%0 Journal Article %1 BAIRD20111604 %A Baird, Benjamin %A Smallwood, Jonathan %A Schooler, Jonathan W. %D 2011 %J Consciousness and Cognition %K mindwandering %N 4 %P 1604 - 1611 %R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2011.08.007 %T Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810011001978 %V 20 %X Given that as much as half of human thought arises in a stimulus independent fashion, it would seem unlikely that such thoughts would play no functional role in our lives. However, evidence linking the mind-wandering state to performance decrement has led to the notion that mind-wandering primarily represents a form of cognitive failure. Based on previous work showing a prospective bias to mind-wandering, the current study explores the hypothesis that one potential function of spontaneous thought is to plan and anticipate personally relevant future goals, a process referred to as autobiographical planning. The results confirm that the content of mind-wandering is predominantly future-focused, demonstrate that individuals with high working memory capacity are more likely to engage in prospective mind-wandering, and show that prospective mind-wandering frequently involves autobiographical planning. Together this evidence suggests that mind-wandering can enable prospective cognitive operations that are likely to be useful to the individual as they navigate through their daily lives.

@article{BAIRD20111604, abstract = {Given that as much as half of human thought arises in a stimulus independent fashion, it would seem unlikely that such thoughts would play no functional role in our lives. However, evidence linking the mind-wandering state to performance decrement has led to the notion that mind-wandering primarily represents a form of cognitive failure. Based on previous work showing a prospective bias to mind-wandering, the current study explores the hypothesis that one potential function of spontaneous thought is to plan and anticipate personally relevant future goals, a process referred to as autobiographical planning. The results confirm that the content of mind-wandering is predominantly future-focused, demonstrate that individuals with high working memory capacity are more likely to engage in prospective mind-wandering, and show that prospective mind-wandering frequently involves autobiographical planning. Together this evidence suggests that mind-wandering can enable prospective cognitive operations that are likely to be useful to the individual as they navigate through their daily lives.}, added-at = {2020-07-10T10:50:52.000+0200}, author = {Baird, Benjamin and Smallwood, Jonathan and Schooler, Jonathan W.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2fe2ff8ca3ec35cf865bcbaf5cb86665f/rebekkas}, description = {Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering - ScienceDirect}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2011.08.007}, interhash = {677d80f1b45af5e56b9520b783231eb0}, intrahash = {fe2ff8ca3ec35cf865bcbaf5cb86665f}, issn = {1053-8100}, journal = {Consciousness and Cognition}, keywords = {mindwandering}, note = {From Dreams to Psychosis: A European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop}, number = 4, pages = {1604 - 1611}, timestamp = {2020-07-10T10:50:52.000+0200}, title = {Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810011001978}, volume = 20, year = 2011 }