Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences
There’s a lot been said about smartphone usage and how it can be used and abused. Most of this concern revolves around usage in children or teenagers, however, with some research saying there is less to worry about than many assume. But nevertheless, putting the smartphone, or other devices down seems to be a good idea.
This study just out though adds another interesting aspect. It revolves around affective forecasting which is our ability to predict how much we’ll enjoy something or not.
In these studies, led by Japanese researcher Aya Hatano, a total of 259 participants ranked how they thought they would enjoy just sitting and thinking by themselves. Sound like fun?
Well, not according to the participants, it does not sound like fun. And you will likely agree if you are like these participants. And that is probably one of the key reasons we tend to avoid sitting and thinking by ourselves and thereby seeking constant engagement with our devices.
However, the researchers found that people consistently reported this free thinking time as much more enjoyable than they had predicted. And this was irrespective of whether they were left to think by themselves for three minutes or 20 minutes, in a room with no stimulation, or asked during this free thinking or at the end of the period.
This is important for a number of reasons. One we could be distracting ourselves at the cost of something that we actually enjoy more than we think. But a lot of other research has also shown that this sort of free thinking is beneficial for multiple reasons such as helping with problem solving and creativity. It could also rest the brain and allow it to perform better when it has to perform.
All in this shows that sometimes putting own your devices and just letting your mind wander and immersing yourself in your own thoughts is probably a good thing for you – and you’ll enjoy it more than you think. The same probably applies to children as well!
Andy Habermacher
Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.
Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).
Reference
Aya Hatano, Cansu Ogulmus, Kou Murayama and Hiroaki Shigemasu.
Thinking About Thinking: People Underestimate How Enjoyable and Engaging Just Waiting Is.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2022
DOI: 10.1037/xge0001255
More Quick Hits
Your brain on near-death experiences
Near-death experiences have fascinated many people ever since they have been reported. And these experiences guide our view of how we die: the memories of your life passing in front of your eyes, the tunnel of light, the floating movement towards a bright light....
Social networks grow your brain
The headline is a bit “click baity” but it is what a group of researchers found. To be more specific they found in macaques (cute monkeys) in the wild that having more grooming partners grew different regions of the brain. Grooming is the primate version of having a...
What do creative brains look like?
We’d probably all be happy to be a bit more creative — though research into our own opinions show that many people do actually consider themselves to be above average in creativity. An obvious self-bias. This is where scientists who study creativity come in and find...
New gender biases discovered
There have been many studies on gender biases, and I have followed, written, and spoken about many of these biases over the years (over a decade actually) but two studies have just come out that caught my eye. One out of New York University focused on gender natural...
Growth of your brain over your life
So, we all know that our brain grows very quickly as babies and children and then after a certain age, younger than some of us may like to think, there begins a slow decline. But precisely what and how is the question. Well, this is a question that an international...
How to reduce loneliness
I have reported multiple times on loneliness during the pandemic – mostly because interest and research into loneliness has taken a large uptick. I have also reported on how to combat this and was happy to see that a piece of research just out proved what I had...