The structure and correlates of beliefs about mental state intensity dynamics

The intensity of mental states varies over time. Within a given instance of a cognitive or emotional state, the strength of that state’s hold on the mind ebbs and flows. Although different instances of the same state will exhibit different temporal dynamics, certain states are associated with certain dynamics. For example, surprise tends to arise sharply, whereas tiredness generally accumulates gradually over time. This paper investigates the structure and correlates of people’s beliefs about these mental state dynamics. We measure these beliefs using a freeform drawing task in an online sample (Sample 1; N = 457), and preregistered replication sample (Sample 2; N = 1435). We observe that people attribute consistent, differentiable intensity dynamics to a wide range of mental states. These beliefs are optimally characterized by a replicable 3-dimensional structure. We go on to examine the correlates of these beliefs about intra-state dynamics (Study 2). We find that they are associated with variability in mental state similarity judgements, transition probability ratings, and natural language use. Together these findings show that people hold robust, structured beliefs about mental state dynamics, and that these beliefs are reflected in other facets of mental state understanding.