University of New South Wales, School of Psychology, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2013 Jun;44(2):179-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2012.08.004. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
Intrusive images after a traumatic event, a hallmark feature of post-traumatic stress disorder, are suggested to develop because the trauma memory is disorganized and not integrated into autobiographical memory. Unconscious Thought Theory predicts that information can be conceptually organized after a period of unconscious thought (UT), more so than after conscious thought (CT). We aimed to test the hypothesis that UT decreases intrusions and increases conceptual organization in memory.
Participants were shown a stressful film and were required to perform an UT task, a CT task, or a distraction task. Intrusions of the film, intrusion qualities, and sequence memory were measured afterwards.
We confirmed our hypothesis that UT (versus CT or mere distraction) leads to fewer intrusions, thereby replicating earlier research. Contrary to prediction, we found no difference between the conditions on sequence memory. In addition, conscious thought appeared to increase intrusion nowness and arousal.
The analogue design and healthy participant sample prevent from generalizing results to other populations. Intrusion frequency and qualities were assessed immediately after the film thereby prohibiting us from drawing conclusions about any long-term effects.
Engaging in unconscious thought after a stressful film can reduce intrusion frequency. This has potential implications for clinical interventions to prevent initial stress symptoms. The underlying mechanism remains unclear for now and provides an avenue for future research.
创伤后应激障碍的一个显著特征是创伤后会出现侵入性图像，这表明创伤记忆是紊乱的，没有融入自传体记忆。无意识思维理论预测，无意识思维（UT）之后，信息可以在概念上得到组织，比有意识思维（CT）之后更为如此。我们旨在检验这样一个假设，即 UT 减少侵入性并增加记忆中的概念组织。
参与者观看一段有压力的电影，并要求他们执行无意识思维任务、有意识思维任务或分心任务。之后测量电影的侵入性、侵入性质量和序列记忆。
我们证实了我们的假设，即 UT（与 CT 或单纯分心相比）会导致侵入性减少，从而复制了早期的研究结果。与预测相反，我们在序列记忆方面没有发现条件之间的差异。此外，有意识的思维似乎增加了侵入性的即时性和唤醒度。
模拟设计和健康参与者样本限制了结果在其他人群中的推广。侵入性频率和质量是在观看电影后立即评估的，因此我们无法得出关于任何长期影响的结论。
在观看有压力的电影后进行无意识思维可以减少侵入性频率。这对预防初始应激症状的临床干预具有潜在意义。目前，其潜在机制尚不清楚，为未来的研究提供了一个途径。
