What is Mind Blanking: A Conceptual Clarification

The investigation of so-called mind blanking has been recently established in the context of mind wandering research. Unfortunately, the description of the term 'mind blanking' and its experimental assessment are often ambiguous. More specifically, two distinct phenomena have been conceptually blended and both characterized using the term 'mind blanking' in experimental studies: the absence of task-focus and thought, versus complete lack of conscious experiences. At least in part, this confusion can be traced back to the writings of William James, who referred to 'thought' as a superordinate term to address different conscious experiences. Applying the technique of so-called experience sampling, experimental studies, up to now, probably assessed the absence of thought, but not a complete lack of conscious experiences. There is no clear evidence yet for instances of the latter phenomenon occurring during non-pathological waking state. Possibly, such evidence could be revealed in the future using a conceptually more refined experience sampling.