Contextual representations increase analogue traumatic intrusions: Evidence against a dual-representation account of peri-traumatic processing
Abstract
Background and objectives Information processing accounts of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) state that intrusive memories emerge due to a lack of integration between perceptual and contextual trauma representations in autobiographical memory. This hypothesis was tested experimentally using an analogue trauma paradigm in which participants viewed an aversive film designed to elicit involuntary recollections. Method Participants viewed scenes from the film either paired with contextual information or with the contextual information omitted. After viewing the film participants were asked to record for one week any involuntary intrusions for the film using a provided intrusions diary. Results The results revealed a significant increase in analogue intrusions for the film when viewed with contextual information in comparison to when the film was viewed with the contextual information omitted. In contrast there was no effect of contextual information on valence ratings or voluntary memory for the film, or on the reported vividness and emotionality of the intrusions. Limitations The analogue trauma paradigm may have failed to reproduce the effect of extreme stress on encoding that is postulated to occur during PTSD. Conclusions The findings have potential implications for trauma intervention as they suggest that the contextual understanding of a scene during encoding can be integral to the subsequent occurrence of traumatic intrusions. The pattern of results found in the stud…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Studies showing that providing more explanatory information at encoding increases subsequent intrusions are consistent with dual representation theory.
“Studies which show that providing more explanatory information at encoding increases subsequent intrusions (Pearson, 2012; Pearson, et al., 2012) are quite consistent with dual representation theory”
From Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. (2014) · cites this paper as Pearson, 2012
The process of contextualization does not bear any straightforward relationship to the amount of contextual or explanatory information present in the input.
“Contrary to recent suggestions (Pearson, 2012; Pearson, et al., 2012), the process does not bear any straightforward relationship to the amount of contextual or explanatory information present in the input.”
From Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. (2014) · cites this paper as Pearson, 2012
Audio commentary had no effect on voluntary memory but increased involuntary intrusive images.
“Extra context had no effect on VM but increased IVM ( p < .05)”
From Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. (2014) · cites this paper as Pearson (2012)
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,841 · see citing works
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 · Cited by 32,433 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Widiger, T. A. (2000) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1037/10518-009 · Cited by 19,767 · see citing works
A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder
Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2000) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00123-0 · Cited by 6,147 · see citing works
Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D. (2004) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1348/0144665031752934 · Cited by 2,957 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The PANAS has been used in previous studies of trauma memory (e.g., Merlin, GonzalezForteza, Lira, & Tapia, 2007; Pearson & Sawyer, 2011; Pearson et al., 2012) and has been shown to have satisfactory reliability and validity as a mood measure (Crawford & Henry, 2004).”
MethodA dual representation theory of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Brewin, C. R., Dalgleish, T., & Joseph, S. (1996) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.103.4.670 · Cited by 1,696 · see citing works
Implicit memory: Retention without remembering.
Roediger, H. L., III (1990) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.45.9.1043 · Cited by 1,315 · see citing works
Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rose, S. C., Bisson, J., Churchill, R., & Wessely, S. (2002) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd000560 · Cited by 1,250 · see citing works
Brewin, C. R., Gregory, J. D., Lipton, M., & Burgess, N. (2010) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/a0018113 · Cited by 1,226 · see citing works
Remembering the past and imagining the future: A neural model of spatial memory and imagery.
Byrne, P., Becker, S., & Burgess, N. (2007) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.114.2.340 · Cited by 1,011 · see citing works
A meta-analytic review of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder
Powers, M. B., Halpern, J. M., Ferenschak, M. P., Gillihan, S. J., & Foa, E. B. (2010) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.007 · Cited by 1,005 · see citing works
Imagery rescripting in cognitive behaviour therapy: Images, treatment techniques and outcomes
Holmes, E. A., Arntz, A., & Smucker, M. R. (2007) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.10.007 · Cited by 465 · see citing works
Trauma films, information processing, and intrusive memory development
Holmes, E. A., Brewin, C. R., & Hennessy, R. G. (2004) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.3 · Cited by 457 · see citing works
Inducing and modulating intrusive emotional memories: A review of the trauma film paradigm
Holmes, E. A., & Bourne, C. (2008) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.11.002 · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Wessely, S. C., Rose, S. K., & Bisson, J. I. (2000) · Research Portal (King's College London) · Cited by 265 · see citing works
Evidence for a dissociation between perceptual and conceptual priming in Alzheimer's disease.
Keane, M. M., Gabrieli, J. D. E., Fennema‐Notestine, C., Growdon, J. H., & al, E. (1991) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037//0735-7044.105.2.326 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
International Affective Picture System
Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_42 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
直子, 今., エヴァンス, オ., & Ehlers, A. (2002) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0005-7916(02)00014-9 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Priming involuntary autobiographical memories
Mace, J. H. (2005) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658210444000485 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Attention and implicit memory tests: The effects of varying attentional load on conceptual priming
Mulligan, N. W. (1997) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03197281 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
The effect of dissociation at encoding on intrusive memories for a stressful film
Brewin, C. R., & Saunders, J. (2001) · British Journal of Medical Psychology · doi:10.1348/000711201161118 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Mace, J. H. (2004) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.1020 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Lang, T. J., Moulds, M. L., & Holmes, E. A. (2008) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.11.002 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Ferree, N. K., & Cahill, L. (2009) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2008.11.008 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Weidmann, A., Conradi, A., Gröger, K., Fehm, L., & Fydrich, T. (2009) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615800802541986 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
The influence of a visuospatial grounding task on intrusive images of a traumatic film
Stuart, A. D. P., Holmes, E. A., & Brewin, C. R. (2006) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.04.004 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Michael, T., & Ehlers, A. (2007) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2006.03.012 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Imagery Rescripting in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Hackmann, A. (2011) · Cognitive and Behavioral Practice · doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2010.06.006 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Hagenaars, M. A., van Minnen, A., Holmes, E. A., Brewin, C. R., & Hoogduin, K. A. L. (2008) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930701575151 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Intrusive trauma memory: A review and functional analysis
Krans, J., Näring, G. W. B., Becker, E. S., & Holmes, E. A. (2009) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.1611 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Ehlers, A., Michael, T., Chen, Y. P., Payne, E., & Shan, S. (2006) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658210500305876 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Bourne, C., Frasquilho, F., Roth, A. D., & Holmes, E. A. (2010) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2010.03.001 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Perceptual and conceptual priming in amnesic and alcoholic patients
Carlesimo, G. A. (1994) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(94)90042-6 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
The importance of context: Evidence that contextual representations increase intrusive memories
Pearson, D. G., Ross, F. D. C., & Webster, V. L. (2012) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.07.009 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Self-citationCount out your intrusions: Effects of verbal encoding on intrusive memories
Krans, J., Näring, G., & Becker, E. S. (2009) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658210903130780 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Tell me more: Can a memory test reduce analogue traumatic intrusions?
Krans, J., Näring, G., Holmes, E., & Becker, E. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.009 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Posttraumatic Anger, Recalled Peritraumatic Emotions, and PTSD in Victims of Violent Crime
Kunst, M. J. J., Winkel, F. W., & Bogaerts, S. (2011) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260511403753 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Effects of Dual Task Interference on Memory Intrusions for Affective Images
Pearson, D., & Sawyer, T. (2011) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1521/ijct.2011.4.2.122 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationInvestigating Peri-Traumatic Dissociation Using Hypnosis During a Traumatic Film
Holmes, E. A., Oakley, D. A., Stuart, A., & Brewin, C. R. (2006) · Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1300/j229v07n04_06 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Effectiveness on Mental Health of Psychological Debriefing for Crisis Intervention in Schools
Wei, Y., Szumilas, M., & Kutcher, S. (2010) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-010-9139-2 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences
Takarangi, M. K. T., & Strange, D. M. (2009) · Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) · doi:10.1027/1618-3169/a000042 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Merlín, E. P.-R., González‐Forteza, C., Lira, L. R., & Tapia, A. J. (2007) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.8361662 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 44 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Brewin, C. R. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0033722 · Cited by 492 · see citing works
James, E. L., Lau-Zhu, A., Clark, I. A., Visser, R. M., Hagenaars, M. A., & Holmes, E. A. (2016) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2016.04.010 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Pearson, D., Deeprose, C., Wallace-Hadrill, S. M. A., Heyes, S. B., & Holmes, E. A. (2012) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.001 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
Self-citationIyadurai, L., Visser, R. M., Lau-Zhu, A., Porcheret, K., Horsch, A., Holmes, E. A., & James, E. L. (2019) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2018.08.005 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Emotion regulation, physiological arousal and PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals
Shepherd, L., & Wild, J. (2014) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2014.03.002 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Bisby, J. A., & Burgess, N. (2017) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.07.012 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Marks, E., Franklin, A., & Zoellner, L. (2018) · Psychological bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000132 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Negative Emotional Content Disrupts the Coherence of Episodic Memories
Bisby, J., Horner, A., Bush, D., & Burgess, N. (2017) · Journal of experimental psychology. General · doi:10.1037/xge0000356 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Brewin, C. R., & Burgess, N. (2013) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.07.011 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Krans, J., Langner, O., Reinecke, A., & Pearson, D. (2013) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.05.001 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationVarma, M. M., Zeng, S., Singh, L., Holmes, E. A., Huang, J., Chiu, M. H., & Hu, X. (2024) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-024-01956-y · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Toward a visuospatial developmental account of sequence-space synesthesia
Price, M. C., & Pearson, D. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00689 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citationKrans, J., Pearson, D., Maier, B., & Moulds, M. L. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.09.004 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationA generative adversarial model of intrusive imagery in the human brain
Cushing, C. A., Dawes, A. J., Hofmann, S. G., Lau, H. C., LeDoux, J. E., & Taschereau‐Dumouchel, V. (2023) · PNAS Nexus · doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac265 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Segovia, D. A., Strange, D. M., & Takarangi, M. K. T. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.07.003 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Krans, J. (2013) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2013.08.006 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Active contextualization reduces traumatic memory intrusions via memory integration
Xu, Z., Yu, K., & Wang, Y. (2024) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2024.104644 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung
Ehring, T. W., & Kunze, A. E. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-61814-1_51 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Editorial: Mental Imagery in Clinical Disorders
Pearson, D., & Krans, J. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00049 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationAre C-reps contextual representations? A reply to Brewin and Burgess
Pearson, D. (2013) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.07.010 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationPosttraumatische Belastungsstörung
Böttche, M., Stammel, N., & Knaevelsrud, C. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45995-9_9-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Legal System and Memory for Analogue Traumatic Experiences
Segovia, D. A. (2014) · CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mental Imagery in Clinical Disorders
Pearson, D. G., & Krans, J. (2017) · Frontiers research topics · doi:10.3389/978-2-88945-262-0
Self-citationREM Sleep Effects on Trauma, Depression, Anxiety
Gregory, J. M. (2025) · Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science · doi:10.4236/jbbs.2025.156008
Gauthier, G. M., & Zoellner, L. A. (2026) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2026.102122
- Authors
- Pearson, D. G.
- Affiliations
- University of Aberdeen (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pearson, David G.
- ORCID
- Pearson, David G.
- Venue
- Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-12
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1026-1031
- ISSN
- 0005-7916 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2077249271
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Memory, History, Trauma, Identity
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, intrusive memories, context representation, autobiographical memory, encoding, trauma intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Affect, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Stress, Psychological, Visual Perception
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
