Studying inter-individual differences in the dynamics of spontaneous thought: spontaneous word generation as a proxy for the stream of thought

Jury:
Paul SELI - Rapporteur
Sébastien WEIBEL - Rapporteur 
Athena DEMERTZI - Examinatrice
Frédérique DE VIGNEMONT - Examinatrice
Catherine TALLON-BAUDRY - Examinatrice
Jérôme SACKUR - Directeur de thèse
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When unoccupied, our mind does not remain silent; instead, we experience thoughts of various sorts, such as memories, ideas or self-talk. This thesis examines how the dynamics of these spontaneous thoughts varies between individuals, in relation to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Across three empirical studies, we build on spontaneous word generation tasks as a proxy for participants’ streams of thought.
The first study shows that a greater thought segmentation is associated both with higher ADHD traits and exploratory tendencies. The second models thought transitions as an accumulation-to-threshold process, where the threshold negatively correlates with mind-wandering and ADHD traits. The third examines the impact of cognitive constraint on thought, showing that greater ADHD traits predict more dynamic trains of thought under low constraints.
These findings provide insights into the cognitive mechanisms shaping thought dynamics