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11-05-2019 | Editorial

Spontaneous future cognition: the past, present and future of an emerging topic

Auteurs: Scott Cole, Lia Kvavilashvili

Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research | Uitgave 4/2019

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Abstract

In this Editorial, we discuss the past, present and future of an emerging and fast-developing field—spontaneous future cognition. In tracking the past of this research, the trajectories of research on mind-wandering, episodic future thinking and prospective memory are briefly examined, and their relation with spontaneous future cognition demarcated. Three broad methodological approaches (questionnaire, naturalistic and laboratory) used to study spontaneous future thoughts are described, providing an overview of the field. The present state of this research is represented by a themed analysis of the articles included in this Special Issue. The breadth of studies (covering cognitive mechanisms, developmental stages and psychopathology) have already led to important insights, especially concerning the conditions in which spontaneous future thoughts most commonly arise and who may be predisposed to experiencing them. In the future, greater effort should focus on developing a theoretical account of spontaneous future cognition—this may increase our understanding of how and why spontaneous future thoughts occur. If future research in this area reflects the diversity and depth within this Special Issue, a flourishing of research on spontaneous future cognition will be on the horizon in years or perhaps decades to come.
Voetnoten
1
It is, however, important to note that several studies, including some papers in this issue, have not found the prospective bias in task-unrelated spontaneous thoughts. Some of these studies have reported the prevalence of spontaneous thoughts about the past (e.g., Berntsen, Rubin, Salgado, 2015; Krans, de Bree & Moulds, 2015; Plimpton, Patel, & Kvavilashvili, 2015), while others have reported equal numbers of past and future thoughts (e.g., Mason et al., 2007; McVay, Unsworth, McMillan & Kane, 2013).
 
2
However, there is also a large body of research, which shows important asymmetries between the two process (for discussion, see Irish & Piguet, 2013; Klein 2016; Suddendorf, 2010).
 
3
Even though there are subtle differences in dictionary definitions of ‘involuntary’ and ‘spontaneous’, because these phrases are used interchangeably in the literature, we adopt the same approach here (i.e., both denote the same phenomena when concerning the topic of the special issue). It is also reflected in the articles within the special issue, with some using involuntary and some using spontaneous when referring to the same phenomena.
 
4
It should be noted that this distinction also applies to naturalistic studies, but we focus on laboratory studies here as the majority of studies in this special issue employ laboratory paradigms (but see Beaty, Seli & Schacter, this issue; Warden et al., this issue).
 
5
One way to explain this interesting finding, based on mind-wandering research, is to interpret it as an effect of perceptual (Forster & Lavie, 2009) and not cognitive load (e.g., McVay et al., 2013). Thus, the number of spontaneous task-unrelated thoughts may decrease not only because our resources are engaged in a demanding cognitive task, but also because an external stimulus is perceptually salient and disrupts the internal train of thought (i.e., causes an external shift of attention; Smallwood, 2013), even if it does not make the task more difficult. In other words, it is possible that even relatively undemanding tasks may disrupt mind-wandering if they include perceptually salient stimuli.
 
6
These studies are important as common findings from cue/task manipulations indicate that mind-wandering and mental time travel may be interpreted together and suggest that factors that influence their occurrence in the laboratory map on to how they arise in the real world—a critical aspect of cognitive science (Neisser, 1985; see also Kingston, Smilek, & Eastwood, 2008; Kvavilashvili & Ellis, 2004).
 
7
Spontaneous future thoughts unrelated to external cues may also be relevant to maladaptive forms of spontaneous future cognition (see Berntsen, this issue).
 
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Metagegevens
Titel
Spontaneous future cognition: the past, present and future of an emerging topic
Auteurs
Scott Cole
Lia Kvavilashvili
Publicatiedatum
11-05-2019
Uitgeverij
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Gepubliceerd in
Psychological Research / Uitgave 4/2019
Print ISSN: 0340-0727
Elektronisch ISSN: 1430-2772
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01193-3