Dissociation has been proposed to disrupt memory processing, including source monitoring. Conceptualized by some as a defense mechanism, dissociation may impair memory particularly for negative stimuli. The present study tested whether trait dissociation is associated with reduced source monitoring performance, and whether this association is stronger for negatively valenced stimuli. A self-other source monitoring paradigm was administered to 197 students. During encoding, participants read aloud positive, neutral, or negative sentences that were either experimenter-generated or self-completed. One week later, they classified previously presented and new sentences as self-generated, other-generated, or new. Trait dissociation was assessed using the Curious Experiences Survey. Dissociation was not associated with source monitoring performance for negative stimuli, nor for positive stimuli. These findings do not support a selective link between dissociation and impaired source monitoring for negative information. Dissociation-related deficits may emerge only under conditions involving greater emotional intensity, higher cognitive demands, or more ecologically valid stimuli, or they may not be a defining feature of high dissociators.
Schlesselmann et al. (Fri,) studied this question.