Mindwandering and social cognition in depression: The mind’s social default mode and its role in mental well-being

Although modern life is considered busy, research shows that we spend a noticeable amount of time in fantasies, rather than being focused on what we are doing. For instance, it is a common experience that, while reading a book, we suddenly realize that we are unable to remember the last page, because we have been fantasizing about possible future events that could happen to us.
It seems indeed that, when our mind drifts away, we tend to focus inward and reflect on
ourselves. However, human beings are “social animals” rather than isolated individuals, as we rely on one another for survival. Accordingly, preliminary findings suggest that our mind focuses on social topics also when not engaged in any active task.
With our project, we aim at investigating the social dimension of mindwandering and its plausible positive effects on mental and social functioning. Specifically, we put forward that, while experiencing mindwandering, we are equally focused on ourselves and other people, and this facilitates positive functions, such the ability to read others’ minds (empathy). On the other hand, we expect that this mechanism is disrupted in people who are vulnerable to depression.
Specifically, we put forward that in these individuals, mindwandering is less social, rather that it is disproportionally focused on the daydreamer’s self. This imbalance could lead to increased selfevaluative thoughts and more intense negative emotions.