Validation of a Trauma Film: Emotional Responses, Intrusive Memories and Concept Activations

Trauma films are often used as analogues of potentially traumatic events in experimental research to study trauma exposure under controlled conditions. However, those kinds of trauma films are rarely validated through comparison with neutral films. Also, previous trauma-analogue studies have mainly used self-report measures to assess memory of the film, which are subject to demand characteristics. The objective of this study was to validate the effects of a trauma film compared to a neutral-control film on emotional responses and intrusive memories. We also introduced a novel method of assessing implicit memory, by measuring concept activation in memory.

Twenty-two participants watched a trauma film, and 17 participants watched a neutral film. They reported their affective state and intrusions on a 5-minute period, and then over the 6 following days. The activation of concepts was tested with a lexical decision task: negative and neutral targets (words and non-words) related and unrelated to the films were presented, and participants had to judge their lexicality.

The trauma film increased negative affect and elicited more frequent intrusions than the neutral film. The number of immediate intrusions was strongly correlated with those reported over 6 days. The trauma film elicited faster responses on the film-related words than the neutral film, revealing a greater activation of concepts in memory.

Results show that this trauma film can be an effective experimental method to induce emotional responses and intrusive memories. The lexical decision task seems to be a promising method to further investigate the role of implicit concepts activation in the consequences of trauma exposure.