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mind-wandering  

Definition

  • People's experience of their own thoughts is that thoughts rarely stay still; sometimes people's thinking is constrained by the task they are performing; at other moments, people's minds wander easily from topic to topic. The essential property of mind-wandering is that people's attention to the task fluctuates over time; instead of paying attention to the activity in which they are engaged, they often focus privately on their thoughts and feelings. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Psychology; Mind-Wandering]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/mind-wandering

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