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Alone with Your Thoughts

It sounds pretty easy. Sit in a room, by yourself, with no distractions. Then just pay attention to your thoughts for 10 or 15 minutes. But apparently most of us cannot do it. Or, if we can, chances are good we will heartily dislike doing it. Those are the findings from an unusual new study.  
The study included well over 700 test subjects from a wide variety of age groups.

Guests:
Erin Westgate  - Co-author of the research article “Just Think: The Challenges of the Disengaged Mind” (.pdf), published in journal Science (July 4, 2014).  Researcher and doctoral candidate in the field of social psychology at the University of Virginia.

Timothy D. Wilson, Ph.D. - Researcher in the field of social psychology.  The Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia.  Lead author of the research article “Just Think: The Challenges of the Disengaged Mind” (.pdf), published in journal Science (July 4, 2014).

 

Tom Graham was Senior Producer and host of WMRA's Virginia Insight from 2006 to 2015.