Autobiographical memory refers to personal recollections of past experiences.
Mind wandering in ADHD involves unintentional shifts in attention to task-unrelated thoughts.
These phenomena may be linked as both involve spontaneous cognitive processes. Individuals with ADHD, prone to attentional lapses, might experience more frequent involuntary autobiographical memories.
This connection suggests that the same mechanisms underlying increased mind wandering in ADHD could also contribute to higher rates of spontaneous remembering, potentially affecting daily functioning and cognitive experiences.
Mace, J. H., HaileMariam, A., Zhu, J., & Howell, N. (2024). Involuntary remembering and ADHD: Do individuals with ADHD symptoms experience high volumes of involuntary memories in everyday life?. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12749
Key Points
- Individuals with ADHD symptoms experience higher volumes of involuntary autobiographical memories in everyday life compared to those without ADHD symptoms.
- On a laboratory measure (vigilance task), there were no significant differences in involuntary memory reports between ADHD and non-ADHD groups.
- ADHD-range participants estimated higher daily involuntary memory frequencies on a questionnaire and recorded more involuntary memories in a 48-hour diary study.
- ADHD-range participants reported their involuntary memories as less positive and more repetitive than non-ADHD participants.
- The study suggests that while ADHD individuals experience more involuntary memories, the difference is not as dramatic as anecdotal reports might suggest (approximately twice as many).
- There is considerable variability in involuntary memory frequency within the ADHD group, suggesting some individuals may experience very high volumes while others only slightly more than non-ADHD individuals.
- The research has limitations, including the use of a non-clinical sample and potential underreporting in diary studies.
- This study is important for understanding the cognitive experiences of individuals with ADHD and may have implications for ADHD management and treatment.
Rationale
Previous research has implicated spontaneous mind wandering as a feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), leading researchers to question whether spontaneous remembering is also characteristic of ADHD (Jonkman et al., 2017; Seli et al., 2015).
While some studies have found correlations between cognitive failures and involuntary memory frequency (Kamiya, 2014; Verwoerd & Wessel, 2007), others have reported no differences in involuntary memory frequency between ADHD and non-ADHD individuals in laboratory settings (Barzykowski et al., 2021).
This inconsistency in findings necessitates further investigation to clarify the relationship between ADHD and involuntary autobiographical memories in everyday life.
Understanding this relationship could provide valuable insights into the cognitive experiences of individuals with ADHD and potentially inform treatment approaches.
The current study aims to address this gap by comparing spontaneous cognition, particularly involuntary autobiographical memories, in participants who scored within and outside the ADHD range on a clinically validated scale.
Method
The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining laboratory measures, questionnaires, and naturalistic diary recordings to investigate involuntary autobiographical memories in individuals with and without ADHD symptoms.
Procedure
Study 1: Participants completed a vigilance task in the laboratory, where they reported involuntary memories and spontaneous thoughts. They also estimated their daily involuntary memory frequencies on a questionnaire.
Study 2: Participants recorded their naturally occurring involuntary memories in a structured diary for 48 hours.
Both studies: Participants completed the Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV) to assess ADHD symptoms.
Sample
Study 1: 453 undergraduate students (306 females, 142 males, 5 unreported; age range 18-55 years, M = 19.03, SD = 2.27)
Study 2: 116 undergraduate students and community members (81 females, 35 males, 2 non-binary; age range 18-51 years, M = 19.91, SD = 3.58)
Measures
- Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV): A clinically validated scale to assess ADHD symptoms
- Vigilance task: A laboratory measure to elicit involuntary memories and spontaneous thoughts
- Involuntary memory questionnaire: Developed for this study to estimate daily involuntary memory frequency and characteristics
- Structured diary: Used to record naturally occurring involuntary memories over 48 hours
Statistical measures
- Bivariate Pearson correlations
- ANOVAs with post-hoc Tukey’s tests
- Brown-Forsythe corrections for unequal variances
- Square root transformations to address non-normality in data
Results
Hypothesis 1: ADHD-range participants will report more involuntary memories than non-ADHD range participants.
Results: Partially supported. No significant differences were found on the vigilance task, but ADHD-range participants reported higher daily involuntary memory frequencies on the questionnaire and recorded more involuntary memories in the diary study.
Hypothesis 2: ADHD-range participants will report qualitative differences in their involuntary memories compared to non-ADHD range participants.
Results: Supported. ADHD-range participants reported their involuntary memories as less positive and more repetitive than non-ADHD participants in both the questionnaire and diary studies.
Insight
This study provides compelling evidence that individuals with ADHD symptoms experience higher volumes of involuntary autobiographical memories in everyday life compared to those without ADHD symptoms.
The discrepancy between laboratory findings and naturalistic observations suggests that the vigilance task may not accurately capture real-world differences in involuntary remembering between ADHD and non-ADHD individuals.
The finding that ADHD-range participants experience approximately twice as many involuntary memories as non-ADHD participants, rather than a more dramatic difference, challenges anecdotal reports of extremely high volumes in ADHD individuals.
The considerable variability within the ADHD group suggests that some individuals may indeed experience very high volumes, while others only slightly more than non-ADHD individuals.
This variability may explain the persistence of anecdotal reports of extreme cases.
Future research could explore the factors contributing to this variability within ADHD populations and investigate potential subgroups with differing involuntary memory experiences.
Implications
The findings have significant implications for understanding the cognitive experiences of individuals with ADHD and may inform clinical practice.
Recognizing that ADHD individuals experience more frequent and less positive involuntary memories could lead to the development of targeted interventions to manage these experiences.
For example, cognitive-behavioral techniques could be adapted to address the emotional impact of involuntary memories.
The study also highlights the importance of using naturalistic methods in ADHD research, as laboratory measures may not always capture real-world cognitive differences.
Future research should focus on replicating these findings with clinical ADHD samples and exploring the potential impact of involuntary memories on daily functioning and quality of life in ADHD individuals.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Use of multiple methods (laboratory task, questionnaire, and diary study) to investigate involuntary memories
- Large sample sizes in both studies
- Use of a clinically validated ADHD scale (BAARS-IV)
- Naturalistic diary recordings providing ecological validity
- Consideration of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of involuntary memories
Limitations
This study also had several methodological limitations, including:
- Non-clinical sample: Participants were not diagnosed with ADHD but scored in the ADHD range on BAARS-IV
- Potential underreporting in diary studies, especially for ADHD-range participants with higher memory frequencies
- Short duration of diary recording (48 hours), which may have missed longer-term patterns
- Reliance on self-report measures, which may be subject to bias or inaccuracies
- Limited generalizability due to the predominantly young, student sample
These limitations suggest that future research should include clinically diagnosed ADHD samples, employ longer diary recording periods, and use more diverse participant populations to enhance the generalizability of findings.
References
Primary reference
Mace, J. H., HaileMariam, A., Zhu, J., & Howell, N. (2024). Involuntary remembering and ADHD: Do individuals with ADHD symptoms experience high volumes of involuntary memories in everyday life?. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12749
Other references
Barzykowski, K., Hajdas, S., Radel, R., Niedźwieńska, A., & Kvavilashvili, L. (2021). The role of inhibitory control and ADHD symptoms in the occurrence of involuntary thoughts about the past and future: An individual differences study. Consciousness and cognition, 95, 103208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2021.103208
Jonkman, L. M., Markus, C. R., Franklin, M. S., & van Dalfsen, J. H. (2017). Mind wandering during attention performance: Effects of ADHD-inattention symptomatology, negative mood, ruminative response style and working memory capacity. PLoS one, 12(7), e0181213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181213
Kamiya, S. (2014). Relationship between frequency of involuntary autobiographical memories and cognitive failure. Memory, 22(7), 839-851. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2013.838630
Seli, P., Smallwood, J., Cheyne, J. A., & Smilek, D. (2015). On the relation of mind wandering and ADHD symptomatology. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 22, 629-636. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0793-0
Verwoerd, J., & Wessel, I. (2007). Distractibility and individual differences in the experience of involuntary memories. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(2), 325-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.07.014
Keep Learning
Socratic questions for a college class to discuss this paper:
- How might the experience of more frequent and less positive involuntary memories impact the daily lives of individuals with ADHD?
- What factors could explain the discrepancy between laboratory findings and naturalistic observations of involuntary memories in ADHD individuals?
- How might the variability in involuntary memory frequency within the ADHD group influence our understanding and treatment of ADHD?
- In what ways could the findings of this study inform the development of new interventions or coping strategies for individuals with ADHD?
- How might the experience of involuntary memories interact with other cognitive symptoms of ADHD, such as inattention or hyperactivity?
- What ethical considerations should researchers keep in mind when studying involuntary memories in clinical populations?
- How might cultural factors influence the experience and reporting of involuntary memories in individuals with and without ADHD?
- What neurological mechanisms might underlie the increased frequency of involuntary memories in ADHD individuals?
- How could future research address the limitations of this study to provide more definitive evidence about involuntary memories in ADHD?
- In what ways might the findings of this study challenge or support existing theories about cognitive processing in ADHD?
