Involuntary Autobiographical Memory and Future Thought Predicting Hallucination Proneness

Abstract

Involuntary (spontaneously arising) autobiographical memories and involuntary future thoughts are common in daily life, but their frequency and emotional intensity vary among individuals. Theories of hallucination in schizophrenia have hypothesized a key role for involuntary memories; however, this idea has been little examined. We report two studies, designed to address the role of involuntary mental events in relation to hallucination proneness. Both studies showed that the self-reported frequency of involuntary memories and future projections was a robust predictor of hallucination proneness, even when controlling for measures of unwanted thoughts and rumination (Study 1) and measures of depression, dissociation, executive functions, imagery abilities, and personality (Study 2). In Study 1, the emotional intensity of involuntary memories and future projections also predicted hallucination proneness. The findings open a new avenue of research addressing the role of involuntary autobiographical memories and future projections in relation to hallucination and psychosis.