The differential contributions of visual imagery constructs on autobiographical thinking

There is a growing theoretical and empirical consensus on the central role of visual imagery in autobiographical memory. However, findings from studies that explore how individual differences in visual imagery are reflected on autobiographical thinking do not present a coherent story. One reason for the mixed findings was suggested to be the treatment of visual imagery as an undifferentiated construct while evidence shows that there is more than one type of visual imagery. The present study investigates the relative contributions of different imagery constructs; namely, object and spatial imagery, on autobiographical memory processes. Additionally, it explores whether a similar relation extends to imagining the future. The results indicate that while object imagery was significantly correlated with several phenomenological characteristics, such as the level of sensory and perceptual details for past events – but not for future events – spatial imagery predicted the level of episodic specificity for both past and future events. We interpret these findings as object imagery being recruited in tasks of autobiographical memory that employ reflective processes while spatial imagery is engaged during direct retrieval of event details. Implications for the role of visual imagery in autobiographical thinking processes are discussed.     

Can People Creative in Imagery Interpret Ambiguous Figures Faster than People Less Creative in Imagery?

The purpose of the research study was to investigate whether people creative in imagery are better than people non‐creative in imagery at interpreting ambiguous figures. Creativity, in the imagery paradigm, is said to involve two processes: combinational play and discovery. Discovery plays a major role in creativity as it is the process of discerning, judging or interpreting the value of a mental construction. Furthermore, creative people have been said to be insightful thus supporting the proposition advanced here that people creative in imagery are faster at interpreting and finding alternative interpretations for ambiguous figures than people less creative in imagery. This study reports both latencies and discoveries in perception and mental imagery as measured on a figure combination task. The data support the conclusion that people creative in imagery are more capable in reinterpreting ambiguous figures and that they are quicker in their discoveries than people less creative in imagery. The analysis to the questions of how the subjects arrived at their discoveries may also illustrate the Gestalt literature on insight as a rapid pattern recognition.     

言语想象的神经机制

言语想象不仅在大脑预处理机制方面起到重要的作用,还是目前脑机接口领域研究的热点。与正常言语产生过程相比,言语想象的理论模型、激活脑区、神经传导路径等均与其有较多相似之处。而言语障碍群体的言语想象、想象有意义的词语和句子时的脑神经机制与正常言语产生存在差异。鉴于人类言语系统的复杂性,言语想象的神经机制研究还面临一系列挑战,未来研究可在言语想象质量评价工具及神经解码范式、脑控制回路、激活通路、言语障碍群体的言语想象机制、词语和句子想象的脑神经信号等方面进一步探索,为有效提高脑机接口的识别率提供依据,为言语障碍群体的沟通提供便利。     

Imagery and linguistic factors affecting the solution of linear syllogisms

The present article examines the role of imagery in the solution of linear syllogisms and attempts to bring about a resolution between previous theories based on imagery and those based on linguistics. Syllogisms rated by subjects as evoking high imagery are solved faster and more accurately than those rated as evoking low imagery. In some cases, regarding the conflicts between imagery and linguistic theories, both theories are supported, depending on whether one uses error rate or latency as the measure of difficulty. This discrepancy is resolved by suggesting that imagery theory is more of a theory of problem solving and is best examined through the measure of error rate. Linguistic theory is more a measure of sentence processing and is best measured using latencies. This is supported by the use of syllogisms which control for linguistic parameters. In such cases, predictions of imagery theory are supported. The two opposing theories are probably more complementary than oppositional.     

The relation between visual imagery mediators and recall

Three hypotheses are discussed as explanations for the result that pairs of concrete nouns are more easily remembered than are pairs of abstract nouns: the imagery hypothesis, the familiarity hypothesis, and the concreteness hypothesis. Two experiments are reported in which the degree of visual imagery associated with the components of paired associate items was not indicative of the degree of visual imagery experienced during their learning or with the accuracy with which they were recalled. It was found that pairs of related abstract nouns were rated higher in imagery and familiarity than were pairs of unrelated concrete nouns, but recall of the higher imagery pairs was poorer. The concreteness hypothesis is discussed as the best explanation for the results. The concreteness hypothesis proposes that people learn to associate the labels of concrete objects by using their real-world knowledge of the potential relations between categories of objects. Dual coding theory and schema theory are also discussed as explanations for mediation learning, and the issue of visual imagery as an epiphenomenon is addressed.     

On the Association of Sex and Violence In the Fantasy Production of College Students*

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates whether there is an association between sexual imagery and violent imagery in stories produced in response to ambiguous Thematic Apperception Test stimuli. In addition, two commonsense assumptions about sex and violence are examined: (a) do men have more sexual imagery than women? and (b) assuming men are more aggressive than women, do they produce fantasies with more violent themes? Thematic Apperception Test protocols administered to 80 college students as part of a study conducted at Syracuse University in the late 1950s were examined using two scoring systems—one for sexual imagery and one for violent imagery. An association between sex and violence was found for men only. The conventional wisdom that all men ever think about is sex was undermined by the finding that men and women do not differ in the production of sexual imagery. In terms of production of violent imagery, men and women also do not differ. The fact that females are less aggressive than men in overt behavior may be a function of social and cultural forces which operate differentially on men and women.     

Influence of mental imagery on spatial presence and enjoyment assessed in different types of media

Previous research studies on spatial presence point out that the users' imagery abilities are of importance. However, this influence has not yet been tested for different media. This is surprising because theoretical considerations suggest that mental imagery comes into play when a mediated environment lacks vividness. The aim of this study was to clarify the influence mental imagery abilities can have on the sensation of presence and enjoyment in different mediated environments. We presented the participants (n?=?60) a narrative text, a movie sequence, and a computer game. Across all media, no effect of mental imagery abilities on presence and enjoyment was found, but imagery abilities marginally interacted with the mediated environment. Individuals with high imagery abilities experienced more presence and enjoyment in the text condition. The results were different for the film condition: here, individuals with poor imagery abilities reported marginally higher enjoyment ratings, whereas the presence ratings did not differ between the two groups. Imagery abilities had no influence on presence and enjoyment within the computer game condition. The results suggest that good imagery abilities contribute to the sensations of presence and enjoyment when reading a narrative text. The results for this study have an applied impact for media use because their effectiveness can depend on the individual mental imagery abilities.     

Problems in assessment of vividness and control of imagery.

Difficulties in assessing individual differences in vividness and control of mental imagery hinder understanding of the role of of imagery in various phenomena. This study examined the relationships among the Gordon test of imagery control, the Betts questionnaire on imagery vividness, and a research questionnaire on control of imagery developed for this study. The research questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and scores were more widely distributed than were those on the Gordon test. Correlations among the instruments ranged from .47 to .57, suggesting that vividness and control of imagery are not clearly differentiated in practice. Discussion of these results suggests that further empirical work is needed to establish the differential validity of the two constructs.     

运动技能水平与躯体感觉输入对运动表象的影响

运动表象质量与运动技能水平有关,运动表象质量随着运动技能水平的提高而上升。器械使用可使人脑产生可塑性改变,使用者会将器械纳入身体图式。然而,两者影响运动表象的神经心理机制还不清楚。本研究采用功能性磁共振成像探析篮球运动员与新手在不同持球条件下表象投篮时脑功能活动的差异。结果表明运动员表象质量较好,镜像神经系统激活高于新手;持球条件下运动员表象质量显著高于不持球条件下,镜像神经系统激活程度显著低于不持球条件下。研究说明持器械可以显著提高运动员的表象质量,器械使用带来镜像神经系统的可塑性变化。     

The retention of imagined and seen spatial matrices

The nature of imagery and its relationship to perception were probed by having students recall the contents of 4 × 4 spatial matrices after they constructed the matrices through processes of imagery, seeing, or verbal coding. In the imagery and verbal conditions, students listened to auditory messages which described the matrices. Students in the imagery condition were instructed to imagine the matrix being described; students in the verbal condition received no imagery instructions; and students in the seeing condition saw the matrix for an inspection period prior to recall. Recall was best when students saw the matrices, intermediate in the imagery situation, and poorest in the verbal situation. Recall was best for the corner cells of seen and imagined matrices, indicating the spatial nature of these processes; no such effect was found for verbal processing. Forgetting over a 10-sec interval occurred only for verbal processing. Implications for understanding the nature of visual imagery and perception are discussed.     

Effects of incubation and imagery training on creativity

One hundred five business school students were given anagram and open‐ended ideational tasks under one of several conditions. One group of students received an incubation interval prior to problem solving. A second group received no such interval. A third group received imagery training to aid problem solving in addition to an incubation interval. A fourth group received imagery training but no incubation interval. The fifth and sixth groups received imagery training, incubation or no incubation, respectively, and deliberate instructions to use imagery in problem solving. Results showed significant effects for incubation on originality of ideas and imagery training on anagram solving, but the latter were inhibitory. Results are discussed in terms of incubation and imagery theories.     

Sex Domination of Occupations and the Tendencies to Approach and Avoid Success and Failure

To test a theory that approach and avoidance imagery would be associated with both success and failure, female and male college students wrote stories to sentence cues. The sentence cues described a female or male stimulus person as succeeding or failing in one of six occupations. Two of the occupations were dominated by females, two by males, and two were approximately equal in sex domination. The imagery content of the stories yielded independent evidence of success-approach, success-avoidance, failure-approach, and failure-avoidance imagery. Success-approach and failure-avoidance imagery increased as the current male domination of the occupation increased; failure-approach imagery increased as the current female domination of the occupation increased. Success-approach imagery appeared more often in stories written by female respondents; success-avoidance imagery appeared more often in stories written by male respondents. The results were consistent with an achievement model that provides for approach and avoidance tendencies to success and failure. Differential results for the respondents of the two sexes are theoretically attributable to different weightings of the four motives mediated by the anticipated consequences of success and failure.     

Mental Imagery in Career Counseling and Life Planning: A Review of Research and Intervention Methods

The use of imagery in career counseling and life planning continues to increase just as the use of imagery in counseling and psychotherapy increases. The rationale for using imagery in career counseling and life planning is the same as in counseling and psychotherapy: It allows the client and counselor to bring into awareness unconscious material that is already influencing choices and makes this material usable in future planning. Imagey also allows the client to try on alternative roles. Several studies are cited that indicate that the imagery components of daydreams and fantasies are useful tools for career exploration and life planning when they are accessible to clients and properly processed. Relevant counseling applications and research studies are cited. Some recent tools for eliciting and processing these daydreams and fantasies are presented, and limits as well as benefits of techniques are discussed.     

Right hemispheric specialization for mental imagery: A review of the evidence

An implicit assumption in the literature on functional hemispheric asymmetry is that the right hemisphere plays a special role in mental imagery. Using a definition of mental imagery as quasi-perceptual experience, we draw distinctions among visual imagery, visual recognition memory, and visuospatial abilities. We then review the research literature to evaluate the hypothesis that mental imagery is a specialized function of the right cerebral hemisphere, and find that it receives little unambiguous support. Case reports of loss of imagery are no more frequent with right than with left unilateral brain damage. Systematic studies of brain-injured patients provide some support for the hypothesis, but are also consistent with the alternative hypothesis of bilateral representation of imagery. Commissurotomized patients report dreaming and being able to form visual images. Behavioral and psychophysiological studies of non-brain-injured patients either fail to provide evidence in favor of the hypothesis or can be interpreted as compatible with the alternate hypothesis of bilateral hemispheric involvement in imagery. We conclude that there is, presently, insufficient empirical basis for considering imagery a right hemispheric function. We then discuss implications of this conclusion for future research.     

表象建构中的眼动机制

表象与知觉的关系一直是空间认知领域关注的热点问题,眼动轨迹的相似性是表象与知觉认知过程相关性的重要外显形式。本文结合实证研究,从信息加工的角度系统分析知觉眼动和表象眼动的差异性,深入探讨表象建构中的眼动机制,有力地支持了表象眼动的机能性作用。最后对未来表象眼动的研究加以展望。     

A reply to watts and blackstock

Abstract

Appreciation is expressed to Watts and Blackstock for their analysis of bio-informational theory and emotional imagery. Several questions raised in their paper (this issue, pp. 391–405) are considered here: An effort is made to clarify relevant theoretical statements, the Watts and Blackstock interpretations are analysed, and new experimental results, along with the author's more recent musings, are added to the discussion. The issues addressed include: the relationship between bio-informational theory and the controversy over propositional and iconic models of visual imagery; the place of emotional experience in cognitive science; the function of imagery; the measurement of cognitive events and their significance for emotional behaviour change; the relationship between emotional language and emotional behaviour; the aesthetic problems in imagery and exposure; the role of imagery in psychopathology and psychotherapy.     

Bilateral Transfer as a Function of Mental Imagery

Three experiments are reported which investigate the role of mental imagery in the bilateral transfer from right to left hand of rotary pursuit skill. In Experiment 1 both mental imagery and physical rehearsal showed significant positive transfer relative to a control condition. However, work decrement may have accumulated and transferred in the physical rehearsal group thereby depressing this group’s left-hand performance. Experiment 2 was conducted under conditions designed to allow work decrement to dissipate prior to transfer to the contralateral limb. The data still showed no difference between physical re-hearsal and mental imagery. One interpretation of these data is that work decrement was present under both the physical rehearsal and mental imagery manipulations in Experiment 1. The data from Experiment 3 confirmed this interpretation as well as replicated the positive transfer effects found for mental imagery in Experiments 1 and 2. The data are discussed in terms of central versus peripheral explanatory mechanisms.