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Goal Commitments and the content of thoughts and dreams: basic principles
1Psychology Discipline, Division of Social Sciences, University of Minnesota Morris, MN, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 23, 2013
Summary
Goal-directed cognition shapes waking thoughts and dreams. When progress is blocked, mind-wandering and dreaming occur, reflecting underlying goals and emotions, impacting task performance and creativity.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Research
Background:
- Waking thought and dreams share thematic content.
- Goal commitments influence responses to associated cues, whether external or internal.
- Responses involve noticing, memory storage, thought generation, or action.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explain the thematic content of waking thought and dreams using empirically supported principles.
- To explore the neurocognitive underpinnings of mind-wandering.
- To review the effects and functions of mind-wandering.
Main Methods:
- Review of neurocognitive findings related to mind-wandering.
- Examination of evidence on task performance effects.
- Analysis of evidence for adaptive functions of mind-wandering.
Main Results:
- Goal commitments sensitize individuals to relevant cues, triggering responses.
- Unfavorable conditions for goal pursuit lead to mental responses like mind-wandering and dreaming.
- Mind-wandering is more probable during unoccupied periods, relaxation, or sleep.
Conclusions:
- Mind-wandering and dreaming reflect goal pursuit, influenced by emotional arousal.
- Mind-wandering can negatively impact task performance.
- Mind-wandering may serve adaptive functions in creativity, planning, and memory consolidation.
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