Mind-wandering

Common card · No. 320187

Mind-wandering is broadly defined as thoughts that are task-unrelated and stimulus-independent. This can take the form of three different subtypes: positive constructive daydreaming, guilty fear of failure, and poor attentional control. A common understanding of mind-wandering is the experience of thoughts not remaining on a single topic for a long period of time, particularly when people are engaged in an attention-demanding task. One context in which mind-wandering often occurs is driving. This is because driving under optimal conditions becomes an almost automatic activity that can require minimal use of the task positive network, the brain network that is active when one is engaged in an attention-demanding activity. In situations where vigilance is low, people do not remember what happened in the surrounding environment because they are preoccupied with their thoughts. This is known as the decoupling hypothesis. Studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have shown that mind-wandering...

Read on Wikipedia