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Mind wandering via mental contrasting as a tool for behavior change
Gabriele Oettingen1, Bettina Schwörer
1Psychology Department, New York University New York, NY, USA ; Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg Hamburg, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 14, 2013
Summary
Mind wandering about the future can aid problem-solving. Mental contrasting, a specific type of future-oriented mind wandering, effectively promotes behavior change and skilled problem-solving.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Mind wandering involves task-unrelated thoughts, often about personal futures.
- A key proposed function of mind wandering is aiding future planning and problem-solving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore different forms of mind wandering and their impact on problem-solving and behavior change.
- To differentiate the effects of mere fantasizing versus mental contrasting on future-oriented cognition and action.
Main Methods:
- Review and discussion of existing research on mind wandering, problem-solving, and behavior change.
- Analysis of the mechanisms by which mental contrasting influences goal pursuit and action.
Main Results:
- Fantasizing about desired futures yields poor problem-solving and minimal behavior change.
- Mental contrasting, which involves envisioning a future and its obstacles, leads to enhanced problem-solving and significant behavior change.
Conclusions:
- Mental contrasting modulates associations between future goals and reality, facilitating instrumental action.
- Mental contrasting is a teachable, cost-effective self-regulation strategy for behavior change.
- Findings inform research on mind wandering, problem-solving, and intervention design.
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