A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.

When faced with a problem, how do individuals search for potential solutions? In this article, we explore the cognitive processes that lead to local search (i.e., identifying options closest to existing solutions) and distant search (i.e., identifying options of a qualitatively different nature than...

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Main Authors: Ravi S Kudesia, Markus Baer, Hillary Anger Elfenbein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4431673?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-83c79161bbd64103a801c31a1af695342020-11-25T01:18:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01105e012686510.1371/journal.pone.0126865A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.Ravi S KudesiaMarkus BaerHillary Anger ElfenbeinWhen faced with a problem, how do individuals search for potential solutions? In this article, we explore the cognitive processes that lead to local search (i.e., identifying options closest to existing solutions) and distant search (i.e., identifying options of a qualitatively different nature than existing solutions). We suggest that mind wandering is likely to lead to local search because it operates by spreading activation from initial ideas to closely associated ideas. This reduces the likelihood of accessing a qualitatively different solution. However, instead of getting lost in thought, individuals can also step back and monitor their thoughts from a detached perspective. Such mindful metacognition, we suggest, is likely to lead to distant search because it redistributes activation away from initial ideas to other, less strongly associated, ideas. This hypothesis was confirmed across two studies. Thus, getting lost in thoughts is helpful when one is on the right track and needs only a local search whereas stepping back from thoughts is helpful when one needs distant search to produce a change in perspective.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4431673?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ravi S Kudesia
Markus Baer
Hillary Anger Elfenbein
spellingShingle Ravi S Kudesia
Markus Baer
Hillary Anger Elfenbein
A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Ravi S Kudesia
Markus Baer
Hillary Anger Elfenbein
author_sort Ravi S Kudesia
title A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
title_short A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
title_full A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
title_fullStr A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
title_full_unstemmed A wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
title_sort wandering mind does not stray far from home: the value of metacognition in distant search.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2015-01-01
description When faced with a problem, how do individuals search for potential solutions? In this article, we explore the cognitive processes that lead to local search (i.e., identifying options closest to existing solutions) and distant search (i.e., identifying options of a qualitatively different nature than existing solutions). We suggest that mind wandering is likely to lead to local search because it operates by spreading activation from initial ideas to closely associated ideas. This reduces the likelihood of accessing a qualitatively different solution. However, instead of getting lost in thought, individuals can also step back and monitor their thoughts from a detached perspective. Such mindful metacognition, we suggest, is likely to lead to distant search because it redistributes activation away from initial ideas to other, less strongly associated, ideas. This hypothesis was confirmed across two studies. Thus, getting lost in thoughts is helpful when one is on the right track and needs only a local search whereas stepping back from thoughts is helpful when one needs distant search to produce a change in perspective.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4431673?pdf=render
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