Overarching States of Mind
Noa Herz1, Shira Baror2, Moshe Bar2
1School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.
Abstract:
We all have our varying mental emphases, inclinations, and biases. These individual dispositions are dynamic in that they can change over time and context. We propose that these changing states of mind (SoMs) are holistic in that they exert all-encompassing and coordinated effects simultaneously on our perception, attention, thought, affect, and behavior. Given the breadth of their reach, understanding how SoMs operate is essential. We provide evidence and a framework for the concept of SoM, and we propose a unifying principle for the underlying cortical mechanism whereby SoM is determined by the balance between top-down (TD) and bottom-up (BU) processing. This novel global account gives rise to unique hypotheses and opens new horizons for understanding the human mind.
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