Content area
Abstract
Forty-nine clinically diagnosed subjects were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (a self-report measure of disturbances in memory, identity, awareness, and thought) and a computerized negative priming task (a reaction-time measure of the extent to which distracting visual information is inhibited from access to verbal report). Both between-group and correlational comparisons demonstrated significant relationships between a "high" frequency of reported dissociative experiences and a reduced ability to inhibit the emotional identification of threat words. "High" dissociators also demonstrated a superior ability to inhibit the location of threat words and to inhibit the identification of neutral words. These effects confirmed three of four hypotheses derived from a theoretical model of dissociation emphasizing the role of cognitive inhibition as "the mechanism which controls and limits the contents of consciousness" (Frith, 1979, p. 225). The finding of superior inhibition for the identification of neutral words was not explicitly predicted, but can be assimilated within the proposed model. Results are interpreted as providing supportive evidence for cognitive inhibition as a mechanism underlying both the "intrusive" (described as abrupt shifts in thought, behavior, and perceived self-identity) and "avoidant" (described by the ability to ignore painful experiences) aspects of dissociation. These findings are seen as providing an empirical framework for the investigation of dissociative processes, while having important implications for the assessment and treatment of dissociative symptoms in psychiatric disorders.
