Mental images | ScienceGate

AbstractThis paper argues that we should distinguish two different kinds of imaginative vividness: vividness of mental images and vividness of imaginative experiences. Philosophy has focussed on mental images, but distinguishing more complex vivid imaginative experiences from vivid mental images can help us understand our intuitions concerning the notion as well as the explanatory power of vividness. In particular, it can help us understand the epistemic role imagination can play on the one hand and our emotional engagement with literary fiction on the other hand.

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Diachronic Tendency and Thinking Style Across the Broader Autism Spectrum: Sources of Individual Differences?

Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

10.1007/s41252-021-00209-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stian Orm ◽

Ella Holt Holmberg ◽

Paul L. Harris ◽

Maria Nunez ◽

Francisco Pons

Keyword(s):

Autistic Traits ◽

Broader Autism Phenotype ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Inner Speech ◽

Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽

Present Moment ◽

Thinking Style ◽

Mental Images ◽

High School Degree ◽

Future Events

Abstract Objectives First, to see whether previous studies showing a limited capacity to spontaneously evoke the past and the future of a present moment (diachronic tendency) and a prevalence of mental images over inner speech (thinking style) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder could be replicated in individuals belonging to the broader autism phenotype. Second, to test the hypothesis that individuals thinking with mental images have a more limited diachronic tendency compared with individuals thinking with inner speech. Methods Adults (N = 309, Mage = 31.5 years, 76% women) with at least a high school degree were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient, a test of diachronic tendency comprising four pictures varying in social interactivity and dynamicity, and a thinking style scale comprising three items representing three different everyday situations. Results The results showed that adults with many autistic traits have a limited diachronic tendency but only when the situation is socially interactive and dynamic, think more in mental images than individuals with no or few autistic traits but nevertheless still think more with inner speech than with mental images, and the more the participants reported thinking in inner speech, the more they evoked past and future events when describing a socially interactive and dynamic situation. Conclusions More autistic traits are associated with a limited diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations and more thinking in mental images, and thinking style could be one of the determinants of diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations.

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What do adults think of music across the lifespan?

Psychology of Music ◽

10.1177/0305735620972789 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 030573562097278

Author(s):

Giulia Ripani

Keyword(s):

Social Representations ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Southeastern United States ◽

Large City ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Methodological Framework ◽

Sociocultural Perspective ◽

Mental Images ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

Musical Thinking

Using the Theory of Social Representations as theoretical and methodological framework, the purpose of this study was to analyze adults’ mental images (social representations) of music and musical selves across the lifespan. Participants ( N = 74) were chosen using purposive sampling in various sociocultural contexts in a large city in the Southeastern United States. As previous studies documented, projective techniques (drawings and linguist associations) can access the most latent dimensions of thinking. Accordingly, drawings and linguistic associations to the textual stimuli “me,” “music,” and “music and me” were used to gain insights into adults’ mental images of music and musical selves. Participants were also asked to provide socio-demographic data that might affect or correlate with their responses. The Correspondences Analysis technique was used to reconstruct representational fields associated with the stimuli. For each stimulus, a five-factor extraction identified hidden dimensions in adult musical thinking and summarized the links between socio-demographic variables and adults’ responses. From a developmental perspective, the comparison of drawings and linguistic associations revealed stable and changing elements in adults’ representations of music and musical selves across the lifespan. From a sociocultural perspective, this study documented the influence of the variable ethnicity on adults’ responses.

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Externalizing Mental Images by Harnessing Size-Describing Gestures

Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces ◽

10.1145/3399715.3399920 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Anne Brown ◽

Sharon Lynn Chu ◽

Neha Rani

Keyword(s):

Mental Images

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The Role of Emotional Competences in Parents’ Vaccine Hesitancy

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9030298 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 298

Author(s):

Teresa Gavaruzzi ◽

Marta Caserotti ◽

Irene Leo ◽

Alessandra Tasso ◽

Leonardo Speri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Competence ◽

Vaccine Safety ◽

Vaccine Hesitancy ◽

Mental Images ◽

Emotional Competencies ◽

Vaccine Refusal ◽

Behavior Study ◽

Childhood Vaccines ◽

Role Of Parents

The role of parents’ emotional competencies on vaccine hesitancy and decision making has been seldom examined. Two studies investigated the relationship between parents’ attitudes towards childhood vaccines and self-reported behavior (Study 1) and between parents’ emotional competence and attitudes towards vaccines (Study 2). In Study 1, predictors of temporal, partial, or complete vaccine refusal (having voluntarily postponed/forgone some/all vaccines) were examined in 2778 parents. In Study 2, psychological predictors of the attitude towards vaccines were examined in 593 parents, using the Profile of Emotional Competence and the valence of mental images spontaneously associated with the term “vaccine”. In Study 1, attitudes were aggregated in three independent factors (concerns about vaccine safety; diseases prevented by vaccines; and naturalistic views) that independently predicted vaccine refusal. In Study 2, a significant mediational analysis showed a positive indirect effect of intrapersonal emotional competences on attitudes towards vaccines, through mental images associated with the word “vaccine”. Parents’ intrapersonal emotional competences affected all dimensions of attitudes towards vaccines, suggesting that being able to manage, identify, and recognize one’s own emotions is central to vaccine acceptance. These findings suggest that intervention strategies, rather than stressing the pro-social benefits of vaccinating, should focus on aspects related to one’s own emotions.

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