Contemplation vs. Distraction

In a world saturated with stimulation from without, the inner workings of the mind are becoming less and less familiar, as suggested by a recent study that found many prefer a mild electrical shock to sitting quietly with nothing but their own thoughts.

by John B. Tyburski, PhD, MPH, Advisory Board Member

and Daniel Fusco, Youth Fitness Council Co-Founder

Copyright © 2014 Youth Fitness Council, LLC. All rights reserved.

First published at Youth Fitness Council on July 25, 2014

Quiet contemplation dreadful for most Americans

Let’s face it, most Americans today, particularly those of the younger generations, are constantly engaged in some activity or distraction. Smartphones and tablets, along with high-speed wireless and cellular connectivity, have literally put almost all human knowledge into our pockets and pocketbooks. Additionally, our modern capacity for delivering electronic entertainment is staggering. Yet with this access to tremendous scholarship and technology, with diversion available whenever we want it, we really do not achieve more than when people only had libraries, card catalogs, and maybe a couple of board games and an Encyclopedia Britannica collection at home. Worse, our tendencies and our devices may be distracting us so much with useless engagement that we can no longer stand to be without them.

Can we become addicted to distraction? A recent report published in the July 4 issue of the top-tier scientific journal Science Magazine suggests that we may. University of Virginia scientists, along with a collaborator at Harvard University, investigated people’s ability to sit alone in a room with nothing to do but think for six to 15 minutes and then how they describe the experience. Even though the participants were told ahead of time what to expect, they rated the periods of contemplation as negative experiences. Even more interesting, many chose to administer mild electrical shocks to their own selves when offered the opportunity to do so, choosing the discomfort from without over sitting quietly and doing nothing.

“Those of us who enjoy some down time to just think likely find the results of this study surprising – I certainly do – but our study participants consistently demonstrated that they would rather have something to do than to have nothing other than their thoughts for even a fairly brief period of time,” said University of Virginia Timothy Wilson, senior author on the report.

Dislike of quiet contemplation cuts across a wide age range

Wilson and colleagues conducted a series of 11 studies with hundreds of University undergraduates and surrounding community residents ranging in ages. The scientists asked the participants to be alone with their thoughts for a defined period of time and then report on their experiences. In early trials, the participants were mainly college students who mostly said it was not enjoyable and that they had difficulty concentrating. In subsequent studies, similar observations were recorded from participants of broad-ranging backgrounds and ages ranging from 18 to 77 years.

“That was surprising – that even older people did not show any particular fondness for being alone thinking,” Wilson said.

Past research has also indicated that people generally prefer engagement with the world over quiet contemplation. Surveys show that Americans tend to fill their waking hours with television-watching, socializing, and reading, with little or no time given over to conscious relaxation or thinking. When participants of the present study were asked to sit quietly alone at home, about a third admitted to spending the time listening to music, using their mobile phone, or leaving their spot. Questionnaire responses show that participants did not enjoy sitting quietly at home any more than in the laboratory.

Most prefer external activity over quiet time 

Subsequently, the researchers conducted experiments in which participants could spend the quiet time doing some kind of external activity such as reading or listening to music. The only condition was that they could not communicate with anyone else. Most participants responded much more positively to these activities compared with quiet contemplation.

Finally, the researchers asked whether sitting quietly was so unpleasant that participants would chose mildly painful stimulus over it. They asked, “Would they rather do an unpleasant activity than no activity at all?”

In fact, many do prefer an unpleasant activity over no activity. When the administrators of the study offered a device that participants could use to give themselves mild electrical shocks during their periods of quiet contemplation, most men (12 of 18) and a quarter of women (6 of 24) chose the shocks. All participants were given a trial shock before the study began so they were familiar with the stimulus and still chose it. It was strong enough that they even said before the quiet contemplation session that they would pay money to avoid the shock.

“What is striking,” the investigators write, “is that simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 minutes was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electric shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid.”

What are the implications?

Wilson said he and his team are planning follow-up studies to uncover the reasons why people cannot be alone with their thoughts. Daydreaming and fantasizing are appealing, but perhaps only at the right times or in a spontaneous manner. Wilson does not think that electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers are specifically to blame.

“The mind is designed to engage with the world,” he said. “Even when we are by ourselves, our focus usually is on the outside world. And without training in meditation or thought-control techniques, which still are difficult, most people would prefer to engage in external activities.”

This study raises a number of questions:

• How would participants from other cultures around the world compare with Americans?
• Are other cultures more contemplative then we are?
• Is quiet contemplation a beneficial part of healthy living that we are depriving ourselves and our children of?
• Is this the way we ought to be, or are we just undisciplined?

As the comforts, tools, and distractions of modern living multiply, answering these questions will be very important as we raise future generations. One might even say that this is something worth contemplating, quietly without interruption.

Exercises to promote quiet contemplation:

The finding that many of us consider quiet contemplation an unpleasant experience likely relates to habits and conditioning caused by our self-perceived need for entertainment. For highly disciplined individuals, however, entertainment makes up a very small part of how they spend their time. Entertainment is neutral at best and probably detrimental to our ability to focus on important tasks. On the other hand, regular quiet contemplation promotes discipline and likely increases our ability to maintain concentration.

For those desiring to achieve a greater balance in their own lives, there are exercises which one can do to reverse the dominating influences of distraction. The best ones are those which utilize our normal daily activities by adding a contemplative component. For example, take a few moments to sit quietly alone and reflect on what is to come or what occurred throughout the day. At first, start with five or six minutes. Before long, 20 minutes will pass without notice.

Start of Day:

Encounters with other people

·         mentally prepare

·         what are your objectives

·         what do you know of the character of the people you will encounter today

·         what can you give

Activities

·         what do you want to accomplish

·         what results are you wishing to achieve

·         set a mental time-table

·         what are you looking to learn/gain

Performance (job, school, sports, etc.)

·         run a mental rehearsal using imagination and vision

·         visual desired end results

·         see yourself at your best

·         what do you need to do and/or know to do your best

Days End:

Encounters with other people

·         what was said

·         did you understand what they were expressing

·         did you express yourself well

·         how do you feel now about the encounter

Activities

·         did you get done what you wanted to

·         is there anything left undone

·         would you do anything differently next time

·         what was learned

Performances (job, school, sports, etc.)

·         did you perform as expected

·         what were the results

·         what could have been done better

·         what was learned

Contemplation or mediation: what’s the difference?

Contemplation is deep reflective thought or the action of looking thoughtfully at something for longer than a brief moment. Contemplation is thinking about something for a while and weighing different perspectives on the topic. Contemplation may be directed at nearly any topic or thought and only requires mental effort and discipline to take the time to do it.

Meditation is generally defined as the process of self-inducing a mode of consciousness as an end goal or to realize some end goal. Mediation is approached as an exercise or mind-training technique and may even involve some physical training such as yoga- or Zen-like positions. Quiet contemplation requires no training or program.