What Features of Mind-wandering episodes Predict their Recall? A Think-Aloud Study

Mind-wandering (MW) refers to task-unrelated thoughts that are decoupled from the surrounding environment. Although often considered disruptive, MW has been proposed to support functions such as creativity, problem solving, and planning, which presuppose that its content is encoded in memory and later retrieved when relevant. Yet, factors determining whether MW episodes are remembered or forgotten remain poorly understood. To address this gap, participants completed a 10-min Think-Aloud Protocol, during which they continuously verbalized their thoughts, followed by an unexpected free-recall test after a one-day delay. After recall, participants rated the phenomenological characteristics of each MW episode, allowing direct comparisons between recalled and forgotten episodes to identify content-related and temporal predictors of recall. Our results showed that recall probability increased with episode length and for episodes involving other people, rated as more important, goal-related, structured, deliberate, routine, and recurrent in daily life. Recall probability was also higher for episodes with temporal and functional future orientation, whereas episodes with no apparent function were less likely to be recalled. In a combined model including all significant predictors, only episode length, involvement of other people, future temporal orientation, and absence of function uniquely predicted recall. In addition, recall exhibited primacy and recency effects, as well as a tendency to follow the original chronological order of MW episodes. Together, these findings indicate that memory for MW episodes is not random but rather shaped by their phenomenological characteristics and temporal dynamics, suggesting that it follows organizational principles similar to those observed for externally perceived stimuli.