Digest #149: Mind-Wandering
Despite our best intentions to stay focused, we may find our mind wandering from time to time. While there may be good reason for your mind to wander (see below!), It can certainly affect your ability to pay attention at crucial times. This week we've gathered resources on mind wandering.
Image from Pixabay
Mind Wandering by Michael C. Corballis for American Scientist
This article from American Scientist gives a brief introduction to research on mind-wandering and how it relates to memory and language.
Reducing and Redirection Mind-Wandering in the Classroom, Dr. Karl Szpunar from LastingLearning.Com
In this video Dr. Karl Szupnar talks about ways to reduce mind-wandering in the classroom.
How to Focus a Wandering Mind by Dr. Wendy Hasenkamp for Greater Good Magazine
In this article, Dr. Hasenkamp highlights the research on the neuroscience behind meditation, one way to reduce mind-wandering.
A Penny For Your Thoughts: Updates on Mind Wandering by Dr. Regan A. R. Guring for American Psychology Association’s Psych Learning Curve
This short article goes over three studies on mind-wandering, providing some interesting statistics on mind-wandering during lectures.
When Mind Wandering is a Strategy, Not A Disadvantage by Association for Psychological Science.
While mind-wandering when you’re supposed to be focusing can cause problems, that does not necessarily mean that mind-wandering is always bad. This short read from the Association for Psychological Science talks about research that shows how people use mind-wandering strategically.
From time to time, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:
Digest #144: Talking to Kids about Race
Digest #145: Elaborative Interrogation
Digest #146: The Psychology of “Zoom Fatigue”
