Four types of thinker have been identified. Which one are you?

In the study, about 10% of thoughts centred on hobbies, games, play and art, with a similar amount focused on relationships. Illustration: Michael Parkin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen In the study, about 10% of thoughts centred on hobbies, games, play and art, with a similar amount focused on relationships. Illustration: Michael Parkin/The Guardian Four types of thinker have been identified. Investigation finds evidence of distinct groups, from big-picture thinkers to those who sweat the small stuff. Illustrations -hard, play-hards An investigation into what people think about has put the spotlight on the modern mind, revealing thoughts dominated by work, the need for coffee and a strong desire to go back to bed. It also found evidence for four distinct groups of thinkers who spend more time than most either worrying about the world; mulling on household chores and finances; focusing on the mind and body; or the work-hard, play-hard combination of career and pleasure. The groups are not definitive and people will move between them, but the finding shows how sampling people’s thoughts at random can provide a nuanced view of human thinking patterns, according to the researchers. Economists at Claremont Graduate University, in California, and Wuhan University, in Hubei, China, explored people’s conscious thoughts after finding a surprising dearth of work on the topic. “So much of what it means to be human is about what’s going on in our head,” said Dr Joshua Tasoff, a senior author on the study. “The fact that we haven’t really looked at that as economists is really quite extraordinary.” For the study, 258 volunteers aged 19 to 71 downloaded an app that beeped at eight random times per day for two weeks. On each beep, they were required to write down their thoughts, what they were doing and rate their happiness level. View image in fullscreen Part of the study tested an assertion : ‘The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.’ Photograph: imageBROKER/AlamyAfter gathering more than 23,000 real-time responses, the economists saw that people’s thoughts flowed with the rhythms of the day, steered largely towards work in the day and entertainment in the evening. Roughly half of people’s thoughts were intentional, the rest being intrusive or accidental thoughts from mind wandering or reminders. Sensory information, including feeling tired and sleepy, and mental impressions, accounted for nearly a fifth of all thoughts. Next came work at 17% and food at 14%.