University of Colorado releases thought tracking app to learn how people's minds wander

By Aditi Pai
02:44 pm
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Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience have released a research app, called Where’s My Mind?, that studies how people’s minds wander.

Templeton Foundation and the Brain and Behavioral Research Foundation are supporting the research.

Where’s My Mind?, which is currently only available on Android devices, will prompt users at random intervals each day with questions about their thoughts. Some of the questions will ask users to describe their mental state, mood, and level of focus.

“We’ve had an interest in studying the psychology of internal thought for quite a while,” Jessica Andrews-Hanna, director of the Neuroscience of Thought and Emotion Lab at CU Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science said in a statement. “Internal thoughts are important because they can be the source of inspiration, happiness or planning, but can also fuel anxiety and stress. Little research has been done in this area thus far.”

Users will be able to use the app to view patterns in their own thoughts over time and access data on how much their mind wanders in a certain period of time. Researchers will also use the data to study different forms of mind wandering.

“We are keeping track of how people respond to the app in their everyday lives, which allows us to establish norms and baselines that could prove extremely useful,” said Joanna Arch, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU-Boulder.

Almost two years ago, TED speaker Matt Killingsworth launched a similar type of app, called Track Your Happiness, that prompts users every day with a few questions about their thoughts. Based on this data, the app aims to help users understand what makes them happy.

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