Cognitive processing in dissociation

Dissociation is defined as "disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception" (DSM-IV-TR: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), however it remains one of the least understood and poorly defined concepts within psychology. The term is used to describe a diverse range of psychological phenomena and distinguishing normal from pathological dissociative phenomena is problematic. Dissociative phenomena are believed to be experienced by most individuals and are considered adaptively functional. Dissociation may be maladaptive however if an individual habitually dissociates in response to everyday situations, preventing normal cognitive processing and adaptive coping. Considerable debate exists as to whether the experience of dissociation is normally distributed throughout the general population or whether pathological dissociation is a categorically separate type of dissociative phenomena that is only experienced by a few. A relationship between dissociation and trauma history has been well established, however precisely how dissociation develops in relation to trauma still remains unclear. Attachment theory and research have made important contributions. Although differences in attentional and pre-attentive cognitive processing have been associated with dissociation, there have been relatively few research attempts to identify and investigate the specific cognitive processes involved in dissociation. Better understanding of dissociation at the cognitive level will not only help clarify conceptualisations of dissociation, but will have important clinical treatment implications for a range of psychopathology in which dissociation is present