Cognitive processes in dissociation: Comment on Giesbrecht et al. (2008).
- 1 January 2010
- journal article
- comment
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Psychological Bulletin
- Vol. 136 (1), 1-6
- https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018021
Abstract
In their recent review "Cognitive Processes in Dissociation: An Analysis of Core Theoretical Assumptions," published in Psychological Bulletin, Giesbrecht, Lynn, Lilienfeld, and Merckelbach have challenged the widely accepted trauma theory of dissociation, which holds that dissociative symptoms are caused by traumatic stress. In doing so, the authors have outlined a series of links between various constructs--such as fantasy proneness, cognitive failures, absorption, suggestibility, altered information-processing, dissociation, and amnesia--claiming that these linkages lead to the false conclusion that trauma causes dissociation. A review of the literature, however, shows that these are not necessarily related constructs. Careful examination of their arguments reveals no basis for the conclusion that there is no association between trauma and dissociation. The current comment offers a critical review and rebuttal of Giesbrecht et al.'s argument that there is no relationship between trauma and dissociation.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (R01 HL088726; K24 MH076955; T32 MH067547-01; R01 MH56120)
- US Department of Veterans Affairs
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