author: anna abraham...question assumptions regarding daydreaming as an altered state of...

TITLE: TheWanderingMind:WhereImaginationMeetsConsciousness

AUTHOR: AnnaAbraham

AFFILIATION: SchoolofSocialSciences,LeedsBeckettUniversity,UK

CONTACT: ProfessorAnnaAbraham,SchoolofSocialSciences,LeedsBeckettUniversity,

CityCampusCL920,Leeds,LS13HE,UnitedKingdom

Tel: +441138127342

Email:[email protected](or)[email protected]

SpecialIssue: AlteredStatesofConsciousness

Editor: ArneDietrich

Journal: JournalofConsciousnessStudies

ArticleType: TheoreticalArticle

NumberofWords: 6844(includingabstract,keywords&references)

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ABSTRACT

Daydreaming,ortheseeminglyaimlessandinadvertentroamingofthemind,isacommon

experiencethateachofusundergoesseveraltimesadayduringourwakinglives.This

fascinatingphenomenon,whichhasbeendescribedasbeingakintoa“privatetheater”is

typicallyconsideredanalteredstateinrelationtohumanconsciousnessbutisalso

consideredtobeacentraloperationwithintheplaygroundofthehumanimagination.This

paperprovidesaselectiveoverviewoftheliteraturethathighlightsthenecessityto

questionassumptionsregardingdaydreamingasanalteredstateofconsciousness,

daydreamingasafacetoftheimagination,aswellasthetypesandfunctionsof

daydreaming.Indoingso,attentionisdrawntowardscriticalfactorstoconsiderwhen

interpretingfindingsfromthepurviewofeachoftheseperspectivesofstudyonthiscore

humanpropensity.

KEYWORDS

daydreaming;mindwandering;defaultmodenetwork;spontaneouscognition;internal

mentation;restingstate;task-unrelatedthought;stimulus-independentthought;self-

generatedthought;phenomenology;psychology;neuroscience;philosophy

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Weknowthefeelingalltoowell.Onesetsforthtoundertakeanactivitywithaclear

objectiveinmind,likewritingapaperonthetopicofdaydreamingforaspecialissueon

alteredstatesofconsciousness.Afteraperiodofdiligentgoal-directedthoughtandaction,

onefindsoneselfcompletelyoffcourseinanaltogetherdifferentconceptualspace,

mentallyexploringrealmsthathavelittletodowiththeoriginalplanornarrative.Inoneof

hisearliestworksonthetopic,JeromeSingerstatedthat“daydreamingrepresentsashiftof

attentionawayfromsomeprimaryphysicalormentaltaskwehavesetforourselves,or

awayfromdirectlylookingatlisteningtosomethingintheexternalenvironment,towardan

unfoldingsequenceofprivateresponsesmadetosomeinternalstimulus”(Singer,1975:3,

originalitalics).Singerwentontoaverthatdaydreamingis“onemanifestation”ofwhat

WilliamJamesmagnificentlytermedthe“streamofconsciousness”–adeeplyresonant

phrasethatisillustrativeoftwokeyfeaturesofpersonalconsciousness,namelythatthe

statesorcontentsofone’sconsciousnessareever-changing,butthattheexperienceitself

ofone’sconsciousnessisnonetheless“sensiblycontinuous”(James,1891).Thispaper

criticallyexploresthephenomenonofdaydreamingwithreferencetoitsstatusasanaltered

stateofconsciousnessandasamanifestationoftheimagination.Itendswithreflectionson

theconceptualizationssurroundingitsfunctions,mechanisms,andindeeditsverynature.

DaydreamingasanAlteredStateofConsciousness

Theinevitabilityofmentallydriftingawayfromataskoneisperformingisa

phenomenologicalstatethatweroutinelyexperience.Infact,empiricalinvestigations

estimatethatthisinexorablepropensitytodaydream,mindwander,orfallintostatesof

reverieandfantasyoccupies“atleast25-50%ofourwakinglives”(Konishi&Smallwood,

2016).Inrealitythisnumberislikelytobehigherassuchestimatesarelargelyderivedfrom

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experienceorthoughtsamplingparadigmswherestudyparticipantsarepromptedat

intervalsoveranextendedperiodoftimetoreporttheircurrentstatewithregardto

whethertheirmindshavewanderedfromtheactivityathandornot(Kaneetal.,2007;

Killingsworth&Gilbert,2010;Klinger&Cox,1987).Suchprotocolsallowonetorecordthe

numberoftimesapersonhasconfessedtodaydreamingwhenpromptedbutnothow

muchtimehaselapsedinthatstate,whichwouldinanyeventbedifficulttoaccurately

reportgiventhattheexperienceinitselfischaracterizedbyalossorambiguityofthesense

oftime.Moreover,theprompttoreportone’scurrentphenomenologicalstateinandof

itselfrousesthedaydreamingpersonoutofthestateofreverieandtherebycurtailsthe

experienceofmindwandering.Additionalvariabilityisalsointroducedbythefactthatare

differencesinthetypesofcontextsinwhichdaydreamingismorefrequentwith

“praying/worshipping/meditating,”“listeningtotheradio,news,”and“makinglove”

associatedwithlowestoccurrencesofmindwandering(Killingsworth&Gilbert,2010).

Theseareallfactorstobearinmindwhencontemplatingthefrequencyofmindwandering

withinandacrossthedailylivesofindividuals.

Therelativelyhighexperientialfrequencyofdaydreamingormindwanderingindicatesits

normativenatureandthereforealsobegsthequestionastowhythephenomenonis

classifiedasan‘alteredstate’ofconsciousness(Vaitletal.,2005)whenitisonethatwe

routinelyandinevitablyconsciouslyexperienceoverasubstantialperiodofourday-to-day

living.Thispotentiallystemsfromanuncheckedassumptionthatthereisbutone‘standard

state’ofconsciousness,andthatthekeycharacteristicofthisstateisofbeingawareand

alerttoone’sexternalenvironment.Itshouldbenotedthoughthatdaydreamingwasnot

alwaysregardedasanalteredstateofconsciousness.Inoneofthelandmarkpaperswithin

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thisfield,ArnoldLudwig(1966)providedthefollowingdefinitionofalteredstates.“Forthe

purposeofdiscussion,Ishallregard"alteredstate(s)ofconsciousness"[hereafterreferred

toasASC(s)]asanymentalstate(s),inducedbyvariousphysiological,psychological,or

pharmacologicalmaneuversoragents,whichcanberecognizedsubjectivelybythe

individualhimself(orbyanobjectiveobserveroftheindividual)asrepresentingasufficient

deviationinsubjectiveexperienceorpsychologicalfunctioningfromcertaingeneralnorms

forthatindividualduringalert,wakingconsciousness.Thissufficientdeviationmaybe

representedbyagreaterpreoccupationthanusualwithinternalsensationsormental

processes,changesintheformalcharacteristicsofthought,andimpairmentofreality

testingtovariousdegrees”(Ludwig,1966:225,myitalics).Notethatcentraltothisideaof

analteredstatedisthatthereissomethingnon-normativeaboutthephenomenologyatthe

leveloftheindividual.

Indeed,WilliamFarthinginhisseminalbookonconsciousnessexplicitlystatedthe

following:“Daydreamingisdifferentfromactiveexternallyorientedconsciousness,but

becauseitiswithinthenormalrangeofconsciousexperienceitisusuallynotconsideredto

beanASC”(Farthing,1992:203).Thisisbecause,inadditiontowideindividualdifferences

inthepatternsofnormalwakingstates,"theconceptofa"normal"wakingstateof

consciousnessis,inasense,aconvenientfiction.Yourwakingstatecanvarywidelyduring

thecourseofaday,fromanalert,activeexternallyorientedstatetoarelaxedordrowsy,

inner-oriented,daydreamystate"(Farthing,1992:206).Havingsaidthat,thereareparallels

betweenstateofdaydreamingandthatofASCslikemeditation,sleep,drug-inducedstates,

transcendentalandsensorydeprivationexperiences,andthispotentiallyexplainswhy

daydreamingisoftenallocatedtotheASCbandwagon.

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ASCsareidentifiedbyvirtueofchangesinsubjectiveexperienceandpsychological

functioning(Tart,1975)andareassociatedwith14dimensionsofchangedsubjective

experience.Theseincludechangesinattention,perception,innerspeech,memory,higher-

levelthoughtprocesses,imageryandfantasy,themeaningofexperiences,theexperience

oftime,arousal,emotionalfeelingandexpression,self-control,suggestibility,bodyimage,

andsenseofpersonalidentity(Farthing,1992).Someoftheseoverlapwithcommonly

occurringfeaturesofdaydreamingwhichincludeinnerspeech,innerseeing,unsymbolized

thinking,feelingsoraffectiveexperiences,andsensoryawarenessofparticularfacetsofthe

environment(Heavey&Hurlburt,2008).Indeed,thephenomenologicaldimensions

associatedwithdaydreamingarerelaxedactivation(orreducedreadinesstoact),narrow

awarenessspan(orfocusedattentiononsingularcontent),increasedsensorydynamics(or

lowerthresholdsandhyperesthesia)andself-awareness(reflectiveabsorption),allofwhich

aresimilartothatofotherspontaneouslyoccurringASCssuchasnear-deathexperienceand

hypnagogicstates(Vaitletal.,2005).

Phenomenologicallyspeakingthen,daydreamingappearstobeasomewhatspecialcase

becauseitcanbothbeandnotbeanASCdependingonthefocusofanalysisoneadopts.So

oneoftheopenquestionsinthiscontextiswhatisthebestwaytoconceiveof

daydreaming?Perhapsitoccupiesthecentralzoneofthepotentialcontinuumbetween

non-alteredandalteredstatesofconsciousness.Orperhapsaclassificationofthedifferent

typesofstandardornon-alteredstatesofconsciousness(ofwhichdaydreamingisonetype)

needstobeoutlinedasaparalleltothatofalteredstatesofconsciousness.Indeed,thenext

sectionwillhighlighthowanotherlensondaydreamingseesitallocatedwithina

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constellationofimaginativementaloperationsthatistypicallypittedagainstpurportedly

“non-imaginative”counterparts.

DaydreamingasanFacetofImagination

In1997,agroupofneuroscientiststookonanunconventionalapproachwhenexamining

thepatternofbrainactivityelicitedacrossseveralfunctionalbrainimagingdatasetsby

lookingbeyondcustomarybrainactivity‘increases’asafunctionoftaskperformanceby

extendingthefocustobrainactivity‘decreases’inrelationtothesame.Whattheyfound

wasthatasetofbrainregionswasconsistentlylessengagedduringactivegoal-directed

languageandnon-languagetasks(Shulmanetal.,1997).Earlyonthisbrainnetworkwas

thereforereferredtoaska‘task-negative’network(foradiscussiononmisconceptionsthat

stemfromthisphrase,seeSpreng,2012),whichwasmoreactivewhenengagedinpassive

contextsortasksoflowcognitivedemandrelativetotasksofhighcognitivedemand.

Indeed,asthisnetworkwashighlyactiveduringperiodsofrestintheabsenceofexternally

imposedtaskdemands,itwasdubbedthe‘defaultmodenetwork’(DMN)ofthebrainin

thatitreflectedthebaselinepatternoffunctionalbrainactivity(Gusnard,Raichle,&

Raichle,2001;Raichleetal.,2001;Raichle,2015).

Rightattheoutset,therelevanceoftheDMNforself-referentialandreflectivemental

operationswasnoted(Gusnard,Akbudak,Shulman,&Raichle,2001)andfitwithearlier

postulationsconcerningthetypesofoperations(episodic,dreamlike,andsoon)thatwere

likelytobeinvolvedunderconditionsofrestandwouldinfluencebrainactivitypatterns

(Andreasenetal.,1995).TheparticularrelevanceoftheDMNfordaydreamingand

‘stimulus-independentthought’washighlightedasthepropensityformindwanderingwas

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positivelycorrelatedwithactivityinregionswithinthisbrainnetwork(Masonetal.,2007).

Usingretrospectivethoughtsamplingprocedureswhereparticipantswereaskedtoreport

whatoccupiedtheirmindsduringperiodsofrestwhentheywerenotassignedany

particulartask,participantsreportedbeinginablankstateofmindonly5%ofthetime.

Instead,theirmindswereactivelyengagedininternalmentationwheretheyspontaneously

reflectedonarangeofthemesincludingtheirownpersonalorepisodicpast(19%)and

future(30%)(Andrews-Hanna,2012).

WhatisparticularlynotableistheoverlapbetweenthecontextsthatengagetheDMN,

eitherspontaneously(viatask-unrelatedorstimulus-independentmindwandering)or

deliberately(viatask-elicitedorstimulus-dependentgoaldirectedthought).Thisbrain

networkisactivatedduringbothspontaneouscognitionanddeliberatecognitionincontexts

thatcallforinternalmentationintermsofself-referentialprocessing(amIambitious?),

mentalstatereasoningortheoryofmind(doesshebelievethatIamambitious?),moral

reasoning(isthisbehaviorconscionable?),autobiographicalandepisodicmemoryretrieval

(whenwasthelasttimeIbuiltasnowman?),andepisodicfuturethinkingorprospection

(whenwillIbuildasnowmanagain?)(Buckner,Andrews-Hanna,&Schacter,2008;Spreng&

Grady,2009;Spreng,Mar,&Kim,2009).GiventheroleoftheDMNincontextsofselfand

socialrelevance,thenetworkhasbeencharacterizedasonethat“primestheintentional

stance”whichreferstothe“irresistibletendencytoconceivetheactionsofothersas

intentionalandguidedbybeliefsanddesires”(Spunt,Meyer,&Lieberman,2015:1116).

However,therealityismorecomplexthanthatastheDMNisspontaneouslyengagedatthe

meresuggestionofself-relevanceorpersonalsignificanceassociatedwiththepresented

stimulievenintasksthatdonotnecessitatethesetypesofinternalmentationforoptimal

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taskperformance(Abraham&vonCramon,2009;Krienen,Tu,&Buckner,2010;Sui,

Rotshtein,&Humphreys,2013).

ItisalsonecessarytobearinmindthatnotonlyistheDMNisengagedincontextsthatare

beyondandunlikethatofmindwandering(e.g.,Vatansever,Menon,Manktelow,Sahakian,

&Stamatakis,2015),theenormoussurgeinneuroimaginginvestigationsofmindwandering

inrelationtotheDMNhaveinfactrevealedtheneedtoconsiderthefunctionalrolesof

regionsoutsidetheDMNinrelationtomindwandering(Fox,Spreng,Ellamil,Andrews-

Hanna,&Christoff,2015;Kucyi,2017).Evidencefortheinvolvementofthecentral

executivenetwork(CEN)inmindwanderinginthepasthavebeendrawnupontomakethe

specialcaseformindwanderingaselicitingjointactivityintwodistinctbrainnetworks

(Christoff,Gordon,Smallwood,Smith,&Schooler,2009).Asthesetworegionsareordinarily

anti-correlated,athirdbrainnetwork–thesaliencenetwork(SN)–determineswhento

switchtotheappropriatebrainsystem:theDMNincontextsofinternalmentationversus

CENincontextsthatwarrantexternally-directedattentionandcognitivecontrol(Gouldenet

al.,2014;Sridharan,Levitin,&Menon,2008).Butasimilarspecialcaseofjointlyactivated

DMNandCENnetworksarealsomadeinrelationtothebrainbasisofcreativity(Beaty,

Benedek,Kaufman,&Silvia,2015;Jung,Mead,Carrasco,&Flores,2013),sothistypeof

neuralactivitypatterncannotbeheldasasingularfeatureofdaydreaming.Moreover,

therearealternateviewsconcerningthedynamicsbetweenthesethreenetworksincluding

thatboththeCENandSNjointlyregulatetheDMN(Chenetal.,2013).Indeed,explorations

of“transmodal”brainareas,termedthusduetotheirinvolvementinawidearrayofdiverse

cognitivestatesand“whoseactivityisnotspecifictoasinglemodalityofsensoryinputor

motoroutput”(Huntenburg,Bazin,&Margulies,2018:23)revealthatcoreregionsofthe

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DMNqualifyastransmodalregions(Braga,Sharp,Leeson,Wise,&Leech,2013;Mittner,

Hawkins,Boekel,&Forstmann,2016),potentiallyexplainingtheheterogeneousfunctional

profileassociatedwiththisbrainnetwork.

SowhiletheDMNisthekeybrainnetworkinvolvedininternally-directedcognition

(Andrews-Hanna,Smallwood,&Spreng,2014)ofwhichmindwanderingisonekeyaspectof

spontaneouscognition(Christoff,Irving,Fox,Spreng,&Andrews-Hanna,2016),the

dynamicsoftheactivityofthisbrainnetworkcannotviewedinisolationfromotherkey

brainnetworkswithwhichitcloselyinteracts(Zabelina&Andrews-Hanna,2016).It

thereforeimportanttonotoverstateormisrepresentthenatureofthelinkbetweenthe

DMNanddaydreamingasbeingasimplisticorlinearespeciallyas“thecognitiveprocesses

thatspontaneousDMNactivityspecificallyreflectsareonlypartiallyrelatedtomind-

wanderingandincludealsoattentionalstatefluctuationsthatarenotcapturedbyself-

report”(Kucyi,Esterman,Riley,&Valera,2016:13899).

OwingtothefactofDMNengagementacrossheterogeneouscontexts,onetheoretical

frameworkviewedtheDMNasfacilitating‘intentionality-basedformsofimagination’where

theprocessingis“predominantlyrecollectiveinnaturewithaviewtoestablishingthebest

possibleexplanationofasituationoreventinquestion.Thisisbroughtaboutbymeansof

spontaneousaccesstoanextensiveanddiverserepertoireofrelevantknowledgewhen

processingsuchcontexts.Thebestormostplausibleexplanationistheonethatfitsbest

withwhatisalreadyknownintermsofoneselfand/orone’sworld-view”(Abraham,2016:

4203).ParallelstothispostulationarealsofoundinotherperspectivesoftheDMNinwhich

it’srolewashypothesizedtobein“theprocessofconceptualization—inwhich

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representationsofpriorexperiencesarebroughttobeartoconstructrepresentationsofthe

past,thefuture,orthepresentmoment.Theseregionsarenecessarytogivemeaningto

others'actions,tomakemeaningofone'sowncoreaffectivestate,torecallprior

experiencesduringinstancesofmemoryandspontaneousthought,andtorepresentthe

meaningofconceptsbysimulatingcategoryinstances”(Oosterwijketal.,2012:2124).

AnotherviewholdsthattheDMNplaysan“auto-pilot”rolesuchasduring“automated

decision-makingunderpredictableenvironmentaldemands”where“automated,fast,and

accurateresponses”arecalledforinordertomeet“worldlydemands”(Vatansever,Menon,

&Stamatakis,2017).Daydreamingindeedroutinelytranspiresincontextsinwhichwe

operateinautopilotmode,suchaswhendrivingunderpredictableconditionswhere

incidencesofmindwanderingofaround70%havebeenreported(Baldwinetal.,2017).

AquestionthatarisesinthiscontextiswhethertheDMNinvolvementindaydreaming

reflectsafunctionalspecificityofthisnetworkforthisfunctionorifitisinsteadthecase

thatdaydreamingisrelatedtoDMNmerelyasanepiphenomenonofthisbrainnetwork

beinginvolvedinautopilotmode.Onecontemporaryneuroscientificaccountpotentially

seekstoaccommodatebothpossibilitiesbyproposingasinglemodelthatdifferentiates

“betweenanexploratory'off-focus'stateandactivemindwandering”(Mittneretal.,2016).

Thenextsectionwillcontinuetoexaminetheheterogeneityassociatedthestateofmind

wanderingintermsofitscharacteristicsandfunctionsacrossawidearrayofcontexts.

TypesandFunctionsofDaydreaming

Whenourmindsarefreetoroam,wecanexperienceavarietyofdissimilarmentalstates.

Earlyworkondaydreaming,stimulus-independentandtask-unrelatedthought(Antrobus,

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1968;Giambra,1995;Singer,1975;Singer&Antrobus,1963)pavedthewayfor

distinguishingbetweenpositive-constructivedaydreaming(“playful,wishfulimagery,and

planful,creativethought”),guilty-dysphoricdaydreaming(“obsessive,anguishedfantasies”)

andpoorattentionalcontrol(“theinabilitytoconcentrateoneithertheongoingthoughtor

theexternaltask”)(McMillan,Kaufman,&Singer,2013:1).Thishassomeparallelswith

contemporaryworkwherepositivehabitualthoughtsandspontaneousofftaskthoughts

duringmindwanderingwerecontrastedintermsoftheirwiderimpactonother

psychologicalvariablesaswellasbrainactivitypatterns(Wangetal.,2017).

Thefocusondifferentdimensionsofmindwanderingislargelymotivatedbythenecessity

toexplainthedisparatefindingsassociatedwiththisfundamentalhumanfaculty

(Mooneyhametal.,2016;Smallwood&Andrews-Hanna,2013).Ononehand,thereare

studiesshowingcircumscribedadvantagesininformationprocessinginrelationtomind

wandering,suchasinthedomainsofcreativity,memoryconsolidation,futurethinkingand

dishabituation.Ontheotherhand,thereisalsoevidencetoshowthatmindwanderingis

associatedwithunhappinessandcanexertadisruptiveinfluencewhenengagedingoal-

directedbehaviors,suchasduringreadinganddriving,bothofwhichnecessitatethe

maintenanceofexternalvigilanceandoptimalworkingmemory.

Twohypotheseshavebeenproposedtoaccommodatesuchdivergentresults(Smallwood&

Schooler,2014).The‘contextregulationhypothesis’holdsthatself-generatedthought(SGT)

commonlyoccursincognitivelyundemandingcontexts.SowhenSGTstranspireincontexts

thatnecessitatecontinuousattentionitcanbedisadvantageous,whereaswhenSGTstake

placeinnon-demandingcontextstheycanbebeneficial.Alternatively,the‘content

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regulationhypothesis’holdsthatSGTsthatarefuture-orientedarepositive,adaptiveand

promotewellbeingwhereasSGTsthatarepast-orientedarelikelytobenegative,

maladaptiveandindicativeofunhappiness.Sowhilepositive-constructivedaydreamingis

largelyassociatedwithpositiveoutcomes,theoppositeisdeemedtobetrueoftheother

dimensions,namelyguilty-dysphoricdaydreamingandpoorattentionalcontrol.

Theimpactofcognitivedemandsisalsoinvestigatedfromthevantagepointofthe

associationbetweenmindwanderingandexecutivefunctionslikeworkingmemory.

Cognitivedemandsareembeddedwithinthetaskcontextbutthedegreetowhichoneis

impactedbytask-basedcognitivedemandsisinfluencedbyanindividual’scapacitytodeal

withsuchcontextualdemands.Impoverishedexecutivecapacityisassociatedwithagreater

propensityformindwanderinginkeepingwiththe‘control-failurehypothesis’(McVay&

Kane,2009,2010).Atthesametimethough,performingtasksassociatedwithhigher

executivedemandsareassociatedwithdiminishedmindwanderinginlinewiththe‘global

availabilityhypothesis’whichholdsthatmoreexecutiveresourcesshouldbeassociated

withgreaterfrequencyinmindwandering(Smallwood,2010).Itappearsthatheretoothe

typeofdaydreamingoneisengagedin(positiveornegative)playsasignificantroleasit

mediatestheassociationbetweenmindwanderingandexecutivefunctions(Marcusson-

Clavertz,Cardeña,&Terhune,2016).

Therearestillfurtherdistinctionsacrossdisciplinesabouthowbesttoconstruedimensions,

featuresandtypesofdaydreaming.Mindwanderingistypicallyregardedasastatethat

“oftenoccurswithoutintention…orevenawarenessthatone’smindhasdrifted”

(Smallwood&Schooler,2006:946)butatthesametimeischaracterizedbymeta-

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awarenessor“theabilitytotakeexplicitnoteofthecurrentcontentsofconsciousness”as

wellasperceptualdecouplingor“thecapacitytodisengagefromperception”(Schooleret

al.,2011:319)(foranalternativedefinitionthatdoesnotpresupposemeta-awarenessin

mindwandering,seeMetzinger,2013).Inpsychologyandneuroscience,theterms‘mind

wandering’and‘daydreaming’areoftenusedinterchangeably.Conceptualizations

regardingtheirdistinctionslargelystemfromempiricalcontextsinwhichtheyareexamined

as“daydreamingentailsengaginginspontaneousthoughtsunrelatedtoone’scurrent

context(i.e.,stimulus-independent),andmindwanderinghasbeendefinedasdaydreaming

occuringwhileperforminganothertask”(Zedelius&Schooler,2015:1).

Inthephilosophicaltradition,however,mindwanderingissometimesviewedasatypeof

daydreamingthatisdistinctfromothertypesofdaydreaming(Dorsch,2015).Mind

wanderinginthiscontextisseesasakintospontaneouslyoccurringtask-unrelatedthoughts

whichisdistinctfrom‘focuseddaydreaming’where“wealsowithdrawfromtheworld

surroundingusandstarttoexperienceorthinkaboutobjectsandeventsthatarelargely

absent,pastorimaginary.Butwetakeamuchmoreactivepartindirectingtheorderand

contentofourmentalepisodesandusuallysticktoaparticulartopicorissue”(Dorsch,

2015:792).Thisisakintootherconceptualizationsfromtheearlypsychologicaltheorizing

onthistopicthatdistinguishedbetween‘spontaneousmindwandering’and‘deliberate

mindwandering’(Giambra,1995)aswellasmorerecentdrivestodistinguishintentional

andunintentionalmindwandering(Seli,Risko,Smilek,&Schacter,2016).

Stillotherspostulatethatmindwanderingisastateof“unguidedattention”whichiswhat

makesitdistinctfromotherinternallyorientedstateslikeruminationandabsorptionwhich

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areconsideredinsteadtoreflectinstancesofinternallyorientedguidedattention(Irving,

2016).Thepurposiveoxymoron–unguidedattention–inrelationtomindwanderingis

employedtoillustratethefactthatalthoughthestateofmindwanderingappears

undirectedandpurposeless,inactualityourmindstendtopredominantlyvacillatetowards

considerationofourpersonalgoals.Sucha“prospectivebias”inmindwanderingis

confirmedinempiricalwork(Stawarczyk&D’Argembeau,2015;Stawarczyk,Majerus,Maj,

VanderLinden,&D’Argembeau,2011),anditnecessitatestheimportantquestionofhow

besttoconceiveof‘goal-directedness’ininternalmentationbecausethepropensitytoonly

consider‘goals’aslimitedtothecontextofanexternaltasktranslatestoafailuretofully

takeintoaccountthewiderdynamicsofourinnerexperience.Thenextandfinalsectionof

thepaperfurtherexplorestheconsequencesthatresultfromdrawingsuchconceptual

distinctionsandtheimplicationsofthesame.

Furthercriticalissuesintheempiricalstudyofdaydreaming

Arangeofcritiqueshasbeenleveledattheempiricalstudyofconsciousness.Some

highlighttheessentiallynon-consciousunderpinningsofthe‘contentsofconsciousness’

whichisneitherinfluencednordirectedbythe‘experienceofconsciousness’rendering

consciousnesstobeephiphenomenal(Oakley&Halligan,2017).Otherspointtosuspect

rationalethattypicallyunderlieisomorphismsthatareappliedwhenmappingcontentsof

consciousexperiencetoneuralsubstrates(Noë&Thompson,2004).Beyondthesetypesof

highlyrelevantphilosophicalissuestoconsiderareothermorecommonplaceassumptions

surroundingparadigmsandtheoreticalconceptualizationsthatneedtobequestionedas

well.Doesthestudyofdaydreamingobscurevitalaspectsofthephenomenonitself?Do

experimentalparadigmsconstrainourunderstandingofthephenomenon?Arelimitations

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attheleveloftheparadigmthengeneralizedtoconceiveoflimitationsaboutthe

phenomenon?Thesearequestionsthatareworthconsideringinmoredepth.

Takethefollowingstatementfromarecentpaper:“Astherepresentationsuponwhichwe

arefocusedduringmind-wanderingaredifferentfromthoserelatedtothestimuliinthe

moment,theseexperiencesarebydefinitionstimulusindependent.Moreover,thegold

standardmethodtoassessthemind-wanderingstateisexperiencesampling(ES),whichin

turndependsonourcapacitytointrospectonourownexperiences.Ourcapacityformeta-

cognitionisthereforeakeyelementtothemind-wanderingstatebecauseitishow

participantssharetheirexperienceswiththeexperimenter”(Konishi&Smallwood,2016:

234).Thispointstohowparadigmbasedfactors(theparticipant’smeansbywhichto

conveyinformationtotheexperimenter)inthestudyofmindwanderinginfluence

conceptualizationsofthephenomenonitself.

Asthestudyofdaydreamingislargelyderivedfromconsciousverbalself-reports,aspectsof

thephenomenon,suchasawareness,thatdonotlendthemselvestoverbalizationarenot

captured.“Awarenessisreallybeyonddefinitioninwords,aswordsareonlyasmallsubset

ofthetotalfunctioningofmind.Itlooselyreferstoourultimateabilitytoknowthat

somethingexistsorishappening.Inordinaryconsciousness,awarenessisusuallyalmost

totallywrappedupinwords,internaltalkingtoourselves(whichiswhatweusuallymeanby

thought),butitisfarmorebasicthanwords”(Tart,1986:161).Thisisnotwithstandingthe

typicalproblemsassociatedwithverbalreportsafterthefact,suchasforgetting,

elaboration,andtheimpactofthedurationofthedelayperiodbetweentheactual

experienceandthememoryofthatexperienceontheabilitytoreportofthecontentsof

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theexperience.Itisthereforeimportanttobearinmindthatthatonlyasliceoftheactual

experienceofmindwanderingisbeingempiricallycapturedfromwhichseveralbroad

generalizationsarederivedaboutthephenomenon.

AnotherinterestingdimensiontotakenoteofinthataforementionedKonishi&Smallwood

(2016)quoteisthesignificanceascribedtotheterm“stimulus”inrelationtomind

wandering.Thisishowitiscommonlyconstruedintheliterature,namelythatmind

wanderingisessentially‘stimulus-independent’or‘task-unrelated’andsuch

conceptualizationsdirectlystemfromtheempiricalcontextofbehavioraltesting.However,

theinsistencethatdaydreamingisentirely‘stimulus-independent’or‘task-unrelated’in

day-to-daylifeseemssuspectbecause–outsideoflabtestingsituations–weusuallyfind

ourselvesincontextsthataredeeplyrelevanttoourselvesandwayofbeing.

Thinkaboutthelasttimeyourmindwandered.Oftenthetriggersforsuchmentaljourneys

arestimuliwithintheenvironment.Oneisdrinkingcoffeefromone’sfavoritecupandoneis

remindedoftheoccasionsurroundingthecupandthenone’sthoughtsmovetothepeople

inthatsituationandwhatthatpersonwaswearingorsaying.Andsoon.Sowhilethe

wanderingsjourneybeyondtheimmediatesurroundingsorcontextintotherealpast,the

counterfactualpast,futurepossibilitiesandfantasies,thestartingpointcanbesomethingin

theenvironment.Astrictlimitationofstimulusindependenceisnotnecessary,andneed

notbestringentlyapplied.Moreover,justbecausesomeaspectsofthestimuli(likingacup)

areperipheraltothetaskortask-unrelated(drinkingthecoffee)inthatitisnotrelevantto

thegoalofthetask(quenchingone’sthirst),onecannotconcludethatthecontextual

informationisirrelevanttotheagent.Indeed,aclearerspecificationofwhatismeantby

18

‘task-relatedness’isessentialifconceptionsofmindwanderingaretetheredtoit(Irving,

2016).

Theinsistenceonstimulusindependencealsomakesitchallengingtoexplainsomeofthe

effectsthatareattributedtomindwanderingsuchasenhancedcreativeperformance.If

mindwanderingisentirelydivorcedfromthepresentcontext,howcanitbeusefulinreal

timetoabetcreativeproblemsolving?Explanationsofhowspontaneousinternalmentation

interactswithgoal-directedtask-specificcognitionarethereforenecessaryinorderto

understanditswiderimpact.

Concludingnote

Theempiricalstudyofdaydreamingandmindwanderinghasgrowninleapsandbounds

sincethe1960s,andthistopicconstitutesaveryproductiveareaofscientificinquiryin

psychologyandneuroscienceintermsofthesheervolumeoffocusitgarnersinthe

literature.Itsrelevanceasathemeofstudyisalsoexpansiveasitspansthecomplex

domainsofconsciousnessandimagination.Thispaperprovidedaselectiveoverviewofthis

topicwithaviewtohighlightingtheneedtocriticallyconsidersomeoftheassumptionsthat

arecentraltothisfieldwhichstandtosignificantlyskewourunderstandingofthe

phenomenonitself.Theimportanceofquestioningassumptionsiscertainlyapplicabletoall

subjectsofstudy,butnudgingoneselftodosofortopicsthatdonotlendthemselvesas

easilytosuchanalysisisespeciallycrucial.JamesMorley(1998)providesaneloquent

argumentthathighlightswhydaydreamingisaninterestingcaseinpoint.“Thedaydreaming

subjectcollapsescertaindualismshistoricallycentraltopsychology,suchassubject-object,

mind-body,cognition-emotion,andreal-imaginary.Inlightofthiscollapse,wecan

19

understandthedaydreamingsubjectmetaphorically,asbothactorandspectator;oras

writer,director,andcritic;orascamera,film,projector,andscreen.Theartisticmetaphors

typicallyusedbysubjectsexpressanintertwiningofactiveandpassiveformsof

consciousnessinacomplicatedcircuitofrelationships”(Morley,1998:132-133).Westand

togaingreatlybyrefocusingourunderstandingofdaydreamingandmindwanderingasthe

veritablepossibilityspacewhereconsciousnessmeetsimagination.

20

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author: anna abraham...question assumptions regarding daydreaming as an altered state of...

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