Background and objectives: This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self... more Background and objectives: This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self-compassion, imagery rescripting focusing on mastery, and a positive memory control condition on (1) emotional responses towards the memory (one day after), (2) changes in the believability of negative core beliefs, and dysfunctional eating behaviors (one week after) in individual at risk for developing an eating disorder. Methods: Female participants (N = 69) were allocated to one of three conditions: ImRs focusing on selfcompassion (N = 24), ImRs focusing on self-mastery (N = 23), and positive memory control condition (N = 22). Participants in the ImRs conditions received a 20-min self-guided ImRs intervention, whereas participants in the control condition received a 20-min self-guided task focusing on an unrelated positive memory. Results: The experimental manipulation successfully induced the use of self-compassion and mastery strategies in the respective imagery rescripting condition. However, our data show that a single 20-min session of self-guided imagery rescripting focusing on compassion and/or mastery has no effect on the emotional response towards the aversive memory or in the change of core beliefs and eating behaviors at follow up. Limitations: We discuss potential reasons for the null findings, including the use of a single imagery rescripting session, the sample size and the measurement of manipulation checks. Conclusion: Future studies are needed to rule out methodological explanations for the null results. These findings may be of value for the development of future experimental lab paradigms which aim to evaluate the causal effects and working mechanisms of imagery rescripting.
Cognitive Bias Modification of Expectancies (CBM-E): Effects on Interpretation Bias and Autobiographical Memory, and Relations with Social and Attachment Anxiety, 2019
Social anxiety is characterised by a bias to recall negative social autobiographical memories as ... more Social anxiety is characterised by a bias to recall negative social autobiographical memories as well as anxious expectations about future social interactions. Neuroscientific research shows that a shared neural network underlies both temporal directions of autobiographical recall and future self-projections. Inspired by these findings, the current study tested the effectiveness of a Cognitive Bias Modification training to induce expectancies about the outcome of possible future social interactions (CBM-E). Its effects on interpretation bias, autobiographical recall and personal future projections were tested additionally. Participants read short social scenarios that could possibly happen to them in the future. Each scenario ended in word-fragment which, when completed, disambiguated the meaning of the scenario in either an optimistic or pessimistic way contingent on experimental condition. The CBM-E training was tested in 120 student participants and appeared effective in changing expectancies. The effect generalized to social interpretation bias (scrambled sentences). No direct effects of the training were found on autobiographical recall or future projections. However, participants trained to have pessimistic expectancies who had higher attachment anxiety showed a less positive interpretation bias related to the future. Furthermore, participants with high social anxiety reported less positive personal future projections when trained to have optimistic social expectancies.
The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics and content of intrusive images in patie... more The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics and content of intrusive images in patients with different subtypes of eating disorders (EDs). Data were collected from 74 ED patients, 22 dieting and 29 non-dieting controls. Participants completed a set of self-report questionnaires. Intrusive images of ED patients were significantly more repetitive, detailed, vivid and distressing than intrusive images of dieting and/or non-dieting controls. Most of the intrusive images were the same for the ED subtypes, however patients with AN were more likely to report an observer vantage perspective than patients with BN, who were more likely to report a field vantage perspective. As expected, intrusive images’ content was related to body-checking (weight and shape) or negative self (evaluated by themselves or others). Finally, there were significant associations between intrusive images’ vividness and weight and shape concerns. These findings indicate that intrusive images may be a core element of EDs and targeting intrusive images in therapy may be helpful.
Vantage perspective during recall is thought to affect the emotionality and accessibility of dist... more Vantage perspective during recall is thought to affect the emotionality and accessibility of distressing memories. This study aimed to test the effects of vantage perspective during recall on memory associated distress and intrusion development. An adapted version of the trauma film paradigm was used in an experimental design with three conditions. Participants were asked to listen to eyewitness reports of car accidents (e.g. Trauma Analogue Induction) and imagine the scenes vividly using mental imagery. Afterwards, they were asked to recall the most distressing scene from field perspective, observer perspective, or to recall a neutral image from observer perspective (control condition) (e.g. Trauma Analogue Recall). Recall from field perspective resulted in higher negative mood, state anxiety, and a higher number of short-term intrusions compared to the observer perspective condition and control condition. Negative mood and state-anxiety were mediators in the relationship between vantage perspective and intrusions. In comparison to observer perspective, field perspective increased the amount of short-term intrusions as a result of higher levels of negative mood and state-anxiety after memory retrieval. Future research on the interaction between vantage perspective at recall and negative mood and anxiety effects is warranted.
The self is a multi-faceted and temporally dynamic construct reflecting representations and belie... more The self is a multi-faceted and temporally dynamic construct reflecting representations and beliefs about identity in the past, present, and future. Clinical studies have shown that individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) exhibit alterations in self-related processing but these studies have fo-cused primarily on memory. Few studies in PTSD and SAD have examined self-related processing for the present and future, and no studies have directly compared these processes across these two disorders. Individuals diagnosed with PTSD (n = 21), SAD (n = 21), and healthy controls (n = 21) completed cognitive tasks related to the past, present, and future. Disorder congruent temporal alterations were found across both disorders. Further, regression analyses revealed that trauma-related memories were significantly predicted by future goals related to the trauma, whereas social anxiety-related recall was predicted by current socially anxious self-views. Thus, although self-related processing may be common in PTSD and SAD, those aspects of the self most strongly associated with disorder-congruent recall differ by disorder. Self-alterations may be modifiable and developing a better understanding of past, present, and future self-processing might aid in the development of interventions that target these process.
Background and objectives: Research has shown a link between self-efficacy appraisals and PTSD sy... more Background and objectives: Research has shown a link between self-efficacy appraisals and PTSD symptoms. Less is known about the relation between perceived self-efficacy and specific PTSD symptoms such as intrusions. These two experiments tested the causal relationship between perceived self-efficacy and intrusions from a trauma film. Methods: In Experiment I, healthy student participants received a self-efficacy manipulation consisting of the recall of autobiographical memories of success (high self-efficacy condition), failure (low self-efficacy condition) or 'important' memories (control condition). Afterwards, they viewed a trauma film and recorded their intrusions of the film in the following week. In Experiment II the self-efficacy manipulation was given after the film. Results: In contrast to expectations, the high self-efficacy condition reported a higher number of intrusions relative to the low self-efficacy condition in both experiments. Limitations: The trauma film provides experimental control but precludes generalization to real-life trauma. The effect of the experimental manipulation was small. The control condition also affected mood and confidence. Conclusions: The results suggest that the relation between self-efficacy and intrusions development is causal, but not straightforward. Recalling personal memories of success before or after a traumatic event may increase the risk of developing intrusions, at least under some circumstances. Conversely, recalling past failure experiences may be protective, perhaps by preparing the individual for adversity, or prompting them to search for coping strategies that have been successful in the past. Overall, autobiographical recall involves complex processes related to the self that could be useful but need to be more fully understood.
Cognitive models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) postulate that cognitive biases in atten... more Cognitive models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) postulate that cognitive biases in attention, interpretation, and memory represent key factors involved in the onset and maintenance of PTSD. Developments in experimental research demonstrate that it may be possible to manipulate such biases by means of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM). In the present paper, we summarize studies assessing cognitive biases in posttraumatic stress to serve as a theoretical and methodological background. However, our main aim was to provide an overview of the scientific literature on CBM in (analogue) posttraumatic stress. Results of our systematic literature review showed that most CBM studies targeted attentional and interpretation biases (attention: five studies; interpretation: three studies), and one study modified memory biases. Overall, results showed that CBM can indeed modify cognitive biases and affect (analog) trauma symptoms in a training congruent manner. Interpretation bias procedures seemed effective in analog samples, and memory bias training proved preliminary success in a clinical PTSD sample. Studies of attention bias modification provided more mixed results. This heterogeneous picture may be explained by differences in the type of population or variations in the CBM procedure. Therefore, we sketched a detailed research agenda targeting the challenges for CBM in posttraumatic stress.
Mental imagery refers to the simulation or recreation of perceptual experience across different s... more Mental imagery refers to the simulation or recreation of perceptual experience across different sensory modalities (1, 2). The study of mental imagery has clinical relevance because such imagery has been increasingly shown to play a key role across various psychological disorders (3, 4). The current research topic presents a diverse range of cutting-edge papers focusing on investigating the underlying mechanisms and/or treatment interventions associated with mental imagery in clinical disorders. We are very pleased with the final result, which comprises 15 articles drawn from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and neuroscience. This topic provides a unique collection of articles that combine different perspectives from the field of clinical psychology with more diverse perspectives drawn from the wider literature on mental imagery. One central theme across the topic is articles that have focused on the role of mental imagery in memories for negative events. Over the last decade, there has been a considerable impact in this area of, for example, working memory theory and dual task methodology [e.g., Ref. (5, 6)] on procedures associated with reducing intrusive cognitions. Two articles consider the potential limitations of this approach. van Veen et al. report two studies that examine how the speed of eye movement (EM) interacts with the emotionality and vividness of negative memories. Although a high rate of EM was associated with significant reduction in emotionality and vividness, contrary to expectation, the rate of EM did not interact with the extent of reported image vividness. The study reported by van Schie et al. examines the effect of EM on the retrieval of cued negative images acquired through word–image paired association. Dual-task EMs were found to have no effect on both self-rated vivid-ness and emotionality of the images or latency responses. These studies highlight the importance of achieving greater understanding of the complex relationship between increased working memory load and selective interference effects on trauma-related imagery. The research article by Nelis et al. takes a different but equally important approach by examining the recall of positive rather than negative life events. Two studies are reported in which participants are asked to retrieve positive autobiographical memories followed by induction of either image-or verbal-based processing styles. A concrete/imagery-based processing style was associated with a larger increase in positive effect in comparison to verbal processing, which is consistent with the perspective that mental imagery can serve as an " emotional amplifier " of personal memories (7). In the Hypothesis and Theory article by Clark and MacKay, they propose a framework in which mental imagery is just one component part of an intrusive memory, with others including the autobiographical trauma memory itself, the process of involuntary recall, negative emotions, and attention hijacking. Mental imagery is identified as playing a key role in bridging the experience, memory, and intrusive recollection elements associated with a traumatic event. The opinion article by
Background and objectives: Cognitive and information processing theories of Post-Traumatic Stress... more Background and objectives: Cognitive and information processing theories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) assert that trauma intrusions are characterized by poor contextual embedding of visuo-spatial memories. Therefore, efficient encoding of visuospatial contextual information might protect against intrusions. We tested this idea using indices of visuospatial memory embedding along with the trauma film paradigm. Methods: Individual differences in spatial configuration learning, as well as the degree to which visual recognition memory depends on its visual encoding context (i.e., memory contextualization), were assessed in 81 healthy participants. Next, participants viewed a distressing film. Intrusions and other PTSD analogue symptoms were assessed subsequently. Results: Participants displaying stronger memory contextualization developed fewer intrusions and PTSD analogue symptoms. Spatial configuration learning was unrelated to memory contextualization and, contrary to prior findings, predicted higher levels of intrusions. Limitations: Due to the analogue design, our findings may not translate directly to clinical populations. Furthermore, due to the correlational design of the study, causal relations remain to be tested. Conclusions: Our results suggest a protective role for the ability to integrate memories in their original visual learning context against the development of PTSD symptoms.
Psychological research into spontaneous or intrusive cognitions has typically focused on cognitio... more Psychological research into spontaneous or intrusive cognitions has typically focused on cognitions in one predefined domain, such as obsessional thoughts in OCD, intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, or involuntary autobiographical memories and daydreaming in everyday life. Such studies have resulted in a wealth of knowledge about these specific cognitions. However, by focusing on a predefined type of cognition, other subtypes of cognition that may co-occur can be missed. In this exploratory study, we aimed to assess involuntary cognitions in everyday life without a predetermined focus on any specific subtype of cognition. Seventy unselected undergraduate student participants were administered a questionnaire that assessed the presence of any involuntary cognitions in the past month, their quality, type, content, and potential function. In addition , participants provided self-descriptions and completed measures of psychopathology. Content analyses showed that involuntary cognitions were common, predominantly visual in nature, emotional, often about social relationships, and often related to a hypothetical function of emotional processing. About two-thirds of the cognitions that participants reported were memories. Non-memories included daydreams, imaginary worst case scenarios , imaginary future events, hypothetical reconstructions, and ruminations. Memories and non-memories were strikingly similar in their subjective experience of content and emotionality. Negative (but not positive) self-descriptions were associated with negative involuntary cognitions and psychopathology, suggesting a link between involuntary cog-nitions and the self. Overall, the findings suggest that people experience a wide variety of subtypes of involuntary cognitions in everyday life. Moreover, the specific subtype of involuntary cognition appears to be less important than its valence or content, at least to the subjective experience of the individual.
Background and objectives: To understand how memories of negative events become highly accessible... more Background and objectives: To understand how memories of negative events become highly accessible in the context of trauma, we tested the hypothesis that contextual information modulates how easily intrusions can be provoked by perceptual stimuli.. Methods: Healthy participants viewed pictures depicting trauma scenes either with or without accompanying moderate (i.e. survival, recovery) or severe (i.e. fatality, permanent injury) outcome information. All participants viewed the same depictions of trauma scenes. Involuntary memories for the pictures were assessed using self-report diaries and an adapted version of the Impact of Event Scales (IES). A blurred picture perceptual priming paradigm was adapted to be used as an intrusion provocation task. Results: The severe outcome group experienced a significantly higher frequency of intrusions on the intrusion provocation task in comparison to both moderate outcome and control (no-context) conditions. The severe outcome condition did not increase intrusions on the self-report diaries or the adapted IES. There was no effect of condition on ratings for the emotionality, self-relevance, valence, or seriousness of the trauma scenes. Limitations: The analogue method should not be generalized directly to incidences of real-life trauma. It was unclear why differences in intrusion frequency were found in the provocation task only. The relative amount of individual conceptual and data-driven processing adopted by the participants was not assessed. Conclusions: Manipulating contextual information that determines the meaning of sensory-perceptual features for a trauma scene can modulate subsequent intrusion frequency in response to visually similar cues.
Background and objectives: This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self... more Background and objectives: This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self-compassion, imagery rescripting focusing on mastery, and a positive memory control condition on (1) emotional responses towards the memory (one day after), (2) changes in the believability of negative core beliefs, and dysfunctional eating behaviors (one week after) in individual at risk for developing an eating disorder. Methods: Female participants (N = 69) were allocated to one of three conditions: ImRs focusing on selfcompassion (N = 24), ImRs focusing on self-mastery (N = 23), and positive memory control condition (N = 22). Participants in the ImRs conditions received a 20-min self-guided ImRs intervention, whereas participants in the control condition received a 20-min self-guided task focusing on an unrelated positive memory. Results: The experimental manipulation successfully induced the use of self-compassion and mastery strategies in the respective imagery rescripting condition. However, our data show that a single 20-min session of self-guided imagery rescripting focusing on compassion and/or mastery has no effect on the emotional response towards the aversive memory or in the change of core beliefs and eating behaviors at follow up. Limitations: We discuss potential reasons for the null findings, including the use of a single imagery rescripting session, the sample size and the measurement of manipulation checks. Conclusion: Future studies are needed to rule out methodological explanations for the null results. These findings may be of value for the development of future experimental lab paradigms which aim to evaluate the causal effects and working mechanisms of imagery rescripting.
Cognitive Bias Modification of Expectancies (CBM-E): Effects on Interpretation Bias and Autobiographical Memory, and Relations with Social and Attachment Anxiety, 2019
Social anxiety is characterised by a bias to recall negative social autobiographical memories as ... more Social anxiety is characterised by a bias to recall negative social autobiographical memories as well as anxious expectations about future social interactions. Neuroscientific research shows that a shared neural network underlies both temporal directions of autobiographical recall and future self-projections. Inspired by these findings, the current study tested the effectiveness of a Cognitive Bias Modification training to induce expectancies about the outcome of possible future social interactions (CBM-E). Its effects on interpretation bias, autobiographical recall and personal future projections were tested additionally. Participants read short social scenarios that could possibly happen to them in the future. Each scenario ended in word-fragment which, when completed, disambiguated the meaning of the scenario in either an optimistic or pessimistic way contingent on experimental condition. The CBM-E training was tested in 120 student participants and appeared effective in changing expectancies. The effect generalized to social interpretation bias (scrambled sentences). No direct effects of the training were found on autobiographical recall or future projections. However, participants trained to have pessimistic expectancies who had higher attachment anxiety showed a less positive interpretation bias related to the future. Furthermore, participants with high social anxiety reported less positive personal future projections when trained to have optimistic social expectancies.
The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics and content of intrusive images in patie... more The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics and content of intrusive images in patients with different subtypes of eating disorders (EDs). Data were collected from 74 ED patients, 22 dieting and 29 non-dieting controls. Participants completed a set of self-report questionnaires. Intrusive images of ED patients were significantly more repetitive, detailed, vivid and distressing than intrusive images of dieting and/or non-dieting controls. Most of the intrusive images were the same for the ED subtypes, however patients with AN were more likely to report an observer vantage perspective than patients with BN, who were more likely to report a field vantage perspective. As expected, intrusive images’ content was related to body-checking (weight and shape) or negative self (evaluated by themselves or others). Finally, there were significant associations between intrusive images’ vividness and weight and shape concerns. These findings indicate that intrusive images may be a core element of EDs and targeting intrusive images in therapy may be helpful.
Vantage perspective during recall is thought to affect the emotionality and accessibility of dist... more Vantage perspective during recall is thought to affect the emotionality and accessibility of distressing memories. This study aimed to test the effects of vantage perspective during recall on memory associated distress and intrusion development. An adapted version of the trauma film paradigm was used in an experimental design with three conditions. Participants were asked to listen to eyewitness reports of car accidents (e.g. Trauma Analogue Induction) and imagine the scenes vividly using mental imagery. Afterwards, they were asked to recall the most distressing scene from field perspective, observer perspective, or to recall a neutral image from observer perspective (control condition) (e.g. Trauma Analogue Recall). Recall from field perspective resulted in higher negative mood, state anxiety, and a higher number of short-term intrusions compared to the observer perspective condition and control condition. Negative mood and state-anxiety were mediators in the relationship between vantage perspective and intrusions. In comparison to observer perspective, field perspective increased the amount of short-term intrusions as a result of higher levels of negative mood and state-anxiety after memory retrieval. Future research on the interaction between vantage perspective at recall and negative mood and anxiety effects is warranted.
The self is a multi-faceted and temporally dynamic construct reflecting representations and belie... more The self is a multi-faceted and temporally dynamic construct reflecting representations and beliefs about identity in the past, present, and future. Clinical studies have shown that individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) exhibit alterations in self-related processing but these studies have fo-cused primarily on memory. Few studies in PTSD and SAD have examined self-related processing for the present and future, and no studies have directly compared these processes across these two disorders. Individuals diagnosed with PTSD (n = 21), SAD (n = 21), and healthy controls (n = 21) completed cognitive tasks related to the past, present, and future. Disorder congruent temporal alterations were found across both disorders. Further, regression analyses revealed that trauma-related memories were significantly predicted by future goals related to the trauma, whereas social anxiety-related recall was predicted by current socially anxious self-views. Thus, although self-related processing may be common in PTSD and SAD, those aspects of the self most strongly associated with disorder-congruent recall differ by disorder. Self-alterations may be modifiable and developing a better understanding of past, present, and future self-processing might aid in the development of interventions that target these process.
Background and objectives: Research has shown a link between self-efficacy appraisals and PTSD sy... more Background and objectives: Research has shown a link between self-efficacy appraisals and PTSD symptoms. Less is known about the relation between perceived self-efficacy and specific PTSD symptoms such as intrusions. These two experiments tested the causal relationship between perceived self-efficacy and intrusions from a trauma film. Methods: In Experiment I, healthy student participants received a self-efficacy manipulation consisting of the recall of autobiographical memories of success (high self-efficacy condition), failure (low self-efficacy condition) or 'important' memories (control condition). Afterwards, they viewed a trauma film and recorded their intrusions of the film in the following week. In Experiment II the self-efficacy manipulation was given after the film. Results: In contrast to expectations, the high self-efficacy condition reported a higher number of intrusions relative to the low self-efficacy condition in both experiments. Limitations: The trauma film provides experimental control but precludes generalization to real-life trauma. The effect of the experimental manipulation was small. The control condition also affected mood and confidence. Conclusions: The results suggest that the relation between self-efficacy and intrusions development is causal, but not straightforward. Recalling personal memories of success before or after a traumatic event may increase the risk of developing intrusions, at least under some circumstances. Conversely, recalling past failure experiences may be protective, perhaps by preparing the individual for adversity, or prompting them to search for coping strategies that have been successful in the past. Overall, autobiographical recall involves complex processes related to the self that could be useful but need to be more fully understood.
Cognitive models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) postulate that cognitive biases in atten... more Cognitive models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) postulate that cognitive biases in attention, interpretation, and memory represent key factors involved in the onset and maintenance of PTSD. Developments in experimental research demonstrate that it may be possible to manipulate such biases by means of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM). In the present paper, we summarize studies assessing cognitive biases in posttraumatic stress to serve as a theoretical and methodological background. However, our main aim was to provide an overview of the scientific literature on CBM in (analogue) posttraumatic stress. Results of our systematic literature review showed that most CBM studies targeted attentional and interpretation biases (attention: five studies; interpretation: three studies), and one study modified memory biases. Overall, results showed that CBM can indeed modify cognitive biases and affect (analog) trauma symptoms in a training congruent manner. Interpretation bias procedures seemed effective in analog samples, and memory bias training proved preliminary success in a clinical PTSD sample. Studies of attention bias modification provided more mixed results. This heterogeneous picture may be explained by differences in the type of population or variations in the CBM procedure. Therefore, we sketched a detailed research agenda targeting the challenges for CBM in posttraumatic stress.
Mental imagery refers to the simulation or recreation of perceptual experience across different s... more Mental imagery refers to the simulation or recreation of perceptual experience across different sensory modalities (1, 2). The study of mental imagery has clinical relevance because such imagery has been increasingly shown to play a key role across various psychological disorders (3, 4). The current research topic presents a diverse range of cutting-edge papers focusing on investigating the underlying mechanisms and/or treatment interventions associated with mental imagery in clinical disorders. We are very pleased with the final result, which comprises 15 articles drawn from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and neuroscience. This topic provides a unique collection of articles that combine different perspectives from the field of clinical psychology with more diverse perspectives drawn from the wider literature on mental imagery. One central theme across the topic is articles that have focused on the role of mental imagery in memories for negative events. Over the last decade, there has been a considerable impact in this area of, for example, working memory theory and dual task methodology [e.g., Ref. (5, 6)] on procedures associated with reducing intrusive cognitions. Two articles consider the potential limitations of this approach. van Veen et al. report two studies that examine how the speed of eye movement (EM) interacts with the emotionality and vividness of negative memories. Although a high rate of EM was associated with significant reduction in emotionality and vividness, contrary to expectation, the rate of EM did not interact with the extent of reported image vividness. The study reported by van Schie et al. examines the effect of EM on the retrieval of cued negative images acquired through word–image paired association. Dual-task EMs were found to have no effect on both self-rated vivid-ness and emotionality of the images or latency responses. These studies highlight the importance of achieving greater understanding of the complex relationship between increased working memory load and selective interference effects on trauma-related imagery. The research article by Nelis et al. takes a different but equally important approach by examining the recall of positive rather than negative life events. Two studies are reported in which participants are asked to retrieve positive autobiographical memories followed by induction of either image-or verbal-based processing styles. A concrete/imagery-based processing style was associated with a larger increase in positive effect in comparison to verbal processing, which is consistent with the perspective that mental imagery can serve as an " emotional amplifier " of personal memories (7). In the Hypothesis and Theory article by Clark and MacKay, they propose a framework in which mental imagery is just one component part of an intrusive memory, with others including the autobiographical trauma memory itself, the process of involuntary recall, negative emotions, and attention hijacking. Mental imagery is identified as playing a key role in bridging the experience, memory, and intrusive recollection elements associated with a traumatic event. The opinion article by
Background and objectives: Cognitive and information processing theories of Post-Traumatic Stress... more Background and objectives: Cognitive and information processing theories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) assert that trauma intrusions are characterized by poor contextual embedding of visuo-spatial memories. Therefore, efficient encoding of visuospatial contextual information might protect against intrusions. We tested this idea using indices of visuospatial memory embedding along with the trauma film paradigm. Methods: Individual differences in spatial configuration learning, as well as the degree to which visual recognition memory depends on its visual encoding context (i.e., memory contextualization), were assessed in 81 healthy participants. Next, participants viewed a distressing film. Intrusions and other PTSD analogue symptoms were assessed subsequently. Results: Participants displaying stronger memory contextualization developed fewer intrusions and PTSD analogue symptoms. Spatial configuration learning was unrelated to memory contextualization and, contrary to prior findings, predicted higher levels of intrusions. Limitations: Due to the analogue design, our findings may not translate directly to clinical populations. Furthermore, due to the correlational design of the study, causal relations remain to be tested. Conclusions: Our results suggest a protective role for the ability to integrate memories in their original visual learning context against the development of PTSD symptoms.
Psychological research into spontaneous or intrusive cognitions has typically focused on cognitio... more Psychological research into spontaneous or intrusive cognitions has typically focused on cognitions in one predefined domain, such as obsessional thoughts in OCD, intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, or involuntary autobiographical memories and daydreaming in everyday life. Such studies have resulted in a wealth of knowledge about these specific cognitions. However, by focusing on a predefined type of cognition, other subtypes of cognition that may co-occur can be missed. In this exploratory study, we aimed to assess involuntary cognitions in everyday life without a predetermined focus on any specific subtype of cognition. Seventy unselected undergraduate student participants were administered a questionnaire that assessed the presence of any involuntary cognitions in the past month, their quality, type, content, and potential function. In addition , participants provided self-descriptions and completed measures of psychopathology. Content analyses showed that involuntary cognitions were common, predominantly visual in nature, emotional, often about social relationships, and often related to a hypothetical function of emotional processing. About two-thirds of the cognitions that participants reported were memories. Non-memories included daydreams, imaginary worst case scenarios , imaginary future events, hypothetical reconstructions, and ruminations. Memories and non-memories were strikingly similar in their subjective experience of content and emotionality. Negative (but not positive) self-descriptions were associated with negative involuntary cognitions and psychopathology, suggesting a link between involuntary cog-nitions and the self. Overall, the findings suggest that people experience a wide variety of subtypes of involuntary cognitions in everyday life. Moreover, the specific subtype of involuntary cognition appears to be less important than its valence or content, at least to the subjective experience of the individual.
Background and objectives: To understand how memories of negative events become highly accessible... more Background and objectives: To understand how memories of negative events become highly accessible in the context of trauma, we tested the hypothesis that contextual information modulates how easily intrusions can be provoked by perceptual stimuli.. Methods: Healthy participants viewed pictures depicting trauma scenes either with or without accompanying moderate (i.e. survival, recovery) or severe (i.e. fatality, permanent injury) outcome information. All participants viewed the same depictions of trauma scenes. Involuntary memories for the pictures were assessed using self-report diaries and an adapted version of the Impact of Event Scales (IES). A blurred picture perceptual priming paradigm was adapted to be used as an intrusion provocation task. Results: The severe outcome group experienced a significantly higher frequency of intrusions on the intrusion provocation task in comparison to both moderate outcome and control (no-context) conditions. The severe outcome condition did not increase intrusions on the self-report diaries or the adapted IES. There was no effect of condition on ratings for the emotionality, self-relevance, valence, or seriousness of the trauma scenes. Limitations: The analogue method should not be generalized directly to incidences of real-life trauma. It was unclear why differences in intrusion frequency were found in the provocation task only. The relative amount of individual conceptual and data-driven processing adopted by the participants was not assessed. Conclusions: Manipulating contextual information that determines the meaning of sensory-perceptual features for a trauma scene can modulate subsequent intrusion frequency in response to visually similar cues.
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