Many people find being alone with their own thoughts more pleasant than expected. Researchers, including Kou Murayama from Tübingen, report this after experiments with 259 people in the “Journal of Experimental Psychology: General”.
Before a 20-minute wait, subjects were asked to rate how it would feel to be alone if they couldn’t distract themselves with reading or walking around. The participants then reported on their experiences.
According to this, people found it more comfortable to spend time with their thoughts than they had previously thought. Even when the conditions changed – waiting in a conference room or in a dark tent, waiting times between three and 20 minutes – people found it better to let their mind wander than they had previously thought.
Letting your mind wander has its benefits
“People have a remarkable ability to immerse themselves in their own thinking,” said the study’s lead author, Aya Hatano, of Kyoto University in Japan. The study suggests that people find it difficult to appreciate how engaging thinking can be. “This could explain why people prefer to engage with devices and other distractions rather than taking a moment for reflection and imagination in everyday life.”
According to the research team, letting your own thoughts wander has a number of advantages. It can help people solve problems, increase their creativity and even find meaning in life. “When people actively avoid thinking, they may miss out on these important benefits,” Murayama said.
On average, the participants rated their waiting time with about three to four points on a scale of seven. Thinking was therefore perceived as more pleasant than expected – but not as an extremely pleasant task. Future research should address what types of thinking are most enjoyable and motivating, the authors say. “Not all thinking is inherently rewarding, and in fact some people are prone to vicious cycles of negative thinking,” Murayama said.
