Similarities and differences between traumatic and emotional memories: review and directions for future research

[en] The authors review theory and empirical research on the characteristics of memories for traumatic versus emotional events, with the goal of bringing together the cognitive and clinical perspectives on this issue. They consider the most important approaches to the study of traumatic and emotional memory and summarize the results of recent studies that have compared autobiographical recollections of traumatic and nontraumatic emotional experiences (positive and negative), either in non clinical samples. Overall, findings from the current empirical literature are inconsistent. Although some researchers have found that traumatic memories are retrieved differently than are emotional memories, others have demonstrated that the phenomenological characteristics of these memory types are highly similar. The authors discuss methodological issues that could help researchers to interpret the inconsistencies found in the empirical findings. Last, they suggest possible directions for future research that may advance researcher's knowledge of memory, trauma, and emotion.

Disciplines :

Theoretical & cognitive psychology

Author, co-author :

Sotgiu, Igor; University of Turin > Department of psychology

Mormont, Christian ; Université de Liège > Départ. Personne et Société > Service de psychologie clinique

Language :

English

Title :

Similarities and differences between traumatic and emotional memories: review and directions for future research

Alternative titles :

[fr] Similitudes et différences entre souvenir traumatique et souvenir émotionnel: revue et directions pour la recherche future

Publication date :

2008

Journal title :

Journal of Psychology

ISSN :

0022-3980

eISSN :

1940-1019

Publisher :

Heldref Publications, Washington, United States - District of Columbia

Volume :

142

Issue :

Pages :

449-469

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 04 May 2015

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