This is a well-designed experimental study to test clinical observations revealing symptoms of compulsive repetition after psychic trauma. It is based on the psychoanalytic formulation of the repetition compulsion with the motives of mastery and adaptation to trauma. The study involved showing subjects a neutral and a stress film. The prediction of more intrusive thoughts after stress was confirmed. The results also suggest that intrusive thinking is a common response to stress in persons without psychiatric illness. Repetitive thinking seems to occur in normal persons after less than major stress. Also in line with routine clinical observation is the finding that more negative affect was reported after the stress film.