Wanderings
A series of workshops, lectures and roundtable discussions on mind wandering and the broader scope of human experience. Our aim is to acquaint the audience—both professionals and the lay audience—with intriguing phenomena that are integral to our everyday experience, yet still not well understood (e.g., mind-wandering), as well as the ways these phenomena can be researched.
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When physicists conduct research, they generally do not have to worry about how their measurements will influence the natural phenomena being measured. In the research of the human mind, unfortunately, we don’t have this luxury. As early as 1962, the psychologist Orne observed that, in the eyes of participants, an experiment represents a unique research situation and may serve as the strongest stimulus—often even more salient than the research task itself. He named the influence of participants' expectations upon entering an experimental situation "demand characteristics". Sixty years later, psychology and cognitive science still struggle with how to take this fact into account in our research work.
In the workshop with a roundtable discussion, we examined the impact of research and observation from multiple perspectives and attempted to answer the question of how psychological and, more broadly, cognitive-scientific research could incorporate this fact. The first speaker, Urban Kordeš, introduced the topic and emphasized the unavoidable role of observation in first-person research of consciousness. Madeline Stein, a psychologist from King's College London, discussed the significant impact of verbal suggestions in psychological experiments and clinical settings. Aleš Oblak, a cognitive scientist, explored our capacity to modify the structure of lived experience, highlighting its unique role in affective neuroscience.
The event concluded with a roundtable discussion addressing the question: How to think about the influence of observation? Besides all three previous lecturers, participants in the roundtable were Anja Podlesek, a psychologist and methodologist, and Grega Repovš, a psychologist and neuroscientist, both from the Department of Psychology (University of Ljubljana), who presented a psychological methodology perspective. The discussion will be moderated by Amela Lišić, a master's student of psychology. A significant portion of the roundtable was dedicated to answering audience questions.
The event was organised by the Laboratory for Empirical Phenomenology, Center for Cognitive Science (Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana) as part of “Wanderings” event series. It was open to anyone interested in the research of the mind. With the aim of interdisciplinary collaboration it was primarily intended for psychologists and cognitive scientists.
A few days later, we organised the second event in "Wanderings" series. We wee hosting dr. Marieke van Vugt, assistant professor at the University of Groningen (Netherlands). Her research focuses on mind-wandering—when, how, and why it occurs—as well as the cognitive processes underlying meditation and mindfulness.
She gave a lecture on the phenomenon of so-called "sticky thoughts"—repetitive mind-wandering episodes that arise in our everyday lives when we are not focused on the present moment. These thoughts are often difficult to "shake off," making us feel as though we have little control over them. In some cases, they can become so persistent that they interfere with daily functioning and quality of life. Such repetitive thoughts are particularly common in individuals with mental health conditions, such as depression. She also discussed ways to scientifically measure these thought patterns and, most importantly, explored what we can do to reduce them and cultivate greater mindfulness in the present moment. After the lecture, we hosted an interactive conversation with her that included the audience and their questions.
The event was free of charge and open to anyone interested in mind-wandering and a broader reflection on (dis)connection from the "here and now." It was held in a relaxed atmosphere of Stow Coffee, which provided also refreshments. The visitors were treated to a free specialty coffee.