Collaborative Research: The Psychological Difficulties and Benefits of Deliberative Reflection

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The ability to occupy ourselves solely with our thoughts, paying no attention to the external world, is one of the signatures of what it is to be human. Although there is substantial research on many forms of reflection, such as problem solving and planning, there is relatively little research on deliberate attempts to improve one's subjective well being with one's own thoughts in the absence of any external stimulation. On the one hand this would seem easy to do so, given the richness of human memory (e.g., the ability to recall pleasant events from one's past) and the ability to construct enjoyable daydreams and fantasies. On the other hand, people do not often choose to entertain themselves solely with their minds. When at home with nothing to do, for example, most people choose to read, watch television, listen to music, or pursue their favorite hobby instead of engaging in reflection. The proposed research will investigate why this is, the conditions under which people can put their disengaged minds to good use, and the benefits of deliberative reflection. The overall goal of the research is to understand better the nature of human attention and mental control, and by so doing, discover new ways in which people can reduce stress and improve their well-being.In preliminary research, Timothy Wilson (University of Virginia), Daniel Gilbert (Harvard University) and colleagues found that people typically do not enjoy spending time by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more, and that many preferred to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts. Most people seem to prefer to be doing something rather than nothing, even if that something is negative. The proposed research will investigate three possible reasons why this is. First, if people attempt to think exclusively about positive thoughts for too long, negative thoughts begin to intrude. Second, in the absence of any external stimulation people continually scan the external environment. If there is nothing in the external world to engage the scanner it keeps searching for input, using up resources that could be devoted to internal thought. Third, people may not know how to engage in reverie effectively but can be taught to do so. The 12 proposed studies will involve laboratory experiments, field experiments, and experience sampling methodologies, and include college students and community members as participants.