In a groundbreaking study that asked people what they think about, researchers have confirmed what most of us already suspected: your thoughts are dominated by work, coffee, and a desperate longing to go back to bed. The investigation, conducted by economists from Claremont Graduate University and Wuhan University, found that people can be sorted into four distinct groups of thinkers: Worriers, Domestics, Bodily Thinkers, and Work-Hard-Play-Hard types. The groups are not rigid, and people may drift between them, but the findings offer a nuanced peek into the modern mind.
For two weeks, 258 volunteers aged 19 to 71 carried an app that beeped eight times a day at random. Upon each beep, they had to jot down their thoughts, current activity, and happiness level. After analyzing over 23,000 responses, the economists noticed that thoughts followed the rhythms of the day - work dominated daytime, entertainment took over evenings. About half of all thoughts were intentional; the rest were intrusive or accidental, like reminders or mind-wandering. Sensory information - feeling tired or sleepy - accounted for nearly a fifth of thoughts, followed by work (17%), food (14%), hobbies (10%), and relationships (10%). When people thought about what they wanted, nearly half involved food or drink, especially coffee. And 29% of needs-related thoughts centered on relaxation, particularly naps and sleep.
The mind was rarely blank - only a fraction of a percent of responses claimed no thoughts. However, thoughts about sex were conspicuously scarce, leading researchers to suspect some reticence. “There may be things people don’t want to share with us. You know: TMI,” said Dr. Joshua Tasoff, senior author. Perhaps relatedly, a quarter of beeps went unanswered. The study also tested a claim by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius that “the happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” The researchers found that what people were thinking was more predictive of their happiness than anything else. “Maybe Marcus Aurelius was on to something,” they conceded.
The four thinker groups emerged from clustering common themes. Worriers thought about world events, politics, and social issues about 60% more than average, with concerns about wars, Covid, safety, and health. They also thought about music nearly twice as often, possibly to soothe their anxious minds. Domestics devoted about 50% more thoughts to chores, home, finances, and stories from movies, books, and TV. Bodily Thinkers - the youngest group, average age 32, nearly two-thirds women - focused on senses, feelings, and mental impressions, with the highest rate of unwanted intrusive thoughts (28%). Words like “therapist,” “ache,” and “overwhelm” appeared frequently. Finally, the Work-Hard-Play-Hard group split their minds between career and leisure, thinking about work 50% more than average and hobbies 25% more. They had the highest income and happiness scores, and slightly more males than females. Their key words included “relaxation,” “presentation,” “flight,” “nail,” “project,” and “gym.”
The authors caution against extrapolating to the global population, as the volunteers were all from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) backgrounds. The categories are tentative, and a longer study with more participants is needed. But for now, you can take comfort in knowing that whatever you’re thinking about, you’re probably not alone - unless it’s sex, in which case you might be the only one.