Is traumatic memory special ? A comparison of traumatic memory characteristics with memory for other emotional life experiences
Abstract
According to the traumatic memory argument, traumatic experiences are processed and remembered in a fundamentally different way from other life events. To investigate the validity of this theory, 306 participants were asked to give detailed accounts of two life experiences: their most traumatic experience and their most positive emotional experience (counterbalanced). Participants also described the qualities of each memory and completed psychological scales measuring severity of trauma, personality, and dissociation. Results indicated that traumatic memories differed from non‐traumatic memories phenomenologically (e.g. vantage point) and qualitatively (e.g. number of details). However, the memories also showed important similarities (e.g. high degree of vividness). Only a small proportion (4.9%) of participants reported ‘recovering’ their traumatic memories after extended memory loss (most of whom reported consciously putting the experience out of awareness), and 2.6% reported forgetting their positive experiences for an extended period. Overall, traumatic memories were found to be ‘special’, but not in accordance with prominent fragmentation theories of trauma and memory. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Fragmentation in trauma narratives and comparison narratives often looks similar.
“Indeed, fragmentation in trauma and comparison narratives often looks similar (e.g., Byrne et al., 2001; Porter & Birt, 2001; Rubin et al., 2004).”
From Dissociation and memory fragmentation in post-traumatic stress disorder: An evaluation of the dissociative encoding hypothesis (2012) · cites this paper as Porter & Birt, 2001
The claim that voluntary memory is fragmented and disorganized in PTSD has been frequently disputed and remains controversial.
“Despite general acceptance that high levels of emotion can impair eyewitness testimony (Kassin, Ellsworth, & Smith, 1989) and that the effects of emotion on memory are complex (Christianson, 1992; Reisberg & Heuer, 1992), the claim that voluntary memory is fragmented and disorganized in PTSD has been frequently disputed (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006; McNally, 2003, 2005; Porter & Birt, 2001; Rubin, Ber”
From Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. (2014) · cites this paper as Porter & Birt, 2001
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“Four studies (Buck, Kindt, van den Hout, Steens, & Linders, 2006 ; Geraerts et al, 2007 ; Halligan, Michael, Wilhem, Clark, & Ehlers, 2006; Porter & Birt, 2001 ) did not report direct relationships between dissociation and fragmentation and were excluded.”
Trauma narratives: it’s what you say, not how you say it
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Are trauma narratives unique and do they predict psychological adjustment?
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Self-citationFernández‐Lansac, V., & Crespo, M. (2017) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.22154 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The stability of visual perspective and vividness during mental time travel
Berg, J. J., Gilmore, A. W., Shaffer, R. A., & McDermott, K. B. (2021) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2021.103116 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
- Authors
- Porter, S., & Birt, A. R.
- Affiliations
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Porter, Stephen
- ORCID
- Porter, Stephen
- Venue
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2001-12
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 7
- ISSN
- 0888-4080 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0720
- OpenAlex
- W2057770833
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Cognitive Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Dalhousie University
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- traumatic memory, emotional memory, memory vividness, memory fragmentation, dissociation, memory recovery, forgetting, life events, phenomenology of memory, injury severity
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