity, at times, mind wandering proves to be detrimental to learning, productivity, and efficiency. For example, in a classroom environment, in which focused attention is important for learning, if a student's mind wanders excessively, it is likely that they will miss critical information for developing a particular subject or ability. Because of this, a valuable line of research focuses on uncovering behavioral and neuro(physiological) measures for detecting mind wandering in order to eventually bring attention back to the external environment. In this chapter, we will outline the value of using objective measures for predicting mind wandering in interactive environments and will highlight relevant studies which have already been conducted along with potential future directions. Chapter 11: Modulation of mind wandering and its neural correlates by non-invasive brain stimulation: a psychological perspective Authors: Leila Chaieb, Juergen Fell, Florian Mormann and Thomas Reber Keywords: non-invasive brain stimulation, mind wandering, single neuron, memory, learning Author affiliations: Leila Chaieb Ph.D., Clinic for Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Juergen Fell Ph.D., M.A., Clinic for Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Florian Mormann Ph.D., M.D., Clinic for Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Thomas Reber Ph.D. Faculty of Psychology, Swiss Distance University Institute, Brig, Switzerland
- Clinic for Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Chapter 12: Mind Wandering while Reading: A boom or a Bane? Author: Minerva Rajendran Keywords: mind wandering, EEG, mindless reading Absttract: Literature review of both the positive and negative impact of mind wandering while reading. Detailed discussion of methodology and results mentioned in the literature. Would like to propose new research questions at the end of chapter, which could bridge the gap in the existing area of mind wandering. Chapter 13: Conclusion. Towards psychology of Mind-wandering in education Authors: Luca Tateo and Nadia Dario
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