Skip to content
EntityQ1425065· pop 14· linked from 209 articles

absent-mindedness

Sign in to save

Also known as absent minded

Absent-mindedness is a mental state wherein a person is forgetfully inattentive. It is the opposite mental state of mindfulness.

~8 min read

Encyclopedic overview

10 sections
Contents
  • Conceptualization
  • Causes
  • Consequences
  • Absent-mindedness in popular culture
  • Measurement and treatment
  • Mistakes and related phenomena
  • See also
  • Footnotes
  • Further reading
  • External links

Absent-mindedness is a mental state wherein a person is forgetfully inattentive. It is the opposite mental state of mindfulness.

Absent-mindedness is often caused by things such as boredom, sleepiness, rumination, distraction, or preoccupation with one's own internal monologue. When experiencing absent-mindedness, people exhibit signs of memory lapses and weak recollection of recent events.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “absent-mindedness” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.