Attending to Body and Mind: Does Interoceptive Attention Compete with Controlled and Negative Automatic Thoughts?

Interoceptive Attention refers to how an individual typically allocates their attentional resources to physiological signals. We do not, however, fully understand how Interoceptive Attention relates with other forms of internally focused attention, such as attention to internal thoughts (e.g., mind-wandering, reflection, worry), and whether these factors compete for limited attentional resources at the trait and state level. Across two Studies (n = 222, n = 109; years data collected: 2021–2022, 2023-2024; from a UK-based predominantly undergraduate population), we isolated two components from several established trait-level measures of attention to thoughts, these reflected Negative Automatic Thoughts (worry, rumination), and Controlled Thoughts (deliberate mind-wandering, reflection). In subsequent regression analyses, Negative Automatic Thoughts, but not Controlled Thoughts, were a significant positive predictor of Interoceptive Attention, even when controlling for perceived interoceptive accuracy. This significant relationship was, however, accounted for by trait anxiety when included in the model. To test this pattern at the state-level, a novel monotonous responding task with three-dimensional attention probes was developed, which measures the reported allocation of attention between thoughts, bodily sensations, and the task. In contrast to trait-level attention, reported priority of attention to thoughts and body signals inversely correlated, despite both increasing across the task. The results suggest that in a single moment attention to bodily signals and internal thoughts may compete; but over time, individuals who report focusing more on their internal thoughts also report more time attending to their body, with some evidence showing that this positive correlation could be due to underlying trait anxiety.