Memory and Dissociative Tendencies: The Roles of Attentional Context and Word Meaning in a Di rected Forgetting Task

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Date

2001

Authors

DePrince, Anne P.
Freyd, Jennifer J.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Journal of Trauma & Dissociation

Abstract

Conceptual and methodological approaches from cog nitive science have increasingly been applied to research examining the relation between trauma, dissociation and basic cognitive functioning. The current study replicates and extends recent research that examined performance in a directed forgetting task using PTSD and trauma history as the grouping variables (McNally, Metzger, Lasko, Clancy, & Pitman, 1998) to college students who were classified as high or low dissociators based on their performance on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES: Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). High and low DES participants’ performance was examined under two attentional contexts: a selective attention condition and two new divided attention conditions (based on DePrince & Freyd, 1999). Differences between the groups were revealed when a divided attention version of the task was employed. Consistent with DePrince and Freyd (1999), when divided attention was required, high DES participants recalled fewer trauma and more neutral words than did low DES participants, who showed the opposite pattern.

Description

Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: <getinfo@haworthpressinc.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> (c) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Memory, Trauma, Dissociation (Psychology), Directed forgetting task

Citation

DePrince, A.P. & Freyd, J.J. (2001). Memory and dissociative tendencies: The roles of attentional context and word meaning in a directed forgetting task. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation 2 (2), 67-82.