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    Testing a dose‐response effect of the visuospatial game Tetris on intrusive memories


    Broughill, Marcus, Commins, Sean and Hyland, Philip (2025) Testing a dose‐response effect of the visuospatial game Tetris on intrusive memories. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 38 (6). pp. 997-1008. ISSN 0894-9867

    Abstract

    Tetris has been shown to reduce intrusions following exposure to experimentally induced and actual traumatic events. However, no study has systematically investigated whether multiple sessions of Tetris produce greater reductions in intrusions than a single session. In this study, 94 participants (58.5% female) watched a trauma film in the laboratory and were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: no Tetris (inactive control), a single session of Tetris (15 min on Day 1), or multiple sessions of Tetris (15 min per day on Days 1, 2, and 3). Participants recorded film‐related intrusions in a daily diary over 1 week. The results showed that the trauma film effectively induced intrusions. In terms of group differences, a single Tetris session was associated with a 22.0% reduction in intrusions compared to the control group, Exp( B ) = 0.78; and multiple Tetris sessions were associated with a 13.3% increase in intrusions compared to the control group, Exp( B ) = 1.13, and a 45.4% increase compared to the single‐session group, Exp( B ) = 1.45. However, none of these differences were statistically significant, p = .380. These findings may be partially explained by methodological factors, such as administering Tetris remotely via smartphones without researcher supervision and the repeated use of reminder cues. Alternatively, Tetris may not effectively reduce intrusions when played unsupervised in uncontrolled settings.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: dose-response effect; visuospatial game; Tetris; intrusive memories;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
    Item ID: 21156
    Identification Number: 10.1002/jts.70000
    Depositing User: IR Editor
    Date Deposited: 03 Feb 2026 12:13
    Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Traumatic Stress
    Publisher: Wiley
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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