Evidence From the Trauma-Film Paradigm That Traumatic and Nontraumatic Memories Are Statistically Equivalent on Coherence

There is contention in the scientific literature about the coherence of people’s memories for trauma: Sometimes, traumatic memories are rated as less coherent than nontraumatic memories; other times, they “look” very similar. But several methodological challenges invite counter-explanations that hinder the interpretation of these findings. We set out to address these challenges by adopting a trauma-film-paradigm approach to examine the coherence of traumatic and nontraumatic memories. We developed a new set of materials for the trauma-film paradigm and then used these materials to examine the relative coherence of traumatic and various nontraumatic memories. We found that traumatic memories were not only fairly coherent but also statistically equivalent to their nontraumatic counterparts. Our hope is that scientists use these materials in experiments that complement the existing autobiographical-memory literature and allow for a greater understanding of the relation between memory and dysfunction.

How expectations shape the formation of intrusive memories – An experimental study using the trauma film paradigm

Objective: Although intrusions are the hallmark symptom of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), there is still limited knowledge about the processes that contribute to the development of intrusions. Here, we used the well-established trauma film paradigm (TFP) to investigate how expectations about the intensity and controllability of intrusions influence their occurrence. Methods: 90 healthy participants underwent the TFP before they were randomized to one of three conditions manipulating their expectations about intrusions: positive expectations group; negative expectations group; control group. The primary outcome was the frequency and severity of intrusive memories as assessed with an intrusion diary over seven days.Results: The TFP was well implemented, as indicated by significant post-film anxiety and a substantial number of intrusions reported for the subsequent week. The three groups did not differ in their expectations about intrusions and, relatedly, in their experience of intrusions. A mediation analysis revealed that the influence of post-film anxiety on intrusive memories was fully mediated by expectations. Conclusion: Despite the failure of the expectation manipulation, the results of the mediation analysis support the hypothesis that post-film expectations influence the formation of intrusive memories, suggesting that intrusions may result from maladaptive dynamics between emotional and cognitive processes following trauma(like) experiences.