Researching mind wandering from a first‐person perspective

Abstract

Mind wandering is an inherently inner (or first-person) phenomenon that leaves few direct traces for third-person enquiry. Nonetheless, psychologists often study mind wandering using third-person (e.g., behavioral or neuronal) research methods. And although research-participants may well be asked to introspect on their mind wandering experiences (e.g., via experience-sampling or think-aloud techniques), such introspective self-observations typically lack methodological rigor and are hence of only preliminary value. Here, we argue that it is a missed opportunity to not train researchers to introspect on their own mind-wandering experiences to better understand the associated mental processes. We propose a novel approach to cultivating an educated form of introspection in the study of attentional focusing and mind wandering. Our research adds to the current theoretical understanding by explicating conditions that facilitate mind wandering (e.g., the shifting and broadening of concepts) and help find the way back to the primary task (e.g., commitment; deliberate shifts between focusing and defocusing). /journal/acp approach that we propose will deal with these challenges and also present data from a pilot trial to substantiate this approach. We consider this discussion as an important extension not only to the mindwandering literature but also to the study of various other phenomena in cognitive psychology and beyond, especially with regard to their qualitative (or qualia) components (Mandler, 2005;Shoemaker, 1991). Smallwood and Schooler (2015) identify three challenges to the study of mind wandering, which we take up and connect to in the following sections. The first of these challenges is the difficulty of exercising experimental control over the onset and occurrence of mind wandering; in the absence of such control, it is difficult to identify the precursors or even the triggers of mind wandering, hence complicating a systematic analysis of the characteristics of this psychological state. The second difficulty is the circumstance that as an inherently internal phenomenon, mind wandering constitutes itself in the form of a first-person experience that happens "at its own convenience"and that can only be indirectly inferred from third-person observation.As a matter of fact, given its primarily qualitative or first-person nature, not much is left to the third-person observer of mind wandering to begin with other than the indirect and hence secondary and in fact somewhat peripheral aspects of the mind-wandering phenomenon.Its primary quality is-by its very nature-elusive to a third-person point of view. Related to this, a third challenge lies in the fact that information about mind wandering typically depends on self-report measures that are widely perceived to be subjective and biased and that are claimed to alter the occurrence of the primary phenomenon -here, mind wandering-to begin with (Smallwood & Schooler, 2015).Given the importance and prevalence of mind wandering, substantial efforts have been made nonethe...

Outer and Inner Dimensions of Brain and Consciousness - Refining and Integrating the Phenomenal Layers

“…As already indicated, a crucial point of departure in first-person research is the balanced methodological relation of individually performed and experienced mental action and its transparent description and conceptualization. In accordance with our experience from previous studies ( Weger & Wagemann, 2015a , 2015b ; Weger, Meyer, & Wagemann, 2016 ; Weger, Wagemann, & Meyer, 2018 ), it is reasonable to elaborate a road map in order to clarify the steps of the experimental procedure for the participating researchers and to anchor the ensuing observations in a reproducible setup of elementary forms of mental actions which could serve as a "criterion of performative coherence" ( Petitmengin & Bitbol, 2013 , p. 270). In the context of brain and consciousness, we decided to undertake a perceptual reversal task for two reasons.…”

Avoiding “False Alarms” and “Misses” in Psychological Theory Building: Complementing the Principle of Parsimony With the Principle of Tentative Affirmation

“…But a recent follow-up has shown that when receiving some guidance and training on conducting such introspection more systematically, participants rapidly improve in their ability to conduct meaningful introspections (Petitmengin, Remillieux, Cahour, & Carter-Thomas, 2013). This is why in some existing work a methodological roadmap toward cultivating and practicing a systematic form of first-person, immersive research has been developed and applied to different settings, including attention (Weger & Wagemann, 2015a, 2015b); mindwandering (Weger & Wagemann, 2018); memory (Weger, Wagemann, & Meyer, 2018); the self (Weger, Meyer, & Wagemann, 2016); thinking (Ziegler & Weger, 2018a, 2018b); and other psychological phenomena.…”

Elimination of bias in introspection: Methodological advances, refinements, and recommendations

“…Last, but not least, the methods of introspection are also very helpful for the scientific work itself. Systematic first-person observation enables the generation of novel hypotheses, the illumination of knowledge representation, and systematic and immanent theory building (Weger, Wagemann, & Meyer, 2018b). In emerging scientific fields and theoretical debates, systematic introspective self-observation may bring clarity to the positions that researchers take and stimulate research-guiding insights (Weger & Wagemann, 2015).…”

“…Telephone conferences, personal meetings, or online discussions are considered to be examples of tools that can be used for the intersubjective sharing of introspective insights (e.g. Weger et al, 2018b). Such sharing of one's first-person experience is suggested to be able to prevent the unexpected and involuntary biases that may arise from different expectations and prejudices (Ziegler & Weger 2018a).…”