A Wandering Mind is Not Always a Creative Mind: How Thought Dynamics Explain the Relationship between Mind Wandering and Creativity

A wandering mind is not always a creative mind. Anecdotes about ideas spontaneously entering awareness during walks, showers, and other off-task activities are plenty. The science behind it, however, is still inconclusive. Creativity might result from how thought context—whether thoughts are on-task or off-task—relates to thought dynamics—how thoughts unfold. To explore this, study 1 (n = 85) surveyed creative professionals about a single idea they had earlier in the day. The spontaneity of thoughts positively correlated with self-reported creativity, whereas off-task thoughts or doing something else did not. Study 2 (n = 180) replicated these findings in a student sample during an idea generation task and added that free movement of thoughts also correlates with self-reported originality during idea generation. As indicated by expert ratings, no relationship of thought dynamics and thought context was found with population-level creativity. Herewith, this study suggests that thought dynamics, rather than thought context, explain the often suggested relationship between mind wandering and creativity.     

Spontaneous Interpersonal Coordination in Stepping and Autistic-Like Traits1

Spontaneous behavior, matching that of others, is influenced by various social factors. Mimicking and synchronizing with others' behaviors can facilitate the development of harmonious relationships. This study examined whether the level of autistic-like traits in a non-clinical population influences the spontaneous-behavioral coordination of a dyad's stepping-on-the-spot movements. The strength of spontaneous stepping synchronization was negatively correlated with levels of autistic-like traits when participants faced one another, and no synchronization was observed for individuals with high levels of autistic-like traits. The deficit in spontaneous interpersonal behaviour-matching among individuals with high levels of autistic-like traits is discussed as a potential source of their poor social-communication abilities.     

The Needle in the Haystack

Summary

Despite the significant damages in sexual abuse cases, the plaintiff's ability to collect the money awarded in settlement or judgment is often precluded by the limited financial resources of the defendant(s). In this chapter, practicing attorney Julian Hubbard introduces the basics of individual and corporate insurance coverage and reviews the development of very limited coverage in sexual abuse cases in statutory and case law. While direct coverage for sexual abuse injuries is as rare as a “needle in a haystack,” indirect coverage can be found in some cases, especially those in which the acts of negligent individuals other than the perpetrator facilitated the abuse and thus the plaintiff's injuries. After an overview of relevant insurance issues and law, Mr. Hubbard delineates a practical model for research and legal strategies to ensure reaching any available insurance coverage, and explores the benefits and drawbacks of drawing on administrative resources to help pay for survivors' medical and mental health care.     

Lessons from the Natural Course of Complex Posttraumatic Disorders

The natural course of complex posttraumatic disorders typically consists of a gradual “social breakdown.” Sufferers and their partners (e.g., parents, siblings, and lifemates) become increasingly avoidant of opportunities for intimacy. The proposed mechanism for the breakdown is the sufferers' method of testing others' trustworthiness. They test unproductively, repetitively, without closure either way. Partners misunderstand it as manipulation for trivial wants or instigation to replicate old betrayals. Patients often suffer social breakdown despite psychotherapy. Tempted to experiment in intimate relationships privately, outside therapy, they become hopeless faster than gains in therapy can generalize. I present a psychotherapy model to avert this breakdown: Clinicians and patients jointly stage experiments with intimacy in the relationships that matter from the beginning of therapy.     

Response

Abstract

One of the last taboos in the public representation of sexuality seems to be the sexuality of elderly people, notwithstanding considerable changes in their actual levels of sexual activity. Dresen's film Cloud 9 breaks this taboo telling the story of a passionate relationship between two people in their sixties/seventies. The protagonists' differing perceptions of how to live the time that remains to them, and how to acknowledge and realize their desires and the passion of their bodies marked by time and experience, shows the ethical issues implied in the story without providing easy answers. Viewers are left to struggle with these questions, not least because identification with the protagonists is disrupted at the same time as it is encouraged by the film.     

Do cortical midline variability and low frequency fluctuations mediate William James’ “Stream of Consciousness”? “Neurophenomenal Balance Hypothesis” of “Inner Time Consciousness”

William James famously characterized consciousness by ‘stream of consciousness’ which describes the temporal continuity and flow of the contents of consciousness in our ‘inner time consciousness’. More specifically he distinguished between “substantive parts”, the contents of consciousness, and “transitive parts”, the linkages between different contents. While much research has recently focused on the substantive parts, the neural mechanisms underlying the transitive parts and their characterization by the balance between ‘sensible continuity’ and ‘continuous change’ remain unclear. The aim of this paper is to develop so-called neuro-phenomenal hypothesis about specifically the transitive parts and their two phenomenal hallmark features, sensible continuity and continuous change in ‘inner time consciousness’. Based on recent findings, I hypothesize that the cortical midline structures and their high degree of variability and strong low frequency fluctuations play an essential role in mediating the phenomenal balance between sensible continuity and continuous change.     

Contextual effects on prejudiced attitudes: When the presence of others leads to more egalitarian responses

In the present paper, we tested the hypothesis that the physical presence of other ingroup members may ameliorate Whites’ spontaneous affective responses toward Blacks. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that IAT-assessed attitudes toward Blacks were indeed less negative when participants were tested in small groups rather than individually. Study 2 shed light on the underlying processes by demonstrating that respondents at the presence of others displayed increased accessibility to egalitarian-related concepts after Black primes, as compared to respondents tested individually. Overall, results point to the wide malleability of spontaneous affective responses and to the possibility that contextual factors, like the presence of other individuals, might automatically activate egalitarians goals. Results are discussed in relation to current models of automatic intergroup bias and preconscious control over it.     

面部表情的跨文化表达与识别研究述评

近年来面部表情的跨文化研究显示出更多的跨文化一致性和差异性证据。自发面部表情的表达和识别、组内优势效应以及面部表情信息的上下不对称性已成为该领域的研究热点。方言理论、中国民间模型和EMPATH模型从三种不同的角度对面部表情跨文化研究的结果进行了理论解释。而表达规则和解码规则以及语言效应是面部表情跨文化表达与识别的重要影响因素。今后, 面部表情跨文化的表达和识别研究应更加关注面部表情特征信息和影响因素这两个方面。     

The relationship between the parents and the premature baby

Abstract

The arrival of a newborn baby confronts the parents with the loss of their own childhood and the process of mourning that this entails. In the case of a premature birth, where the often brutal experience of birth is followed by a forced separation of hospitalization, the situation is even more complicated, making it sometimes difficult for the mother to invest in the baby libidinally. The presence of a psychoanalyst working with the resuscitation team can facilitate the encounter with the parents, the baby, and the caretakers, and can, by “supposing a subject” in the baby, help to restore the bond between mother and child.     

Spontaneous rotation of nanoparticles in a medium

In many experiments, the effects of spontaneous rotation of nanoparticles in a medium have been observed. In the article it has been shown that the reason for the spontaneous rotation of nanoparticles in a medium may be due to an increase in rotational entropy that accompanies the increasing rotational frequencies of the nanoparticles. An equation describing the rotational motion of the nanoparticles in a medium is obtained and its solution is found. It is shown that the formation of a large number of randomly oriented nanocrystals may be a reason for the forming of an amorphous phase upon cooling a melt.