THE INFLUENCE OF AGING ON SPONTANEOUS SHIFTS OF ATTENTION FROM EXTERNAL STIMULI TO THE CONTENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

In a series of studies using laboratory procedures and retrospective r eports it has been established that with increasing age adults less fr equently have unbidden task-unrelated image and thought intrusions (TU ITs). TUITs - also referred to as daydreams - have been linked to the ''current concerns'' and ''unfinished business'' of the individual, an d old adults have been shown to express fewer current concerns than yo ung adults. It has also been hypothesized that selective loss of neuro ns in old age might interfere with thought production, resulting in fe wer unbidden thoughts and spontaneous shifts of attention to them. In this article we examine the extent to which intraindividual change in the frequency of TUITs over 6 to 8 years is consistent with the decrea se expected from the prior cross-sectional studies. In particular, we examine the frequency of daydreams based upon retrospective self repor ts using the Daydreaming Frequency scale of the Imaginal Processes Inv entory. The longitudinal sample consisted of 93 women and 169 men. Sig nificant and equivalent decreases in Daydreaming Frequency scale value s occurred at all ages. Longitudinal decreases were consistent with cr oss-sectional age differences. Thus, spontaneous shifts of attention t o the contents of consciousness were seen to decrease over a 6 to 8 ye ar interval within individuals - a result consistent with a within-ind ividual change in conditions leading to spontaneous shifts.