"Mind Pops" in Everyday Life
by Laila Kiwanuka
You are doing your routine morning walk and then all of a sudden you think of the name Leonardo DiCaprio. Or, let’s say you are completing your math homework when all of a sudden you start humming Michael Jackson’s song “Bad” with no prior connection. These are examples of mind-popping and chances are it has happened to you. Labeled by George Mandler in 2016, mind-popping is defined as words, phrases, images, or melodies that pop into your head without intentionally recalling them (Zhang L., et al). So this would essentially be involuntary semantic knowledge that wasn’t required. While the study of this topic is slim due to it being fairly new, it also provides opportunities as well as the chance to truly consider what makes up our autobiographical memory.
Many psychologists and researchers have aimed to determine whether a mind pop is truly involuntary or whether there is a trigger that can be attributed to it. Mind pops fall into a broader category known as involuntary memory. This is described as “instances in which a memory comes to mind” unintentionally and often spontaneously (“Apa PsycNet”). What distinguishes mind pops from this category as a whole is what tends to pop into a person's head, which is often semantic knowledge. It can be made up of random words, phrases, and pictures but it tends to be very far-fetched in comparison to a memory that is brought forth through a trigger. This brings in something I wanted to focus on and it was distinguishing the difference between involuntary autobiographical memory and mind pops.
Mind Pop Research by Kvavilashvili and Mandler
The research done by Lia Kvavilashvili and George Mandler is often referenced in almost all of the academic papers that are under the topic of mind pops. There were three main takeaways from their research. One is that involuntary autobiographical memories refer to an instance in someone’s past that can often be described in around one or two sentences. Whereas involuntary semantic memories, what they called mind pops, are random words that have no true connection which often highlight the world around us. The second takeaway is that involuntary semantic memories "lack [the] easily detectable triggers” that come with autobiographical memories (such as scents or sounds) (Kvavilashvili L. & Mandler G). Lastly, they discovered that the recurrence of involuntary autobiographical memories is more frequent than a repeated involuntary semantic memory or often known as “one-off occurrences” (“‘Mind-Pops’ More Common in Schizophrenia”).
While both are distinct, their one commonality is that they are often experienced when partaking in mundane or routine activities. Involuntary autobiographical memories rely on a smell, sound or taste, otherwise known as environmental stimuli, to help recall the moment in your past. An example of this would be while taking a jog in the park, you suddenly start to smell something that resembles a hot dog stand. Instantly, you recall when your brother was eating a hot dog and happened to spill mustard on himself. The recollection of this memory was not on purpose and a bit random, but what spurred said recollection can be traced. Memory pops on the other hand are completely different because instead of having any supposed outside influences, it is merely an arbitrary invasion of semantic knowledge such as randomly recalling the phrase “One step for man; One giant leap for mankind.” The only similarity is that this phrase too can pop up while on a jog through the park, except there was nothing that triggered that thought.
As stated before, mind pops are experienced in the form of words, phrases, visual images, and music. In their study, Kvavilashvili and Mandler were able to determine that the majority of mind pops are experienced as words and phrases in comparison to images and music. They found that verbal mind pops made up 61%, musical mind pops made up 27%, and visual ones made up 12% of the total reported mind pops (Kvavilashvili L. & Mandler G). An additional finding was that 50% of the reported mind pops were able to be connected to a related topic that was encountered in one’s environment. This aspect highlights that mind pops might not be as arbitrary as we believe and that it could be due to something known as long-term priming. This is where the word, phrase, or visual was encountered and happened to persistently spread throughout the semantic network causing the thought to be resurfaced. More research still needs to be done, but Kvavilashvili and Mandler could be revealing an aspect of mind pops that was not truly considered.
Involuntary Memory and Mental Disorders
Involuntary memory can also take part in certain mental disorders such as PTSD or Schizophrenia. PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is when a person goes through a traumatic event and has a hard time recovering even if the event happened years ago. Most of this disorder is involuntary autobiographical memory because when a person with PTSD “relives” their experience, much of that memory recollection is often triggered by something they heard, smelt, or saw (Elua I., Laws K., Kvavilashvili L.). This idea can be attributed to the term flashbacks where the recalled moments, seemingly real, are replayed in your mind as though you were back in that time.
Much of the research we have today about mind pops are often attributed to Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that deals with experiencing life out of touch with reality. The American Psychiatric Association would define this as dealing with things such as hallucinations, delusions, and trouble with thinking. Hallucinations in terms of schizophrenia is when the person can experience smelling, hearing, seeing, tasting, and feeling things that aren’t actually there (“What Is Schizophrenia?”). This is often attributed to the thought or phrase of “hearing voices”, which can be tied to involuntary autobiographical memories. Many of its symptoms make it difficult for not only those close to the patient, but the patient themself, to determine whether those senses are triggering an actual memory or if they are hallucinating the occurrence.
One of the reasons mind pops are researched in tandem with schizophrenia is because it is believed that there are more chances of mind pops occurring to a person with schizophrenia than to a random person (Elua I., Laws K., & Kvavilashvili L.). Also when asked about mind pops in a study done by Elua, Law, and Kvavilashvili, the people with schizophrenia were more likely to identify and indicate the occurrence of mind pops whereas the other patients were less likely to indicate that a mind pop occurred. This could be due to the fact that many people aren’t aware of what it is or because it seemed like a one-off, they deemed it insignificant and not what the researchers were actually looking for. But as with most of the topic, more research needs to be done in order to have a stronger claim.
Overview
Mind pops happen to anyone at any time of day. There is nothing wrong with them nor is it a problem. I find it a very interesting topic because there are times where I am taken aback by how irrelevant a thought is and have always wondered whether there was psychological research on the occurrence. Turns out there is, but it is very slim. I believe that mind pops is an increasingly expanding topic that could potentially reveal things about other memory topics. I am excited to see what further research will come of this topic and how it could potentially help or better inform others in the long run.
Works Cited
“Apa PsycNet.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-00536-001.
“‘Mind-Pops’ More Common in Schizophrenia.” Oruen, www.oruen.com/psychiatry/schizophrenia/mind-pops-more-common-in-schizophrenia#:~:text=Alternatively%2C%20it%20might%20be%20that,%2C’%20%E2%80%9D%20the%20researchers%20said.
“What Is Schizophrenia?” Psychiatry.Org - What Is Schizophrenia?, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia.
Elua I., Laws K., & Kvavilashvili L. “From Mind-Pops to Hallucinations? A Study of Involuntary Semantic Memories in Schizophrenia.” Psychiatry Research, Elsevier, 14 Mar. 2012, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178111007839#bb0125.
Kvavilashvili L. & Mandler G. “Out of One’s Mind: A Study of Involuntary Semantic Memories.” Cognitive Psychology, Academic Press, 31 July 2003, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010028503001154.
Zhang L., Li W., Wei D., Yang W., Yang N., Qiao L., Qiu J., Zuo XN., Zhang Q. “The Association between the Brain and Mind Pops: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study in 256 Chinese College Students.” Brain Imaging and Behavior, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25972117/#:~:text=Mind%20pops%20or%20involuntary%20semantic,pops%20has%20started%20only%20recently.