Passage 2

In 2014, one in sixteen Americans visited the hospital emergency room for home injuries. One of the main causes of these accidents? A wandering mind!  By one estimate, people daydream through nearly half of their waking hours. Psychologists have recently focused on the tendency to think about something other than the task one is doing. For one experiment, researchers developed an app to analyze the relationship between daydreaming and happiness. They found that the average person’s mind wandered most frequently about 65% of the time during personal activities, such as brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Respondents’ minds tended to wander more when they felt upset rather than happy. They were more likely to wander toward pleasant topics than unpleasant ones. How do daydreams affect daydreamers? A wandering mind leaves us vulnerable when driving. In one study, researchers interview 955 people involved in traffic accidents, the majority of them reported having daydream just before the accident. Yet other research suggests that daydreaming has benefits. Researches have found that it gives us a chance to think about our goals and it also seems to increase creativity. In one experiment, 145 undergraduates completed four unusual uses tasks, each requiring them to list as many uses as possible for everyday object. After the first pair of tasks was completed, one group of participants was assigned an undemanding activity intended to cause their minds to wander. When all the participants proceeded to the second pair of tasks, the daydreamers performed 40% better than the others.

Q12: What does the passage say about people’s mind?

Q13: For what purpose did the researchers develop the new app?

Q14: How does daydreaming benefit people according to some researchers?

Q15: What was the finding of the experiment with 145 undergraduates?