Mind-wandering vs Mindfulness
Besides neurological evidence collected by Lutz et al. (2009), Brewer et al. (2011), and Garrison (2013), highlighting the apparent dichotomic functioning of being mindful and mind-wandering, the relationship between these two states is still uncertain. However, several studies have demonstrated that individuals who are higher in trait mindfulness exhibit less frequent mind-wandering (Balardi et al., 2022; Mrazek et al., 2012; Mrazek et al., 2013). Furthermore, interventions that attempt to increase mindfulness have been shown to decrease subsequent tendencies to mind-wander, either through extensive training (Mrazek al., 2013) or through brief mindful breathing exercises (Mrazek et al., 2012). These studies corroborate the findings of existing research that indicates that mindfulness training can reduce activation of the default-mode network. Ostensibly, musicians who are higher in trait mindfulness (or have been trained in mindful attention) would exhibit less rates of mind-wandering because they have a greater ability to go back to the musical task at hand.
Mrazek et al. (2012) demonstrated that MAAS (Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale) scores indicating high levels of mindfulness were negatively correlated with self-reported trait mind-wandering in one hundred thirteen undergraduate participants. Specifically, high levels of trait mindfulness were associated with less mind-wandering during a mindful breathing exercise and a SART (Sustained Attention to Response Task). Seemingly, in a second study, Mrazek et al. demonstrated that 8 minutes of mindful breathing may reduce behavioral indicators of mind-wandering during a (SART) as compared with passive relaxation and reading task control conditions in sixty undergraduate students.
Mrazek et al. (2013) furthered the investigations on the relationship between mindfulness and mind-wandering during the execution of tasks that depend on working memory. Participants were assigned to either a mindfulness class (n = 26) or a nutrition class (n = 22). Classes were taught by professionals in their fields and met for 45 min four times a week for 2 weeks. The mindfulness class was centered on focused attention meditation (FA). Participants were asked to integrate mindfulness into their daily activities and to practice 10 min of daily meditation outside of class. Each class included 10 to 20 min of mindfulness exercises requiring focused attention to some aspect of sensory experience. The mindfulness training used in this study differed from MBSR in that it occurred over 2 weeks rather than 8, devoted less time to meditation during classes, and required considerably less time spent in formal daily practice outside of class. Before and after the training, participants completed a working memory task and a verbal-reasoning section from the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations). Eight thought probes were presented at unpredictable quasirandom intervals asking whether the participant’s attention was on or off task. It was discovered that the mindfulness training led to improved accuracy on the GRE (p = .02) higher working memory capacity ( p = .05), and less probe-caught mind wandering (p = .006), self-caught mind wandering (p = .05) and retrospectively self-reported mind wandering during testing (p = .03). Overall, the mindfulness training led to improvements in performance and reductions in mind wandering across all variables (p < .05).
Summary
The previous studies emphasize that practicing mindfulness, at different time lengths, may reduce the frequency and negative impact of mind-wandering during the performance of activities that rely on working memory. Thus, one could hypothesize that such discoveries may also apply to music practice, an activity that also relies on the use of working memory and, therefore, requires de use of conscious executive thinking. One possible limit to the above discoveries is the use of questionnaires that rely on self-reports that examine introspective capabilities, which are subject to bias. Moreover, The use of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) in determining wandering and mindfulness states imposes the limitation of a lack of detailed task focus and a tendency to stimulate self-focused MW (Balardi et al., 2022). Moreover, as we saw in the section “Contextual variables to mind wandering” Robinson et al. (2020) formulate mind-wandering as a complex phenomenon that asks for a multi-faceted approach including mindfulness motivation, stress, or working memory capacity. If the relationship between MW and mindfulness is embedded within this multi-faceted approach, the association between these two factors might be adulterated by other confounding factors that were not accounted for in the studies examining the relationship between mindfulness and mind-wandering. Therefore, to have a more holistic idea of how mindfulness and mind-wandering may interact, the following study took into account those variables when measuring the impact of mindfulness on the distractibility of participants.
Balardi et al (2022) investigated the relationship between mind-wandering and mindfulness in two samples, one consisting of German‐speaking unpaid participants ( n = 313) and one of English‐speaking paid participants (n = 228). As with the previous examined studies, data was collected using (MAAS) and the SART during which self‐reports of MW and meta‐awareness of MW were recorded using thought probes. Mind-wandering was found to be negatively associated with mindfulness in the German-speaking group but not in the English-speaking group of participants. One possible explanation for this difference could be that a large proportion of participants in the English-speaking group answered that they were rarely or never ‘off task’ during the experiment, a consideration to be taken into account in the study that follows. Balardi et al. found that MW and trait mindfulness were indeed moderately negatively correlated and that MW and mindfulness may be on opposite sides of a spectrum of how attention is focused on the present moment and the task at hand.