A Linguistic Analysis of Spontaneous Thoughts: Investigating Experiences of Déjà Vu, Unexpected Thoughts, and Involuntary Autobiographical Memories
This work provides incremental insights for cognitive psychology by using language analysis to update theories on spontaneous thoughts, but it does not introduce new methods or broad advancements.
The study tackled the problem of understanding spontaneous thoughts like déjà vu by analyzing linguistic patterns in participant descriptions, reinforcing existing theories that déjà vu involves abstract language, involuntary memories are emotionally detailed, and unexpected thoughts are unpredictable.
The onset of spontaneous thoughts are reflective of dynamic interactions between cognition, emotion, and attention. Typically, these experiences are studied through subjective appraisals that focus on their triggers, phenomenology, and emotional salience. In this work, we use linguistic signatures to investigate Deja Vu, Involuntary Autobiographical Memories and Unexpected Thoughts. Specifically, we analyze the inherent characteristics of the linguistic patterns in participant generated descriptions of these thought types. We show how, by positioning language as a window into spontaneous cognition, existing theories on these attentional states can be updated and reaffirmed. Our findings align with prior research, reinforcing that Deja Vu is a metacognitive experience characterized by abstract and spatial language, Involuntary Autobiographical Memories are rich in personal and emotionally significant detail, and Unexpected Thoughts are marked by unpredictability and cognitive disruption. This work is demonstrative of languages potential to reveal deeper insights into how internal spontaneous cognitive states manifest through expression.