The impact of appraisals on intrusive memories

Intrusive memories are a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive models posit that PTSD symptoms are stimulated by maladaptive appraisals about symptoms. This study aimed to test the causal pathway of maladaptive appraisals about the meaning of intrusions on subsequent intrusive memories.

Forty-five healthy participants were presented with a traumatic film, and were subsequently told either (a) intrusions are indicative of poor psychological functioning, (b) intrusions are not indicative of psychological functioning, or (c) no instructions. Participants subsequently completed a measure of cognitive performance to index potential interference by intrusions, as well as a scale of intrusive memories.

Participants who were told that intrusions are indicative of negative psychological state subsequently reported more intrusive memories than those who were told that intrusions have no particular significance.

Inferences are reduced by lack of group differences in appraisals reported by participants. A stronger index of intrusions would have been achieved through diary keeping in the period after the experimental session.

This finding provides initial causal evidence that appraising intrusions as maladaptive may directly enhance the occurrence of intrusions following encoding of an aversive event, and in this sense is supportive of cognitive models of PTSD.