title: Phenomenology of future-oriented mind-wandering episodes.
abstract: Recent research suggests that prospective and non-prospective forms of mind-wandering possess distinct properties, yet little is known about what exactly differentiates between future-oriented and non-future-oriented mind-wandering episodes. In the present study, we used multilevel exploratory factor analyses (MEFA) to examine the factorial structure of various phenomenological dimensions of mind-wandering, and we then investigated whether future-oriented mind-wandering episodes differ from other classes of mind-wandering along the identified factors. We found that the phenomenological dimensions of mind-wandering are structured in four factors: representational format (inner speech vs. visual imagery), personal relevance, realism/concreteness, and structuration. Prospective mind-wandering differed from non-prospective mind-wandering along each of these factors. Specifically, future-oriented mind-wandering episodes involved inner speech to a greater extent, were more personally relevant, more realistic/concrete, and more often part of structured sequences of thoughts. These results show that future-oriented mind-wandering possesses a unique phenomenological signature and provide new insights into how this particular form of mind-wandering may adaptively contribute to autobiographical planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology - Cognition and Behavior, University of Liège Liège, Belgium ; Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS) Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stawarczyk
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cassol
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Argembeau
keywords: factorial structure; future thinking; mind-wandering; phenomenology; planning