Metacognitive experiences like deja vu are spontaneous, making them difficult to study in the lab. Barzykowski and Moulin (2022) proposed that methods triggering involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) could also elicit other spontaneous experiences. In a vigilance task with 99 participants, detecting vertical lines among 392 trials, participants reported spontaneous experiences by pressing a spacebar. As expected, participants reported IAMs as well as other spontaneous cognitions like deja vu and tip-of-the-tongue. We successfully demonstrated that when attention is diffuse, various spontaneous experiences arise. The data is discussed in terms of IAMs and deja vu originating from similar mechanisms.

Humans rely on familiarity in many situations in everyday life. Yet its cognitive and neural bases have received less attention than those of recollection. In this opinion presentation, we will emphasize the complex nature of familiarity and focus on two dimensions: its representational dimension and its phenomenal dimension. A better understanding of these dimensions may support the identification of common processes to a variety of memory phenomena, such as déjà vu and involuntary autobiographical memory.

It is often reported that people first experience déjà vu when they are between ages 6 and 10. A range of cognitive prerequisites have been proposed as necessary to report déjà vu, including: i) the ability to understand what a question probing déjà vu occurrence is referring to; ii) experience of others describing the déjà vu experience (e.g. in literature or conversation); and iii) the metacognitive faculties to identify the experience in oneself. We are testing UK primary school-age children (age 4-11) on markers of these prerequisites, to better understand the emergence of déjà vu and other spontaneous cognitions.

Déjà vu has only been a subject of investigation in mainstream psychological science for approximately the past 20 years. Most empirical research on it has investigated it from the perspective that it is an odd, often illusory quirk of human memory. This talk presents evidence for a new perspective on déjà vu, which is that rather than merely being an odd quirk of memory, déjà vu serves as a form of involuntary thought interruption that redirects the focus of one’s thoughts when it occurs.

As a discussant, Lia Kvavilashvili will synthesize the key points raised during the symposium talks, offering insights into the shared cognitive mechanisms underlying spontaneous cognitions such as involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and déjà vu. After a brief summary of each presentation, she will moderate further discussion between the presenters and the audience, fostering an engaging dialogue on the implications of these findings and the future directions for research. This discussion will highlight the value of integrating multiple perspectives to advance understanding in the field of spontaneous cognition.