A sudden lapse of imagination?

1
A sudden lapse of imagination?

• Processing overlap between mind wandering and
  creative thought

Jonathan Smallwood, Research Scientist, META
Lab University of California, Santa Barbara
2
Collaborators

• University of Aberdeen
• Neil Macrae
• Lynden Miles
• Dave Turk
• Louise Phillips
• University of British Columbia
• Kalina Christoff
• Todd Handy
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• Jonathan Schooler
• University of Stirling
• Rory OConnor
• University of Strathclyde
• Marc Obonsawain

3
Attention is the sudden taking possession of the
mind, in clear and vivid form of one of what
seems several simultaneously possible objects or
trains of thought
4
Core Thesis

• Both mind wandering and insight are
• Momentary phenomena
• occur out of the blue
• anecdotally are often only indirectly related to
  the task in hand
• Are personally relevant
• current concerns

5
Overview

• Describe a simple model to understand lapses in
  attention
• Describe the methodologies employed to study mind
  wandering
• Consider theoretical similarities between mind
  wandering and creative thought
• 4. Study comparing the relation between
  subjective reports of mind wandering and creative
  thought

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The Restless Mind

• Mind wandering a failure to constrain attention
  to the task in hand.
• Often (but not always) accompanied by a state of
  introspection
• Task unrelated thought (TUT)
• Stimulus Independent Thought (SIT)

Smallwood Schooler (2006). Psych Bulletin
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Mental states as information flow
Task Relevant Information
Mind wandering is a disruption in the flow of
task relevant information into working memory
Working Memory
Internal Representations
Attention becomes decoupled from the task
Smallwood et al. (2007). Psych Bull Review
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Measuring the wandering mind

• Measures
• Subjective
• Experience sampling
• Objective
• Lapses in the performance of an appropriate task

Relate to an Introspective State? Verifiable at the 3rd person perspective?
Experience Sampling Yes Depends
Behavioral Lapse Depends Yes
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Thought Probe

• Just prior to being asked were you
• On Task
• Press T
• Off Task
• Press O

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Sustained Attention to Response Task
Behavioural Index
Participant is asked to respond to stimuli
presented on the screen (digits 0
-9). Behavioural marker Asked to withhold a
response when the stimulus is an X. Subjective
marker Reports of mental states at thought probes
3
5
7
9
TP
Thought Probe (TP)
Subjective Index
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Experimental Approach

• Measures of mind wandering can be both
• an Independent Variable (IV)
• when we consider the objective precedents of
  mind wandering
• a Dependent Variable (DV)
• when we examine the factors the incline the mind
  to wander.

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Mind wandering a negative moodA case study

• Mind wandering as an IV
• What are the physiological indicators of mind
  wandering? How does this relate to current mood
  levels?
• Mind wandering as a DV
• How do different mood states effect the amount of
  mind wandering?

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Mind Wandering and emotion

• Role of Emotion
• Sad moods may lead to an under commitment of
  attentional resources on the task (Jefferies et
  al., 2008).
• To cope with the aversive nature of negative
  moods, individuals may engage in self reflection
  (Kuhl, 2000).

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Mind wandering DysphoriaMind wandering as an IV

• 40 Participants
• Completed a word learning task
• Measures
• Measure of Depression
• Centre of epidemiological studies inventory
  (CESD)
• Attentional focus (thought probes)
• Physiological arousal
• Heart rate
• Skin conductance level

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Mind wandering as an IV
Measures
Cued recall (Tr _ _ _)
Physiological arousal (SCR, HR)
Subjective Reports of On / Off Task
train snow apple tree TP
t
Smallwood et al. (2007). Cognition Emotion
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Cued Recall
Periods of mind wandering were associated with
fewer correct completions than were periods of on
task processing
Smallwood et al. (2007). Cognition Emotion
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Physiological Measures
Periods when the mind wandered were associated
with a higher skin conductance response (SCR,
right) and faster heart rate (HR, left).
Smallwood et al. (2007). Mind wandering and
dysphoria. Cognition Emotion
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Heart Rate
The greatest increase in heart rate due to mind
wandering was observed in the dysphoric
individuals.
Smallwood et al. (2007). Cognition Emotion
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Shifting moods, wandering mindsMind wandering as
a DV

• 59 Participants watched either a positive,
  negative or neutral film
• Completed a ten minute SART
• Provided retrospective measures of subjective
  experience

Smallwood et al. (in press) Emotion
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Smallwood et al. (under revision) Emotion
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TUT Task Unrelated Thought TRI Task Related
Interference
Smallwood et al. (under revision) Emotion
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MW Mood

• Negative mood leads the mind to wander when faced
  with an undemanding task which requires sustained
  attention
• When in a negative mood, mind wandering entails
  greater physiological arousal

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Theoretical overlap between creativity and mind
wandering

• Mind wandering is an
• elusive momentary phenomenon and so is similar to
  the AHA experience
• related to personally salient events and so is
  similar to the problems upon which creativity is
  focused

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A meta lapse

• Schooler (2002). meta awareness
• An intermittent state in which we take stock of
  the contents of consciousness
• Mind wandering episodes
• begin without recognition (a failure of meta
  awareness)
• ends when we catch ourselves mind wandering
  (engagement of meta awareness)

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Thought Probe

• Just prior to being asked were you
• On Task
• Press O
• Off Task but aware (Tuning Out)
• Press T
• Off Task but unaware (Zoning Out)
• Press Z

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Going AWOL in the brain

• 23 participants
• Completed a SART
• Containing thought probes
• Measured the cortical processing of the task
  using event related potentials

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Sustained Attention to Response Task
Behavioural Index
Participant is asked to respond to stimuli
presented on the screen (digits 0
-9). Behavioural marker Asked to withhold a
response when the stimulus is an X. Subjective
marker Reports of mental states at thought probes
3
5
7
9
TP
Thought Probe (TP)
Subjective Index
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Analysis
Consider the amplitude of the P3 ERP component
prior to being on or off task, using both
behavioural and subjective markers.
Behavioural indicator that participants were on
or off task
4 2 5 8 X
t
Subjective Reports of On / Off Task
9 6 7 1 TP
t
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P3
indexes the extent to which stimulus context is
updated in memory (e.g., Donchin, Coles, 1988)
or more generally, the amount of attentional
resources directed towards that stimulus at time
of presentation (e.g., Kramer Strayer, 1988,
Polich, 1986, Wickens et al., 1983)
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Reduced Cognitive Analysis of the task
environment during Mind-wandering
6 Stimuli Prior to an Error Main Effect (plt0.01)
6 Stimuli Prior to Thought Probe Main Effect
(plt0.05)
Behavioural marker
Subjective marker
Smallwood, et al. (2008). Journal of Cognitive
Neuroscience
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Its the target! Duh!
P300 Amplitude (?volts) Prior to Zoning Out
P300 Amplitude (?volts) Prior to Error
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The curious incident of the wandering mind

• Participants read a Sherlock Holmes novella
• and then answered questions regarding the crime
• Included awareness probes
• Random Intervals
• Inference Critical Episodes (ICES)
• points when a clue to the nature of the crime was
  revealed

Smallwood, et al. (2008). Memory Cognition.
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Who dunnit?
People who zoned out at critical ICE could not
identify the pseudonym used by the villain
Smallwood, et al. (2008). Memory Cognition.
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Temporal Specificity

Unsuccessful Readers
Successful Readers
Ability to identify the villains identity was
specifically related to Zoning Out at ICEs
Smallwood, et al. (2008). Memory Cognition.
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Momentary lapses

• reduces cortical processing of the external world
• impairs text comprehension
• both occur when we lose track of our thoughts

Internal Representations
When the mind wanders we momentarily leave the
here and now
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Mental Time Travel

• Tulving (1985)
• the ability to project oneself mentally into
  either the past or the future
• Prospective cognition is seen as a particularly
  valuable component of human cognition (Schacter
  et al., 2007)
• The self is seen as important resource in
  facilitating our ability to anticipate future
  events known as self-projection (Buckner
  Carroll, 2007)

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Mental Time Travel in Ongoing Thought

• 77 participants
• Measured mind wandering using thought probes
• Prospective / Retrospective TUT
• Completed three tasks
• Simple working memory
• Choice Reaction Time
• Passive viewing

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Temporal Focus Probe

• Just prior to being asked were you
• Thinking in the here and now
• (Press H)
• Thinking about a personal event in the future
• (Press F)
• Thinking about a personal event from the past
• (Press P)

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A Prospective Bias to Mind Wandering
Task Environment
Participants were inclined to consider the future
when the task did not involve continuous
monitoring.
Smallwood et al., (in press). Consciousness
Cognition
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The Imaginative Lapse?

• 120 Participants
• Read a simple second grade text
• Provided reports of mind wandering
• Probe Caught
• Self Caught
• Completed 3 measures
• Unusual Uses Test
• Remote Associates Test
• Inhibition

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Assessing awareness

• Self Caught / Probe Caught Ratio
• Different methods of reporting mind wandering tap
  into different aspects of the phenomenon
• Probe Caught estimate of mind wandering
• Self caught ability to recognize
• In combination it is possible to stratify
  individuals in terms of these different
  dimensions

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Spontaneous versus Deliberate?
Participants who tend to Self catch their minds
wandering, say they are zoning out when caught at
probes.
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Remote Associates Test
The Probe Caught Ratio did not vary with
performance on the RAT (LEFT) but did predict UUT
performance (BELOW)
Participants who tended to catch their minds
wandering but were not caught at probes produced
the most solutions to the UUT (LEFT)
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Spontaneous versus deliberate lapses in
imagination?

• Engaging in spontaneous mind wandering (Zoning
  Out) combined with the ability to recognize (Self
  Catching) is related to successful completions on
  the UUT.

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Final thought.

• Next time you catch yourself mind wandering at a
  dull cognitive talk, try to remember what it is
  that you were thinking about