The role of working memory in the occurrence of involuntary thoughts about the past and future: An experimental investigation.
- 1Applied Memory Research Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University
- 2Department of Psychology and Sport Sciences, University of Hertfordshire
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that although involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and involuntary future thoughts (IFTs) occur spontaneously with minimal effort, their frequency is significantly reduced during cognitively demanding activities, which leaves their precise underlying mechanism(s) yet to be revealed.Across two experiments, we tested the hypotheses that the frequency of IAMs and IFTs may be reduced due to (a) the limited working memory capacity that enables the processing of only a finite number of thoughts and/or (b) the reduced likelihood of noticing incidental, task-irrelevant cues that may potentially trigger IAMs and IFTs.To this end, participants completed a laboratory vigilance task with irrelevant cue words to trigger IAMs and IFTs and random thought probes to measure their frequency.Study 1 manipulated the level of working memory load (none, low, high) while participants performed a letter version of the Nback task during the vigilance task.The presentation of working memory task items and incidental cue words in the vigilance task was also manipulated (simultaneous vs. sequential).Study 2 further manipulated the type of working memory load by using either verbal or visuospatial N-back task while using a sequential presentation of working memory task items and cue words.In both studies, to further examine levels of incidental cue noticing, participants also completed an unexpected cue-recognition task after completing the vigilance task.Cognitive load reduced cue recognition, which positively predicted IAMs frequency.While working memory type had no robust effect, IFTs tended to be more frequent under visuospatial load.Overall, working memory load, cue noticing, and participants' strategic behaviors jointly shaped IAMs and IFTs retrieval.The results provide new insights about the underlying mechanisms of IAMs and IFTs in terms of their dependency on cognitive load and may open interesting avenues for future research.
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BibTeX
@article{barzykowski2026role,
title = {{The role of working memory in the occurrence of involuntary thoughts about the past and future: An experimental investigation.}},
author = {Krystian Barzykowski and Ewa Ilczuk and Lia Kvavilashvili},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1037/xlm0001624},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001624},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The role of working memory in the occurrence of involuntary thoughts about the past and future: An experimental investigation.
AU - Krystian Barzykowski
AU - Ewa Ilczuk
AU - Lia Kvavilashvili
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/10
JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition
DO - 10.1037/xlm0001624
UR - https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001624
AB - Previous research has demonstrated that although involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and involuntary future thoughts (IFTs) occur spontaneously with minimal effort, their frequency is significantly reduced during cognitively demanding activities, which leaves their precise underlying mechanism(s) yet to be revealed.Across two experiments, we tested the hypotheses that the frequency of IAMs and IFTs may be reduced due to (a) the limited working memory capacity that enables the processing of only a finite number of thoughts and/or (b) the reduced likelihood of noticing incidental, task-irrelevant cues that may potentially trigger IAMs and IFTs.To this end, participants completed a laboratory vigilance task with irrelevant cue words to trigger IAMs and IFTs and random thought probes to measure their frequency.Study 1 manipulated the level of working memory load (none, low, high) while participants performed a letter version of the Nback task during the vigilance task.The presentation of working memory task items and incidental cue words in the vigilance task was also manipulated (simultaneous vs. sequential).Study 2 further manipulated the type of working memory load by using either verbal or visuospatial N-back task while using a sequential presentation of working memory task items and cue words.In both studies, to further examine levels of incidental cue noticing, participants also completed an unexpected cue-recognition task after completing the vigilance task.Cognitive load reduced cue recognition, which positively predicted IAMs frequency.While working memory type had no robust effect, IFTs tended to be more frequent under visuospatial load.Overall, working memory load, cue noticing, and participants' strategic behaviors jointly shaped IAMs and IFTs retrieval.The results provide new insights about the underlying mechanisms of IAMs and IFTs in terms of their dependency on cognitive load and may open interesting avenues for future research.
SN - 0278-7393
SN - 1939-1285
ER -