psychology

Peer 1 In theory, an individual's experiences are the root of their constant stream of thought. As

experience is gained, our mental context is updated. This means that our constant influx of experiences influence our memory, understanding and decision-making skills (Bellana et al., 2021, p. 3). This theory, of experience being the controlling force of thought, acts as the basis for the research done by Bellana et al. (2021). One compelling question that arises is why certain experiences are more influential than others. Bellana et al. (2021) hypothesize that deeper forms of mental processing result in longer lasting effects on the mind which shape spontaneous thoughts. They propose that levels of processing in which contemplation is required impact spontaneous thought more so than shallow levels of processing. Bellana et al. (2021) were aware of how the lingering effect of a stimulus can be obtained by both the properties and the participant’s orientation toward the stimulus. Taking these factors into account, the hypothesis was tested using experimental research methods.

Online experiments were conducted with stratified random samples. Participants first read one of three versions of a short story that varied in levels of coherence (Bellana et al., 2021). Before and after reading the text, participants completed a free association task in which they were directed to respond to prompt words. Next, perception of the story was tested by describing evident themes and rating their experience of being transported by the story (Bellana et al., 2021). Lastly, a multiple-choice test evaluated comprehension and participants reported the extent to which the text lingered in their minds. The varying levels of coherence represent the independent variable as participants read either the intact, sentence-scrambled, or word-scrambled version of the story (Bellana et al., 2021, p. 5). The dependent variables include self-reported lingering, transportation, and spontaneous word generation of participants as each are being measured and compared between the research groups. Self-reported transportation allowed researchers to evaluate the level of deep processing done while reading. They argue that to feel transported into the world of the story, a participant must truly be able to understand its meaning (Bellana et al., 2021). The results show those in the intact condition reported feeling more transported than those in the scrambled conditions. The intensity of transportation also reflects the level at which the individual engaged with the stimulus. Furthermore, the same pattern was found when comparing the amount of lingering between condition groups. As the level of coherence of the stimuli increased, so did the amount of lingering (Bellana et al., 2021, p. 6). A positive correlation between deep mental processing and post-story lingering was revealed, therefore supporting the hypothesis. Document classification was used to measure the content differences between the pre- and post-story free association data. Further datasets were

collected for intact and sentence-scrambled conditions. The classifier accurately identified between pre- and post-story chains (Bellana et al., 2021, p. 9). Words that reflected the themes of the narrative were more likely to be found in post-story free associations of participants in the intact condition. Reports of lingering and its effect on spontaneous thought were consistent with the notion that coherent stimuli are more influential than sentences or words. In a separate experiment, a stimulus consisting of 75% content words was presented to participants. Four independent variables directed participants to focus on the appearance, tangibility, story, or theme related words. (Bellana et al., 2021, p. 12). Participants asked to identify a story/theme within the non-narrative stimulus showed the greatest amount of lingering in their post-story associations. The research conducted by Bellana et al. (2021) was successful in supporting their hypothesis that the depth of mental processing determines lingering. However, additional experimentation is encouraged when considering the scientific method.

If past experiences influence our mental context and therefore shape our thoughts, an additional experiment should be conducted to test this theory (Bellana et al., 2021). Rather than focusing on the coherence of the narrative, we should focus on the feelings the story evokes. Three groups will be used to test the strength past experiences have on our spontaneous thoughts. The first group consists of individuals that have experienced something negative. The second group shares a positive experience, and the third group has experienced neither the positive nor negative event. Each group will read the same two stories, one relating to the negative event and the other to the positive. It is expected that the group without past experience will be influenced by the negative stimulus due to the brain’s negativity bias. The group with past negative experience will be most affected by the negative story due to memories of the event affecting current thoughts. The question lies in the results of group two. Will the memories of positive past experiences influence current thoughts more so than the brain’s negativity bias? Through conducting this experiment, we will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between history-dependent thought and situational-meaning (Bellana et al., 2021). By testing if past experiences can overcome evoked feelings, we can determine how strong of a role our past has on our thoughts.

References Bellana, B., Mahabal, A., & Honey, C. J. (2021). Narrative thinking lingers in spontaneous thought.