ABSTRACT
Intrusions can appear in different forms. The
occurrence of different types of intrusion can be
determined by how the traumatic information was
processed. This study examined whether working memory
capacity (WMC) can moderate the two peritraumatic
processes (conceptual processing and data-driven
processing) to affect intrusions. Participants first
completed a symmetry span task, viewed traumatic film
footage, and completed a processing-style questionnaire
concerning the film. A week later, participants handed
in a tabular diary that recorded their intrusions over the
past week, and completed a free recall and recognition
task about the film; they were then debriefed. WMC can
moderate the effect of processing style, depending on the
type of intrusion. In the prediction of intrusive thoughts
(ITs), we found that higher conceptual processing scores
led to more ITs in participants with a high WMC. The
current study has important clinical implications, in
that it recognizes the existence of less-studied ITs, and
the role of WMC in trauma processing.
