Article | Journal of Experimental Psychopathology | 2012

To Think or Not to Think about Trauma? An Experimental Investigation into Unconscious Thought and Intrusion Development

Abstract

The present study tested whether unconscious thought (versus conscious thought) would reduce frequency of intrusions from an analogue trauma film. Participants viewed a distressing film and were subsequently instructed to think about the film deliberately (conscious thought), to perform a demanding task while knowing that the film information was important later on the experiment (unconscious thought), or to perform the task while believing the experiment had ended (control condition). Afterwards, sequence memory and intrusions of the film were measured. In line with predictions, the results showed significant lower intrusion frequency in the unconscious thought condition compared to both conscious thought and mere distraction. As there were no differences in sequence memory for the film, it remains unclear what mechanism was responsible for this effect. These results encourage further research into a new and exciting area.

Keywords: Cognition and Thinking; Growth and Development;

Format: Print

12 pages

Citation:

Krans, Julie, and Maarten W. Bos. "To Think or Not to Think about Trauma? An Experimental Investigation into Unconscious Thought and Intrusion Development." Journal of Experimental Psychopathology 3, no. 2 (2012): 310–321.

Background and Objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Limitations: 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. Conclusions: 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.

We examined whether incidental body posture, prompted by working on electronic devices of different sizes, affects power-related behaviors. Grounded in research showing that adopting expansive body postures increases psychological power, we hypothesized that working on larger devices, which forces people to physically expand, causes users to behave more assertively. Participants were randomly assigned to interact with one of four electronic devices that varied in size: an iPod Touch, an iPad, a MacBook Pro (laptop computer), or an iMac (desktop computer). As hypothesized, compared to participants working on larger devices (e.g., an iMac), participants who worked on smaller devices (e.g., an iPad) behaved less assertively – waiting longer to interrupt an experimenter who had made them wait, or not interrupting at all.

Both scientists and artists have suggested that sleep facilitates creativity, and this idea has received substantial empirical support. In the current study, we investigate whether one can actively enhance the beneficial effect of sleep on creativity by covertly reactivating the creativity task during sleep. Individuals' creative performance was compared after three different conditions: sleep-with-conditioned-odor; sleep-with-control-odor; or sleep-with-no-odor. In the evening prior to sleep, all participants were presented with a problem that required a creative solution. In the two-odor conditions, a hidden scent diffuser spread an odor while the problem was presented. In the sleep-with-conditioned-odor condition, task reactivation during sleep was induced by means of the odor that was also presented while participants were informed about the problem. In the sleep-with-control-odor condition, participants were exposed to a different odor during sleep than the one diffused during problem presentation. In the no-odor condition, no odor was presented. After a night of sleep with the conditioned odor, participants were found to be (i) more creative and (ii) better able to select their most creative idea than participants who had been exposed to a control odor or no odor while sleeping. These findings suggest that we do not have to passively wait until we are hit by our creative muse while sleeping. Task reactivation during sleep can actively trigger creativity-related processes during sleep and thereby boost the beneficial effect of sleep on creativity.

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To Think or Not to Think about Trauma? An Experimental Investigation into Unconscious Thought and Intrusion Development

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