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We propose that mental images are derived from goals. Goals are represented in a complex hierarchy and form a major part of the "working self". Images reflect the existence of specific goals and also act to maintain goals by facilitating the derivation of beliefs from the content of an image. Images in psychopathology may reflect the operation of dysfunctional goals: goals that are unconstrained and which increase discrepancy (experienced as anxiety) within the goal system. Another feature of the goal system is that it is conservative and avoids change. By this view some aspects of distortions in intrusive images of traumatic experiences might be viewed as a defence against goal change. Conversely generating new images might lead to the formation of new goals. These ideas are applied to the findings of the papers in this special issue of Memory and to several new case studies.

A recently popular framework in the cognitive sciences takes the human nervous system to be a hierarchically arranged Bayesian prediction machine. In this paper, we examine psychological trauma through the lens of this framework. We suggest that this can help us to understand the nature of trauma, and the different effects that different kinds of trauma can have. We end by exploring synergies between our approach and current theories of PTSD, and gesture toward future directions.

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