Shifting moods, wandering minds: negative moods lead the mind to wander - PubMed (original) (raw)

Controlled Clinical Trial

doi: 10.1037/a0014855.

Affiliations

Controlled Clinical Trial

Shifting moods, wandering minds: negative moods lead the mind to wander

Jonathan Smallwood et al. Emotion. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of mood states on mind wandering. Positive, neutral, and negative moods were induced in participants prior to them completing a sustained attention task. Mind wandering was measured by using the frequencies of both behavioral lapses and retrospective indices of subjective experience. Relative to a positive mood, induction of a negative mood led participants to make more lapses, report a greater frequency of task irrelevant thoughts, and become less inclined to reengage attentional resources following a lapse. Positive mood, by contrast, was associated with a better ability to adjust performance after a lapse. These results provide further support for the notion that a negative mood reduces the amount of attentional commitment to the task in hand and may do so by enhancing the focus on task irrelevant personal concerns.

(c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources