Intrusive thoughts: linking spontaneous mind wandering and OCD symptomatology

Abstract

One recent line of research in the literature on mind wandering has been concerned with examining rates of mind wandering in special populations, such as those characterized by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dysphoria, and schizophrenia. To best conceptualize mind wandering in studies examining special populations, it has recently been suggested that researchers distinguish between deliberate and spontaneous subtypes of this experience. Extending this line of research on mind wandering in special populations, in a large non-clinical sample (N = 2636), we examined how rates of deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering vary with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Results indicate that, whereas deliberate mind wandering is not associated with OCD symptomatology, spontaneous mind wandering is, with higher reports of spontaneous mind wandering being associated with higher reports of OCD symptoms. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding both mind wandering and OCD.

Intentionality and meta-awareness of mind wandering: Are they one and the same, or distinct dimensions?

“…In addition, in Study 2, we found that people reported a significant (non-zero) number of mind-wandering episodes that were intentionally engaged but lacking meta-awareness, as well as a significant (non-zero) number of episodes that were unintentionally engaged but (at least at some point) associated with meta-awareness. Thus, the present findings indicate that not only are meta-awareness and intentionality unique dimensions, but moreover, that there is indeed good reason for researchers to index the intentionality of mind wandering in future studies, as recently suggested (Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; Seli et al, 2016). …”

“…However, at face value, the dimensions of intentionality and meta-awareness appear to share considerable overlap, and there remains the possibility that they may even be completely redundant. If this were the case, then it would suggest – contrary to recent claims (Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; Seli et al, 2016) – that researchers ought not to concern themselves with the intentionality dimension of mind wandering because it would provide no unique information beyond the meta-awareness dimension. If, on the other hand, there were evidence to suggest that these two dimensions are distinct, then this would provide support for the view that both dimensions ought to be considered in theoretical accounts of the wandering mind.…”

“…In a recent series of studies (Phillips et al, 2016; Seli et al, 2014; Seli, Risko, Purdon, et al, 2016; Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; Seli, Smallwood, et al, 2015), researchers have demonstrated dissociations between intentional and unintentional mind wandering, and on the basis of these findings, it has been suggested that future research on the topic of mind wandering ought to assess and separately evaluate intentional and unintentional types of mind wandering (Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; Seli et al, 2016). At the same time, however, there has been some concern that the dimension of intentionality might be redundant with one of the more popular dimensions of mind wandering: meta-awareness.…”

“…Although theoretical consideration of the intentionality of mind wandering has largely been absent over the past few decades, in a recent series of studies some researchers have revisited the distinction between intentional and unintentional mind wandering (Forster & Lavie, 2009; Seli, Cheyne, et al, 2015; Seli, Risko, Purdon, & Smilek, 2016; Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; Seli, Smallwood, Cheyne, & Smilek, 2015; Seli, Wammes, et al, 2015). Critically, in some of this research it has been shown that these two types of mind wandering appear to reflect unique cognitive experiences.…”

What does (and should) "mind wandering" mean?

“…Not only have many researchers considered such scenarios to reflect mind wandering (e.g., Golchert et al, 2017;Forster & Lavie, 2009;Phillips, Mills, D'Mello, & Risko, 2016;Seli, Risko, & Smilek, 2016b; for a review, see Seli, Risko, Smilek, & Schacter. 2016), but moreover, the viability of assuming that participants' reports of "mind wandering" uniformly lack intention has been brought into question by recent work that has shown that people often report engaging in "intentional mind wandering" in their daily lives (e.g., Seli, Risko, Purdon, & Smilek, 2016;Seli, Smallwood, Cheyne, & Smilek, 2015).…”