ArticlePsychological research2024
Recurrent involuntary memories and mind wandering are related but distinct.
Article in Psychological research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Convergent validation of the Involuntary Autobiographical Memory Inventory across levels of analysis in a Polish sample.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Brain-based predictive modeling of mind-wandering and involuntary thought: the idiographic approach.Technology, mind, and behavior · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Spontaneous thought is common in daily life, and includes recurrent involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs; memories retrieved unintentionally and repetitively) and mind wandering (MW). Both recurrent IAMs and MW are often unintentional or unconstrained, and both predict symptoms of mental health disorders. However, not all MW is unintentional, and not all IAMs are unconstrained. To what extent do recurrent IAMs and MW converge versus diverge? Undergraduates (N = 2,701) completed self-report measures of recurrent IAMs, trait MW, and psychopathology (i.e., PTSD, depression, anxiety). Regressions indicated that recurrent IAMs were significantly associated with spontaneous MW, but not deliberate MW. Further, both spontaneous MW and recurrent IAMs had unique relationships with disorder symptoms. Results suggest that recurrent IAMs are related to MW to the extent that recurrent IAMs are spontaneous. Conversely, recurrent IAMs are distinct from MW to the extent that recurrent IAMs' associations with disorder symptoms could not be solely explained by trait MW (and vice versa). This work highlights related, but distinguishable, forms of spontaneous thought and their transdiagnostic links with psychopathology.
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Registered trials
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