The Role of Tonic Immobility in the Development of PTSDSymptoms
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Tonic immobility (TI) is a state of physical and\nverbal immobility to intense or painful\nstimulation. It is triggered by situations of fear\nand physical restriction or/and the incapacity to\nescape. The occurrence of tonic immobility tends\nto be a strong predictor of the severity of PTSD\nand treatment seems to be less effective.\nHowever, previous research on the effects of\ntonic immobility has included mostly\nretrospective studies. In this study a fear\ncondition experiment was used to gain more\nknowledge of the relationship between TI and\nintrusions and the relationship between TI and\nextinction. The first hypothesis tested the\nrelationship between TI and the number of\nintrusions. It was expected that participants who\nexperience TI would have a higher intrusion\nfrequency than those who experience less TI. The\nsecond hypotheses tested if the extend of TI\naffects the extinction of the UCS expectancy. It\nwas expected that extinction takes longer when\nparticipants experience TI during the experiment.\nIn contrast to earlier research, TI did not correlate\nwith the number of intrusions. However, an effect\nfrom TI on the duration of extinction of the UCS\nexpectancy was found in this study. Limitations\nof the present study and future directions are\ndiscussed. Future research needs to examine more\nclosely the links between tonic immobility and\nPTSD.
Author: E.M.L. Janssen
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2805967255