Does imagery contribute to metaphoric quality?

With metaphoric quality divided into an appropriateness and novelty component, college-student subjects rated 75 metaphoric sentences on those components and on imageability. Different subjects were assigned to each of the three rating conditions (n=45 in each). Correlations based on mean ratings of the metaphors indicated that imageability was negatively related to novelty and positively related to appropriateness. A composite of the novelty and appropriateness ratings (deemed to reflect metaphoric quality) proved to be independent of imageability. Examination of metaphors with the highest and lowest imagery ratings suggested that imagery was facilitated by perceptual-configural linkages and inhibited by remote conceptual linkages between topic and vehicle. This configural-conceptual distinction appears to be of greater importance than quality in influencing the extent to which a metaphor is imaged.An earlier version of this paper was presented by the first author at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York City, April 1981. This research was funded in part by a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author, who is now affiliated with the University of Illinois.     

Imagery and verbal thought during rumination and distraction: Does imagery amplify affective response?

Rumination has long been considered a verbal thought process, though emerging evidence suggests that some individuals dwell on maladaptive imagery. This series of studies evaluated imagery and verbal thought during experimentally induced rumination and distraction. In Study 1, imagery and verbal thought during rumination resulted in similar increases in negative affect. Greater imagery during distraction, on the other hand, was associated with greater decreases in negative affect while verbal thought was not related to affect change. Given that greater verbal thought was reported in the rumination condition and greater imagery was reported in the distraction condition, Study 2 evaluated whether the rumination/distraction induction was confounded by concurrent induction of imagery or verbal thought. The rumination prompts induced both rumination and verbal thought and the distraction prompts induced both distraction and imagery. Using a revised induction, Study 3 tested whether imagery and verbal thought during rumination and distraction impacted affective response. Rumination maintained negative affect and distraction relieved negative affect, regardless of the degree to which imagery or verbal thought was experienced. This paper provides evidence that imagery-based rumination is just as impairing as verbally-based rumination and highlights imagery-based distraction as a potentially effective alternative to rumination.     

Does distraction reduce pain-produced distress among college students?

College students in four experiments placed their hands in ice water (the cold-pressor task) and reported their distress. They simultaneously engaged in different reaction-time (RT) tasks that varied in the amount of attention required for successful performance. In each experiment, which differed in numerous procedural details, RT, error-rate, and self-report measures all demonstrated that the distraction tasks differed in the degree of attention required. Greater distraction, however, failed to reduce physiological, self-report, or behavioral responses to the cold-pressor task. These data call into question the hypothesis that attention mediates the process whereby distraction tasks reduce pain-produced distress.     

When is early visual cortex activated during visual mental imagery?

Although many neuroimaging studies of visual mental imagery have revealed activation in early visual cortex (Areas 17 or 18), many others have not. The authors review this literature and compare how well 3 models explain the disparate results. Each study was coded 1 or 0, indicating whether activation in early visual cortex was observed, and sets of variables associated with each model were fit to the observed results using logistic regression analysis. Three variables predicted all of the systematic differences in the probability of activation across studies. Two of these variables were identified with a perceptual anticipation theory, and the other was identified with a methodological factors theory. Thus, the variability in the literature is not random.     

Does prior exposure to interpersonal violence increase risk of PTSD following subsequent exposure?

Research has generally found a “dose relationship” between potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and the likelihood of developing PTSD, with greater number of events associated with greater likelihood. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional, however. A recent prospective study (Breslau, Peterson, & Schultz, 2008) found that PTSD response to prior potentially traumatic event (PTE) exposure, rather than prior exposure itself, acts as a risk factor for PTSD in response to subsequent PTE; however, this analysis combined many different types of events, and the unique contribution of specific events (e.g., assault) that may be associated with differential risk of PTSD was indeterminable. The present study examined the effects of cumulative PTE exposure prospectively using a two-wave design in the National Survey of Adolescents (N = 1703). History of assault and witnessing serious violence were the focal PTEs examined. Wave I assault without PTSD was found to predict PTSD at Wave II following exposure to new assault or witnessed violence; however, among those without prior PTSD, Wave I witnessed violence did not increase risk of subsequent PTSD following exposure.     

Perspectives on prediction: Does third-person imagery improve task completion estimates?

People typically underestimate the time necessary to complete their tasks. According to the planning fallacy model of optimistic time predictions, this underestimation occurs because people focus on developing a specific plan for the current task and neglect the implications of past failures to meet similar deadlines. We extend the classic planning fallacy model by proposing that a phenomenal quality of mental imagery – the visual perspective that is adopted – may moderate the optimistic prediction bias. Consistent with this proposal, participants in four studies predicted longer completion times, and thus were less prone to bias, when they imagined an upcoming task from the third-person rather than first-person perspective. Third-person imagery reduced people’s focus on optimistic plans, increased their focus on potential obstacles, and decreased the impact of task-relevant motives on prediction. The findings suggest that third-person imagery helps individuals generate more realistic predictions by reducing cognitive and motivational processes that typically contribute to bias.     

Does cardiovascular reactivity during speech reflect self-construction processes?

Abstract

Substantial empirical research has been undertaken on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). however interpretation of this research is hampered by a lack of theoretical frameworks. This paper develops a framework initially stimulated by evidence demonstrating that the cardiovascular system increases in activity during communication, and that the extent of this activation depends upon numerous and diverse psychosocial factors. We attempt to account for this phenomenon using merit post-structuralist ideas concerning the constructive nature of language and its centrality to an individual's sense of self. Our theoretical framework proposes that the CVR exhibited during language use is explicable in terms of self-construction - From this analysis we hypothesised that CVR would differ across conversations about private self. public self and non-self topics, and that these differences would depend upon people's speaking histories. We found that the blood pressure and heart rate of 102 women was most reactive when they talked in a laboratory with a stranger about aspects of their private self, and least reactive during non-self talk, whilst their heart rate was most reactive during talk about their public self. Overall the results highlight the inextricable link between our inherent socialness and our cardiovascular systems.

SUMMARY

The explanatory scheme outlined here is an attempt to provide a social reconceptualisation of a phenomenon that is typically interpreted in individualistic psychophysiological terms, and which is consistent with the notion that repeated exposure to situations which provoke large haemodynamic changes may lead to CHD disease progression. The explanation draws heavily on post-structuralist ideas regarding language, and the social constructionist notion that engaging in language use is central to constructing and maintaining a sense of self. This sense of self is a central theoretical entity in our everyday lives, produced and maintained in our interactions with others. We argue that it is this centrality of self-construction that helps to explain the extraordinary consistency of elevated CVR in conversation. Further, we have noted the striking parallels between those features of conversations that make the self salient, and those that have been associated with elevated CVR. To examine it more explicitly, it needs to be tested empirically with new data, using explicitly derived operationalisations and hypotheses.     

Does cardiovascular reactivity during speech reflect self-construction processes?

Abstract Substantial empirical research has been undertaken on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). however interpretation of this research is hampered by a lack of theoretical frameworks. This paper develops a framework initially stimulated by evidence demonstrating that the cardiovascular system increases in activity during communication, and that the extent of this activation depends upon numerous and diverse psychosocial factors. We attempt to account for this phenomenon using merit post-structuralist ideas concerning the constructive nature of language and its centrality to an individual's sense of self. Our theoretical framework proposes that the CVR exhibited during language use is explicable in terms of self-construction - From this analysis we hypothesised that CVR would differ across conversations about private self. public self and non-self topics, and that these differences would depend upon people's speaking histories. We found that the blood pressure and heart rate of 102 women was most reactive when they talked in a laboratory with a stranger about aspects of their private self, and least reactive during non-self talk, whilst their heart rate was most reactive during talk about their public self. Overall the results highlight the inextricable link between our inherent socialness and our cardiovascular systems. SUMMARY The explanatory scheme outlined here is an attempt to provide a social reconceptualisation of a phenomenon that is typically interpreted in individualistic psychophysiological terms, and which is consistent with the notion that repeated exposure to situations which provoke large haemodynamic changes may lead to CHD disease progression. The explanation draws heavily on post-structuralist ideas regarding language, and the social constructionist notion that engaging in language use is central to constructing and maintaining a sense of self. This sense of self is a central theoretical entity in our everyday lives, produced and maintained in our interactions with others. We argue that it is this centrality of self-construction that helps to explain the extraordinary consistency of elevated CVR in conversation. Further, we have noted the striking parallels between those features of conversations that make the self salient, and those that have been associated with elevated CVR. To examine it more explicitly, it needs to be tested empirically with new data, using explicitly derived operationalisations and hypotheses.     

Does exposure to ambient odors influence the emotional content of memories?

This study examined the effects of implicitly presented odors on the emotional content of memory narratives. Participants were exposed to low levels of perfumes or no odors while they reconstructed a memory from childhood and a recurrent dream. Narratives were analyzed for emotional content using the Linguistic and Inquiry Word Count program. Exposure to perfumes increased the percentage of positive emotion words used by participants in recalling both dreams and childhood memories. In addition, exposure to odors decreased the percentage of negative emotion words that men used in their narratives, whereas the opposite effect was found for women. Discussion focuses on gender differences in written emotional expression, possible ways by which perfumes may exert their effects, and the usefulness of using ambient odors and objective content analysis when studying emotions in memories.     

Links between television exposure and toddler dysregulation: Does culture matter?

Television exposure in early childhood has increased, with concerns raised regarding adverse effects on social-emotional development, and emerging self-regulation in particular. The present study addressed television exposure (i.e., amount of time watching TV) and its associations with toddler behavioral/emotional dysregulation, examining potential differences across 14 cultures. The sample consisted of an average of 60 toddlers from each of the 14 countries from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium (JETTC; Gartstein & Putnam, 2018). Analyses were conducted relying on the multi-level modeling framework (MLM), accounting for between- and within-culture variability, and examining the extent to which TV exposure contributions were universal vs. variable across sites. Effects of time watching TV were evaluated in relation to temperament reactivity and regulation, as well as measures of emotional reactivity, attention difficulties, and aggression. Results indicated that more time spent watching TV was associated with higher ratings on Negative Emotionality, emotional reactivity, aggression, and attention problems, as well as lower levels of soothability. However, links between TV exposure and both attention problems and soothability varied significantly between cultures. Taken together, results demonstrate that increased time spent watching television was generally associated with dysregulation, although effects were not consistently uniform, but rather varied as a function of culturally-dependent contextual factors.     

Does the brain consume additional glucose during self-control tasks?

A currently popular model of self-control posits that the exertion of self-control relies on a resource, which is expended by acts of self-control, resulting in less of this resource being available for subsequent acts of self-control. Recently, glucose has been proposed as the resource in question. For this model to be correct, it must be the case that A) performing a self-control task reduces glucose levels relative to a control task and B) performing a self-control task reduces glucose relative to pre-task levels. Evidence from neurophysiology suggests that (A) is unlikely to be true, and the evidence surrounding (B) is mixed, and is unlikely to be true for subjects who have not recently fasted. From the standpoint of evolved function, glucose might better be thought of as an input to decision making systems rather than as a constraint on performance.     

Does severity predict distress? The relationship between subjective and objective measures of appearance and psychological adjustment,during treatment for facial lipoatrophy

The intuitive or lay belief that the severity of a disfiguring condition predicts psychological distress is not demonstrated in clinical practice, nor in research studies. This within group study used standardised measures repeated at six month intervals, to investigate the relationship between subjective and objective measures of appearance and psychological adjustment in 51 patients undergoing treatment for facial lipoatrophy using a synthetic filler, Newfill^®. Results demonstrate a dissociation between objective and subjective measures with only subjective assessment predicting psychological outcomes. It is recommended that Moss's (2005) hypothesis of discrete group membership (normal/not normal) should be adapted to include an internal standard for comparison, and that all evaluations of treatment modifying disfigurement should include a standardised subjective measure of appearance.     

Does attention move or spread during mental curve tracing?

There are two theories that attempt to explain how attention is deployed when lines are traced. Initially, it was believed that a covert zoom lens moved along the line. Recent evidence has, however, suggested that attention spreads along the line, rather than moving along it, perhaps as part of an effortful object-parsing process. Three experiments tested the spreading and moving accounts of line tracing. Participants were presented with two intertwined lines and were required to trace one to find the correct target. On half the trials, a masked change occurred, most often near the top of the target line, that reversed the required response. If attention spreads along the line, the participants should have been able to notice the change whenever it occurred during the tracing process. However, the participants found it harder to spot the change if it occurred late in the tracing process. This suggests that resources were less frequently available to detect changes on portions of the line that had already been traced when the change occurred. The results argue against a spreading trace of attention that encompasses the whole line.     

Subvocalization in auditory-verbal imagery: just a form of motor imagery?

Previous studies have provided evidence for subvocal rehearsal (inner voice) and phonological storage (inner ear) in auditory-verbal imagery. The question remains to be answered whether the inner voice mainly involves higher-order language systems, or primarily relies on motor systems associated with articulatory-kinesthetic processing. On the basis of models of auditory imagery and working memory, we predicted that, if auditory-verbal imagery is a form of motor imagery, performance on a novel auditory-verbal imagery task would be affected by concurrent articulatory suppression as well as by concurrent finger tapping. In contrast, we predicted that performance on a visuospatial control task would be significantly affected by concurrent tapping only. The auditory imagery task consisted of indicating, for bisyllabic words, the syllable that carried the stress. A significant interaction was observed between task (verbal vs. visual) and type of interference (articulatory suppression vs. tapping). Tapping affected reaction times on the visual task significantly more than articulatory suppression. However, both interference conditions affected the verbal task to an equal extent. The present findings confirm the role of subvocalization in auditory-verbal imagery and provide evidence for a strong involvement of articulatory-kinesthetic motor processing.     

Using masculine generics: Does generic he increase male bias in the user's imagery?

Previous research has shown that experimenter-presented masculine generics can create male bias in the gender content of subjects' imagery. The present study tests experimentally whether subjects' own use of masculine generics has a similar effect on their imagery. College student subjects were induced to complete sentence fragments using masculine or unbiased generics, then asked to describe their imagery for each sentence and to give a first name to fit the person they visualized for each sentence. These dependent measures were coded for gender, and as predicted, analysis of variance showed that male bias was higher in the masculine generic condition than in the unbiased condition. Also as predicted, male subjects were more male-biased overall than were female subjects. The findings are discussed in terms of linguistic relativity (the proposition that language can shape thought), prototypicality (the most typical he is probably a man), and activation of multiple meanings (he has male-specific and gender-neutral denotations, and both may be activated even when the gender-neutral meaning is intended).     

Does self-complexity moderate the effects of exposure to political violence for adolescents?

This study examined the moderating role of self-complexity (SC) on well-being (WB) and psychopathology among Israeli adolescents exposed to the Second Lebanon War (2006). Adolescents (N=584, mean age 16.41) completed a SC measure, Political and Negative Life Events (NLE) scales, Brief Symptom Inventory and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The theoretical model analyzed the function of SC as a moderator of exposure effects to political life events (PLE), while controlling for general NLE. Results corroborated the model with SC moderating the effects of the war-related PLE. Adolescents with low SC are at risk for damaged WB and psychiatric consequences from political violence exposure. This opens a diagnostic avenue for identification of at-risk adolescents in this socio-political context toward whom clinical programs should be directed.     

PTSD and psychological distress in Icelandic parents of chronically ill children: Does social support have an effect on parental distress?

The purpose of the study was to investigate psychological distress and the prevalence of PTSD among Icelandic parents of chronically ill children, and the potential effects of social support on distress, at two points in time. The Impact on Family scale (IFS), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS) were completed by 105 parents of children with various diseases (69 mothers and 36 fathers). Despite the heterogeneity of the sample in terms of disease type, PTSD was present in 13.2% of the parents and an additional 28.6% had subclinical PTSD. Time since diagnosis, length of hospitalizations and disease-related daily care predicted 40% of the HTQ total score.