dc.contributor.author
Liu, Shuyan
dc.contributor.author
Zhao, Min
dc.contributor.author
Li, Ruihua
dc.contributor.author
Huang, Chuanning
dc.contributor.author
Du, Jiang
dc.contributor.author
Schad, Daniel J.
dc.contributor.author
Heinzel, Stephan
dc.date.accessioned
2024-07-02T09:54:34Z
dc.date.available
2024-07-02T09:54:34Z
dc.identifier.uri
https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/44057
dc.identifier.uri
http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-43766
dc.description.abstract
Our minds wander for half of our waking time, and evidence suggests that a wandering mind is often an unhappy one. However, the specific contents of unpleasant thoughts and feelings during mind wandering remain undiscovered. Here, we aim to investigate if mind wandering may closely relate to feelings of loneliness, such as experiencing a sense of being left out and isolated from others, within a cross-cultural context. Our study involved participants from the general populations of China (N= 1123) and Germany (N= 1018), surveyed between December 2021 and February 2022. Using an online survey tool, we assessed self-reported mind wandering (measured by the Mind Wandering Spontaneous and Deliberate Scale) and loneliness (measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale), while controlling for self-esteem (measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), self-efficacy (measured by the General Self-efficacy Scale), and mental health status (measured by the General Health Questionnaire). Strikingly, we found that approximately half of the respondents in both China and Germany reported feelings of loneliness (49.8% in China versus 49.5% in Germany, p= 0.936). Regression analysis further revealed that higher levels of self-reported spontaneous (β = 0.04, p= 0.047) and deliberate mind wandering (β = 0.05, p= 0.009) were associated with higher levels of loneliness, even after controlling for sociodemographic variables, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and mental health status. These findings suggest that loneliness is a pervasive experience across cultures and may serve as a driving factor underlying unpleasant thoughts and feelings during episodes of mind wandering.
en
dc.format.extent
8 Seiten
dc.rights.uri
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject
Spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering
en
dc.subject
Unintentional and intentional task-unrelated thoughts
en
dc.subject
Social isolation
en
dc.subject
Self-efficacy
en
dc.subject
Mental health status
en
dc.subject
China and Germany
en
dc.subject
Marital status
en
dc.subject.ddc
100 Philosophie und Psychologie::150 Psychologie::150 Psychologie
dc.title
A wandering mind reflects a lonely mind
dc.type
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
dc.title.subtitle
A cross-cultural study
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.articlenumber
100153
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi
10.1016/j.crbeha.2024.100153
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.journaltitle
Current Research in Behavioral Sciences
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.originalpublishername
Elsevier
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.volume
6
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2024.100153
refubium.affiliation
Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie
refubium.affiliation.other
Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
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refubium.funding
Publikationsfonds FU
refubium.note.author
We acknowledge support by the Open Access Publication Fund of the Freie Universität Berlin.
en
refubium.resourceType.isindependentpub
no
dcterms.accessRights.openaire
open access
dcterms.isPartOf.eissn
2666-5182