The DOI matches its Crossref record; 176 of the 177 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Spontaneous Thought and Vulnerability to Mood Disorders: The Dark Side of the Wandering Mind
Open accessAbstract
There is increasing interest in spontaneous thought, namely task-unrelated or rest-related mental activity. Spontaneous thought is an umbrella term for processes like mindwandering, involuntary autobiographical memory, and daydreaming, with evidence elucidating adaptive and maladaptive consequences. In this theoretical framework, we propose that, apart from its positive functions, spontaneous thought is a precursor for cognitive vulnerability in individuals who are at-risk for mood disorders. Importantly, spontaneous thought mostly focuses on unattained goals and evaluates the discrepancy between current and desired status (Klinger, 1971, 2013a). In individuals who stably (i.e., trait negative affectivity) or transitorily (i.e., stress) experience negative emotions in reaction to goal-discrepancy, spontaneous thought fosters major cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g., rumination, hopelessness, low self-esteem, and cognitive reactivity) which, in turn, enhance depression. Furthermore, we also highlight preliminary links between spontaneous thought and bipolar disorder. The evidence for this framework is reviewed and we discuss theoretical and clinical implications of our proposal.
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“Collectively, these findings indicate that SCT symptoms, more so than ADHD inattentive symptoms, are marked by more mind-wandering and rumination, which are considered key cognitive processes underpinning internalizing psychopathologies (Marchetti et al., 2016).”
From Disentangling the effects of attentional difficulties on fears of social evaluation and social anxiety symptoms: Unique interactions with sluggish cognitive tempo (2020) · cites this paper as Marchetti et al., 2016
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Metadata
- Authors
- Marchetti, I., Koster, E. H. W., Klinger, E., & Alloy, L. B.
- Affiliations
- Ghent University (BE)
- University of Minnesota Morris (US)
- Temple University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Marchetti, Igor
- Venue
- Clinical Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-06-21
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 835-857
- ISSN
- 2167-7026 (ISSN-L)
- 2167-7034
- PMC
- PMC5544025
- OpenAlex
- W2220121489
- Cited by
- 165
- References
- 170
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 8.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Clinical Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- ArTS Archivio della ricerca di Trieste (University of Trieste https://www.units.it/) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Vlaamse regering
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH079369, R01MH102310, R01MH077908, R01MH101168)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- spontaneous thought, involuntary autobiographical memories, daydreaming, cognitive vulnerability, mood disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, goal discrepancy, negative affectivity, stress, rumination, hopelessness, self-esteem, cognitive reactivity
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