Penumbral thoughts: contents of consciousness upon waking

Fedrigo, Virginia, Galizzi, Matteo M., Jenkins, Rob and Sanders, Jet (2023) Penumbral thoughts: contents of consciousness upon waking. PLOS ONE, 18 (12). ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Thoughts shape our experience, choice, and behaviour throughout the day. Yet the content of ‘penumbral thoughts’—first thoughts upon waking—has received very little research attention. Across seven independent samples (total N = 829), we used recall and reflection methods, solicited the same day, to understand what individuals think as they regain consciousness. These penumbral thoughts show remarkable thematic consistency: individuals were most likely to reflect on their somatic or psychological state, focus on temporal orientation, and prioritise waking actions. Survey results demonstrate that temporal and spatial orientation are dominated by the current time and the day ahead, rather than the past or other future timescales. Our results provide some insight into the order of priority in consciousness. We conclude that establishing one’s temporal position is important to the daily process of ‘rebooting’ conscious awareness.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	15 Aug 2023 14:12
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2024 20:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119984

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