Our minds frequently wander to internal thoughts unrelated to our current tasks or surroundings, a phenomenon known as mind wandering. These unprompted thoughts are common in daily life and significantly impact our everyday functioning.
Key Points
Rationale
Unprompted thoughts, often referred to as mind wandering, are highly prevalent in daily life and have been linked to various outcomes, including effects on affective well-being (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010; Zedelius & Schooler, 2015).
To clarify these variable findings, Kam et al. (2024) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive overview of how and when unprompted thought relates to affective well-being.
Method
Thesystematic reviewwas conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was performed using APA PsycInfo (OVID), EMBASE (OVID), Medline (PubMed), and Scopus (Academic Search Complete) databases.
Search strategy and terms
Search terms related to unprompted thought (e.g., “mind wandering,” “task-unrelated thought”) and affective well-being (e.g., “positive affect,” “negative affect,” “well-being”) were used.
The initial search yielded 2,068 reports, of which 894 were unique. After a two-stage screening process based on the selection criteria, 76 reports were included in the systematic review, and 64 reports contained sufficient information for the meta-analysis.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: empirical studies involving (a) adults with or without mood or anxiety disorders, (b) self-report measures of unprompted thought, (c) self-report measures of affective well-being, (d) quantified or validated measures, and (e) quantitative assessment of the relationship between unprompted thought and affective well-being.
Exclusion criteria: (a) studies involving participants under 18 years old or with substance abuse, neurological conditions, or psychiatric diagnoses other than mood disorders, (b) studies using reverse inference measures, (c) studies involving mood induction, (d) reanalyses of previously published data, and (e) non-quantitative studies.
Meta-Analysis
A multilevel mixed-model approach was used for themeta-analysisto account for dependent effect sizes.
The overall relationship between unprompted thought and affective well-being was examined using a three-level, mixed-effects model.
Moderator effects were tested using pairwise comparisons, with subgroups filtered based on the moderator of interest. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger’s regression test.
Qualitative Review Procedure
Results
Insight
Themeta-analysisinvolving all measurements revealed an overall negative association between unprompted thought and affective well-being, consistent with the dominant narrative in the literature.
However, further analyses showed that this relationship varied depending on moderators, such as the content and types of unprompted thought and methodological approaches.
The negative association was observed for both positive aspects (e.g., positive affect, general well-being, life satisfaction) and negative aspects (e.g., negative affect, depression, anxiety) of affective well-being, suggesting that unprompted thought impacts both dimensions.
The content and type of unprompted thoughts play a crucial role in determining the relationship between unprompted thought and affective well-being.
In contrast, positive unprompted thoughts, including positively valenced task-unrelated thoughts, were associated with improved affective well-being.
Strengths
Limitations
Clinical Implications
The study’s findings have important implications for mental health and emotion regulation.
The types of thoughts we have are associated with how we feel, suggesting the possibility of regulating thoughts to positively impact affective well-being.
Directing thoughts away from negative content (e.g., rumination) and toward positive content (e.g., future-oriented and freely moving thoughts) can benefit both general and clinical populations.
Changing thoughts about events that elicit clinical symptoms is already incorporated in therapies for clinical disorders, such as cognitive reappraisal for mood disorders andmindfulnessfor reducing repetitive thinking.
The capacity to regulate unprompted thoughts may have broader implications across contexts and individuals.
References
Primary reference
Kam, J. W. Y., Wong, A. Y., Thiemann, R. F., Hasan, F., Andrews-Hanna, J. R., & Mills, C. (2024). On the relationship between unprompted thought and affective well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin, 150(5), 621–641.https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000428
Other references
Franklin, M. S., Mrazek, M. D., Anderson, C. L., Smallwood, J., Kingstone, A., & Schooler, J. W. (2013). The silver lining of a mind in the clouds: Interesting musings are associated with positive mood while mind-wandering.Frontiers in Psychology, 4,Article 583.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00583
Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.Science, 330(6006), Article 932.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439
Poerio, G. L., Totterdell, P., & Miles, E. (2013). Mind-wandering and negative mood: Does one thing really lead to another?Consciousness and Cognition, 22(4), 1412–1421.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2013.09.012
Thiemann, R. F., Mills, C., & Kam, J. W. Y. (2023). Differential relationships between thought dimensions and momentary affect in daily life.Psychological Research, 87(5), 1632–1643.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01766-9
Zedelius, C. M., & Schooler, J. W. (2015). Mind wandering “Ahas” versus mindful reasoning: Alternative routes to creative solutions.Frontiers in Psychology, 6,Article 834.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00834
Keep Learning
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
