Mood-congruent false memories in the DRM paradigm

This study investigated the creation of mood-congruent false memories within the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm using recall and recognition of critical lures as performance measures. Participants (n=93) were randomly assigned to three mood-induction conditions (positive, negative and control) and were presented with positive, negative and neutral DRM word lists in audio form. We predicted that intrusion errors of the critical lures would be higher in the mood-congruent conditions. Results confirmed this prediction and extended previous DRM research by showing that already high false memory rates were increased when the valence of the lures matched the mood-induction condition. Furthermore, participants made more “remember” judgements for the emotion critical lures in their mood-congruent conditions. Discussion draws on spreading activation explanations of DRM findings, and considers how moods could increase activation of non-presented information.     

Dissonance-induced false memories: Evidence from a free-choice paradigm

People often misremember the past as consistent with the present. Recent research using an induced-compliance paradigm has revealed that cognitive dissonance is one mechanism that can underlie this memory distortion. We sought to replicate and extend this finding using a free-choice paradigm: Participants made either an easy or a difficult choice between two smartphones and, either immediately or two days later, reported their memories for their decision experience. Participants who made a difficult decision produced the spread-of-alternatives effect expected by dissonance theory, and they were also more likely than those in the easy conditions to misremember their initial decision more favourably than they had initially rated it. Overall, our findings replicate the effect of dissonance on memory distortion and, further, show that the effect generalises to other dissonance-inducing situations.     

The role of kinematic mental simulation in creating false memories

Our investigation focuses on memory for scenes depicted in photos. According to the mental model theory, the observation of a static scene depicted in a photo which portrays an actor near to perform an action can trigger a kinematic mental simulation of that action unfolding in time. The deriving prediction is that such a kinematic mental model supports the creation of a false memory of the actor performing an advanced phase of the action. We test this prediction in three experiments in which participants are presented with static scenes of actions, and after three days they perform a recognition task in which they assess recognition of old and novel static scenes depicting actions. The results confirm that false memories occur for actions that represent the unfolding over time of the static action initially observed. Our theoretical framework can accommodate also several previous findings in the literature on false memories.     

The relationship between susceptibility to false memories, dissociativity, and paranormal belief and experience

One hundred participants completed a News Coverage Questionnaire concerning personal memories of where they were, what they were doing and who they were with when footage of dramatic news events was first shown on television, as well as asking them to recall details of the footage itself. These news items included four events that are known to have been captured on film and one item concerning non-existent footage of the bombing of a nightclub in Bali. Overall, 36% of respondents reported false memories of the alleged footage of the Bali bombing. Participants reporting false memories were found to score significantly higher than those who did not report such memories on the Australian Sheep–Goat Scale, on various subscales of the Anomalous Experiences Inventory (Belief, Experience and Ability) and on the Dissociative Experiences Scale, supporting the hypothesis that believers in the paranormal may be more susceptible to false memories than non-believers.     

创伤后应激障碍的民族差异问题

创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)的民族差异主要体现在少数民族PTSD的发生率较高和症状反应与症状结构的差异。以美国代表的西方国家的研究表明, 这些差异主要是源于暴露水平、少数民族的社会地位以及不同的文化背景。汶川地震后, 有研究也发现羌族PTSD发生率高于汉族, 然而对于羌汉民族间症状反应的具体差异及其原因, 还并不十分明确。因此, 有必要在中国进行PTSD民族差异系统深入的研究, 这既有助于灾后心理援助工作更加有针对性的开展, 也能够为从东方文化视角下理解PTSD提供理论依据。     

Nonbelieved memories in middle-aged and older people

Previous studies have reported that young participants typically date events that they remember, but no longer believe they experienced, to the period of childhood. The present study investigated whether participants aged between 40 and 79 years dated events related to relinquished memories to the period of childhood, as do younger people, or whether they dated such events to a period later in life. The study also compared believed and nonbelieved memories with respect to memory perspective (1st vs 3rd person perspective). Results indicated that the majority of middle-aged and older people dated nonbelieved memories to the period of childhood (median age = 8 years). No correlation was found between the participants’ current age and their age at the time the nonbelieved event occurred. In addition, results showed that believed memories were more likely to be retrieved from a 1st person perspective than were nonbelieved memories.     

Reward Processing and Decision-Making in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Theory suggests that, in those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), positive emotion is likely dampened due to reexperiencing of trauma-related stimuli. Prior research has extended positive emotion experiencing to reward processing research but has not yet examined how trauma cues affect reward processing (i.e., the anticipation of and satisfaction with reward) and decision-making in individuals with PTSD. We compared 24 individuals diagnosed with PTSD to 29 trauma-exposed controls in passive and decision-making phases of a wheel-of-fortune task, following both neutral and trauma inductions. Three types of spinners were used in the task: spinners that were obviously advantageous spinners, obviously disadvantageous spinners, and ambiguously advantageous spinners with outcomes averaging to a net gain. We hypothesized that the PTSD group would report lower reward expectation and lower outcome satisfaction and make less advantageous decisions, differences that would be exacerbated following a trauma prime. The PTSD group reported lower reward expectation than controls for the ambiguous spinners only, suggesting that the reduced anticipation of reward associated with PTSD may be specific to ambiguous stimuli. Reward expectation was not affected by the type of prime. Outcome satisfaction was not affected by PTSD or type of prime. Although only marginally significant, the PTSD group played the ambiguous spinners less often than controls, and played the obviously disadvantageous spinners significantly less often than controls, suggesting that those with PTSD are more aversive to loss. Our findings suggest that PTSD-related deficits are more robust for reward expectation than outcome satisfaction, and support future research examining the role of reward-related decision-making in PTSD.     

The Forensic Examination of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

The diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has achieved a major level of significance in our judicial system. The forensic examination of PTSD is identified as a specialized assessment that is non-biased and non-prejudicial. This article attempts to provide a standard methodology to offer an objective and neutral forensic assessment and diagnosis of PTSD that will stand up to legal scrutiny by identifying problems in diagnosing PTSD and establishing a six-step methodology for the differential diagnosis of the disorder. Procedures for providing a forensic examination of PTSD and details of the author's methods of providing a forensic examination are presented.     

Neuropsychological Functioning in Children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with deficits in the areas of verbal memory and learning, executive functioning, working memory, and attention in adults. Findings have been less consistent in the few studies examining neuropsychological functioning in childhood PTSD, which are often limited by comparing children with PTSD to children without trauma histories, making it unclear whether observed neuropsychological deficits are related to trauma exposure or to PTSD symptomatology. In an ethnically diverse sample of 62 children who witnessed intimate partner violence (n = 27 PTSD+ and 35 PTSD?), children with PTSD exhibited slower and less effective learning, heightened sensitivity to interference, and impaired effect of rehearsal on memory acquisition on the California Verbal Learning Test – Children's Version, a word list learning task. Both groups performed in the below average range on measures of executive functioning, attention, and intellectual ability.     

Cross-Lagged Relationships Between Insomnia and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Treatment-Receiving Veterans

Insomnia is a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while it is also plausible that PTSD symptoms can maintain insomnia symptoms. The present study examined longitudinal bidirectional relationships between insomnia and PTSD symptoms in treatment-seeking veterans. Participants were 693 ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force who participated in an accredited, hospital-based outpatient PTSD program. Participants completed self-reported assessments of PTSD and insomnia symptoms at four time points: intake, discharge, 3-month, and 9-months posttreatment follow-up.Cross-lagged pathway analyses indicated significant bi-directional pathways between insomnia symptoms and PTSD symptoms at most time points. A final cross-lagged model between insomnia symptoms and the PTSD symptom clusters indicated that the PTSD symptom paths on insomnia symptoms, between intake and discharge, were attributable to reexperiencing PTSD symptoms. In contrast, across posttreatment follow-up time points there were significant paths of insomnia symptoms on all PTSD symptom clusters except from insomnia at 3-months to avoidance symptom at 9-months. PTSD symptoms and insomnia symptoms have bidirectional associations over time that may lead to the mutual maintenance or exacerbation of each condition following PTSD treatment. Where residual insomnia symptoms are present post-treatment, a sleep-focussed intervention is indicated and a sequenced approach to treatment recommended.     

Explaining the persistence of false memories: a proposal based on associative activation and thematic extraction

This study aimed to analyse the effect of retention intervals on associative and thematic false memories. Two experiments, using two types of critical items that were either associatively or thematically related to studied material, were conducted. In both experiments, one group of participants performed a recognition test immediately after the presentation of lists, and another group performed the task one week later. In Experiment 1, the recognition test consisted of pairs of items with four response alternatives (both items had been presented, only the left item had been presented, only the right item had been presented or none of the items had been presented). Critical items were also manipulated so that they were either presented in or absent from the list. In Experiment 2, a standard recognition test that differed in the mode of presentation was used: self-paced or speeded response. Both experiments showed that associative critical items were more recognised than thematic critical items in the immediate condition. However, whereas associative critical items decayed after a one-week delay, thematic critical items were similarly recognised at both retention intervals. The findings of the present study suggest that each type of process – associative and thematic – behave differently over time.     

Both associative activation and thematic extraction count,but thematic false memories are more easily rejected

The main aim of this study was to analyse the roles played by associative activation and thematic extraction in the explanation of false memories using the Deese, Roediger, McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Associative lists with two different types of critical items (CIs) were used: one, the associative CI, corresponded to the word most strongly primed by the associates in the list and another, the thematic CI, was the word that best described the theme of the list. Following three different types of encoding instructions (standard, warning or strategic), false recognition for these two types of CIs was analysed in either self-paced or speeded response recognition tests. The results showed considerable levels of false memories for both types of CIs. Even without the quality of being “good themes”, associative CIs produced high levels of false recognition, which suggests that associative activation plays a prominent role in false memory formation. More interestingly, thematic CIs were more prone to be edited out, reinforcing the argument that thematic identifiability has a major role in the rejection of false memories.     

Virtual Reality Exposure for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Two open trials of Virtual Reality based exposure therapy (VRE) to desensitize Vietnam veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to some of their traumatic memories are described. A total of 21 patients were exposed to one of two virtual Vietnam computer-generated environments in which their individual traumatic experiences were simulated in response to their recounting these events. Although two patients experienced significant increases in symptoms during VRE, all patients' PTSD symptoms were below baseline by the 3-month post-treatment assessment. When the data from the two open trials was combined, clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms were found. These changes were long lasting as evidenced by the 6-month follow-up assessments. Two case examples are provided and future applications of this treatment are discussed.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Review and Analysis

Only recently has the mental health community recognized the applicability of diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents, including a consideration of specific age-related features. This paper provides a current review of the literature on PTSD pertaining to children and adolescents. Following a discussion of issues on diagnostic criteria and assessment of this affective disorder in this population, there is an overview of the existing literature on prevalence, comorbidity, risk factors, parental and family factors, and issues of gender and age of onset. The remainder of the paper focuses on the range of traumatic stressors in children and adolescents that can result in PTSD, including natural or human disasters, war and violence, chronic or life-threatening medical conditions, community violence and the witnessing of traumatic events, and physical and/or sexual abuse and other forms of interpersonal violence. Throughout the paper, there is an emphasis on the importance of considering developmental factors. Finally, implications of the existing literature for future areas of research are addressed.     

Children's kinematic false memories

ABSTRACT

Individuals misrecognise as seen the never-presented natural continuation of an action. These false memories derive from the running of kinematic mental models of the actions seen, which rest on motor inferences from implicit knowledge. We verified an implied prediction: kinematic false memories should be detectable even in children. The participants in our experiments first observed photos in which actors were about to perform actions on objects. At recognition they were presented with the original photos, plus (a) distractors representing the unseen natural continuation of the original actions, (b) distractors representing the beginning of other actions on the same objects and (c) distractors representing completed different actions on the same objects. In contrast to the original studies in which participants expressed their confidence in recognition, in our experiments the participants catgorirzed the action as seen or not seen. After replicating the original results with the dichotomous recognition task (Experiment 1), we detected spontaneous false memories also in children (Experiment 2).     

Positive Metacognitions and Meta-Emotions as Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth in Survivors of a Natural Disaster

ABSTRACT

Exposure to natural disasters can lead to both negative and positive mental health consequences (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and posttraumatic growth [PTG]). While there is evidence linking metacognition to these outcomes, the focus is mostly on maladaptive metacognitions. The present study investigated the role of positive metacognitions and meta-emotions (i.e., confidence in extinguishing perseveration [Extinguishing], confidence in interpreting emotions as cues [Interpreting], and confidence in setting flexible and attainable hierarchies of goals [Setting]) on PTSD and PTG among Filipino typhoon survivors. Findings supported a model wherein Extinguishing and Setting, but not Interpreting, predicted PTSD and PTG through posttraumatic cognitions.     

A few seemingly harmless routes to a false memory

Since the invention of photography we have learned to rely on photos to help us remember significant moments in our lives. We have come to believe that photographs are accurate and valuable records of events that—years down the track—we may not be able to remember. In this paper, we review recent research demonstrating that photographs can also help us to “remember” events that never really happened. We trace the development of the leading false autobiographical memory paradigm, and we then describe research on the power of both fake narrative stories and fake photographs to cultivate false memories.     

Cognitive Processing Therapy for Childbirth-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report

Having a baby is a natural biological process and commonly considered a positive and exciting time in life. However, birth and the postpartum period also represent a vulnerable time for mental health and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women who are exposed to traumatic events during birth. Childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD) is a relatively new and unique construct, associated with negative impacts to the mother, her infant, and family more broadly. Research investigating psychological interventions following traumatic births remains scant and no studies have evaluated cognitive processing therapy (CPT), a well-established and empirically supported psychological therapy, in the treatment of CB-PTSD. We conducted a case study using CPT for CB-PTSD, modifying the length of the traditional protocol to eight sessions, and tailoring the content to meet the unique needs of postpartum women. Following CPT for CB-PTSD, clinically significant and meaningful treatment outcomes were produced in both PTSD and depressive symptoms, with gains maintained at 1-month follow-up. Our modified version of CPT for CB-PTSD was also highly acceptable with the participant in our case study. These findings provide initial support for CPT as a strong psychotherapeutic intervention option for targeting CB-PTSD. Further research is necessary to examine this treatment and its acceptability with a larger sample.     

True and intentionally fabricated memories

The aim of the experiment reported here was to investigate the processes underlying the construction of truthful and deliberately fabricated memories. Properties of memories created to be intentionally false (fabricated memories) were compared to properties of memories believed to be true (true memories). Participants recalled and then wrote or spoke true memories and fabricated memories of everyday events. It was found that true memories were reliably more vivid than fabricated memories and were nearly always recalled from a first-person perspective. In contrast, fabricated differed from true memories in that they were judged to be reliably older, were more frequently recalled from a third-person perspective, and linguistic analysis revealed that they required more cognitive effort to generate. No notable differences were found across modality of reporting. Finally, it was found that intentionally fabricated memories were created by recalling and then “editing” true memories. Overall, these findings show that true and fabricated memories systematically differ, despite the fact that both are based on true memories.