Contextual representations of negative images modulate intrusion frequency in an intrusion provocation paradigm

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

Vantage perspective during encoding: The effects on phenomenological memory characteristics

Contains fulltext : 156161.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)The vantage perspective from which a memory is retrieved influences the memory’s emotional impact, intrusiveness, and phenomenological characteristics. This study tested whether similar effects are observed when participants were instructed to imagine the events from a specific perspective. Fifty student participants listened to a verbal report of car-accidents and visualized the scenery from either a field or observer perspective. There were no between-condition differences in emotionality of memories and the number of intrusions, but imagery experienced from a relative observer perspective was rated as less self-relevant. In contrast to earlier studies on memory retrieval, vantage perspective influenced phenomenological memory characteristics of the memory representation such as sensory details, and ratings of vividness and distancing of the memory. However, vantage perspective is most likely not a stable phenomenological characteristic itself. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.8 p