Age-Related Differences in Mind Wandering: The Role of Emotional Valence.
Matthew S WelhafJonathan B BanksJulie M BuggPublished in: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences (2023)
Focusing on different dimensions of thought content, such as emotional valence, can provide new insight into age-related differences in mind wandering. Older adults mind wandering reports were less negative and neutral compared to younger adults suggesting a positivity bias for older adults. However, this positivity bias does not seem to impact task performance. We discuss the implications of the findings for mind wandering theories and the positivity bias.