Varieties of Inner Speech and Creative Potential

Inner speaking, the covert talking that goes on inside a person's mind, can shape creative thought. How the phenomenological properties and quality of inner speaking correlate with a person's creative potential, however, is an open scientific problem. To explore this, participants ( n = 267) filled in the revised Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire and the revised Launay Slade Hallucination Scale (auditory subscale), and performed three tests of creative potential: one divergent (Alternative Uses Test) and two convergent thinking tests (Compound Remote Associates Test, short Hagen Matrices Test). The results showed that a tendency to engage in condensed and evaluative/ critical inner speaking negatively correlated with convergent thinking ability; and the results pointed toward a potential negative correlation of auditory hallucination proneness with divergent and convergent thinking ability. No evidence was found for a correlation of the dialogicality, imagining of others’ voices, or positive/regulatory aspect of the participants day-to-day inner speech, with creative potential. Herewith, the presented study contributes novel insight into the relationship between the varieties of inner speech and creative potential.

Who Engages with Supernatural Entities? An Investigation of Personality and Cognitive Style Predictors

We tested preregistered hypotheses (a) examining the structure of supernatural beliefs and perceived experiences and (b) predicting supernatural engagement from the Big Five and cognitive styles. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of self-report data in the U.S. undergraduates (Study 1: n = 1,401; Study 2: n = 1,939) showed that beliefs and perceived experiences were characterized by two factors. Positive and Negative Agents factors related strongly to religious belief salience and were defined by God, the devil, angels, demons, and ghosts/spirits, whereas Forces and Spirits factors were unrelated to religious belief salience and were defined by fate/destiny, karma, and ghosts/spirits. Extraversion, conscientiousness, experiential processing, schizotypy, and dissociative tendencies related positively to supernatural engagement. With some nuances, agreeableness, neuroticism, and need for closure were positive predictors, whereas skepticism and analytical-rational processing were negative predictors. Openness and intellectual humility did not relate positively to supernatural engagement, contradicting expectations. Because the literature on individual differences predictors of supernatural engagement is not well integrated, these results may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this topic.

The Power of Black Panther to Affect Group Perceptions: Examining the Relationships Between Narrative Engagement, Narrative Influence, and Perceived Vitality of African Americans

Marvel’s Black Panther (2018) offered much discussion about the role of an entertainment narrative to influence moviegoing audience’s perceptions about African, African American, and Black experiences. Generally, entertainment narratives allow people to imagine themselves as different people, part of different worlds, and sometimes even living in different timeframes. By providing different perspectives, they can provide opportunities for understanding of and improved perceptions of others. The strength of these perspectives resides with the strength of the story’s ability to engage. The present study examines how engagement with the film’s narrative may be associated with perceived vitality of African Americans, and how this relationship may be mediated by the influence audiences perceive the narrative to have on others. The study provides two key findings. Generally, narrative engagement is associated with perceived vitality, through the perceived influence of the narrative on white audiences but not Black audiences. These associations seem to be driven by Black respondents, however, for White respondents, the associations are present when considering the narrative’s influence on Black audiences.

Imagine Me and You, I Do: Characteristics and Functions of Imagined Interactions During Online Dating

The present study seeks to apply the interpersonal construct of imagined interactions (IIs) to CMC, specifically in the realm of online dating, to explore the nature of imagination work while using dating apps and sites. The relationship between the characteristics and functions of IIs and the degree to which they predict dating themes of honesty, trust, stigma, and overall experience was tested. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to locate the specific characteristics and functions of IIs that are activated during the online dating process. The adapted survey of imagined interactions (SII) proved to be a reliable measure of all characteristics and functions when applied to the context of online dating themes of honesty, trust, stigma, and overall experience. Several reliable psychometrics for investigating imagined interactions within the context of online dating have been established, and support for the hyperpersonal communication model is discussed.

Thinking Style and Paranormal Belief: The Role of Cognitive Biases

This study investigated the degree to which cognitive bias mediated the relationship between thinking style and belief in the paranormal. A sample of 496 participants completed the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS), the Belief in Science Scale (BISS), the Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis, and the reality testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-RT). The BISS and IPO-RT served as proxy indices of preferred thinking style; the BISS assessed rational-analytical (objective) processing, and the IPO-RT intuitive-experiential (subjective) processing. Cognitive biases (Jumping to Conclusions, Intentionalising, Catastrophising, Emotional Reasoning, and dichotomous thinking) correlated positively with belief in the paranormal. Mediation using path analysis indicated that Emotional Reasoning and Catastrophising exerted indirect effects in relation to BISS, IPO-RT and RPBS. Direct relationships existed between IPO-RT and RPBS, and BISS and RPBS. Of the biases, only Emotional Reasoning and Catastrophising predicted RPBS. The contribution of Emotional Reasoning and Catastrophising to belief in the paranormal were consistent with previous research and the cognitive model of psychosis, which asserts that there are strong relationships between defective reality testing, emotional reasoning and delusional beliefs.

Did Children Interact With Their Personified Objects During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Although previous studies revealed the characteristics of children with imaginary companions, the characteristics of children alone could not explain why some children create and interact with imaginary companions. The current cross-sectional study examined the impact of the situational factors, decreased opportunities to meet and play with real playmate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the prevalence of imaginary companions. Five hundred sixty caregivers of children aged 2–9 years (half of them were girls) were asked whether their children currently had imaginary companions (personified objects and invisible friends) before (September 2019) and during the pandemic (April 2020). The logistic regression model showed that only the prevalence of personified objects increased during the pandemic, OR = 2.01, 95%CI [1.34, 3.00], even when potential variables were controlled. The results suggest that children more frequently played with their personified objects during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic.

Mental Imagery in Early Psychosis

Dysfunction in mental imagery may contribute to the development of mental disorders. We studied the vividness and controllability of mental imagery in a sample of 42 individuals with recent-onset psychosis, using a cross sectional design. Contrary to earlier studies, the claim that mental imagery is enhanced and the controllability weak in psychotic disorder was not supported. Especially the negative and affective symptoms associated with low vividness, and the stronger the symptoms the patients had, the less vivid was their imagery. Anxiety and self-neglect were the best predictors of low vividness. Only an elevated mood associated with higher vividness. The cognitive performance of the participants did not associate significantly with imagery. Surprisingly, organic modality was reported to be the most vivid modality, whereas visual imagery was the least vivid. Understanding the role of mental imagery in early psychosis may help us to understand and treat these disorders better.

Communication in the Time of COVID-19: An Examination of Imagined Interactions and Communication Apprehension During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As people all over the world continue to adjust to the new normal presented to them by COVID-19, they must adjust to the social restrictions that have been enforced. These restrictions include shelter-in-place and work-from-home orders that severely limit the face-to-face interactions that were considered a norm in many peoples’ lives (e.g., speaking with the grocer, hair stylist, etc.). As individuals adjust to these changes, their communication behaviors must adapt as well. This study seeks to determine how the restrictions of COVID-19 have impacted Imagined Interactions (IIs) and Communication Apprehension (CA). This study identifies significant relationships between IIs and CA before and during COVID-19, as well as how certain demographics have experienced IIs and CA during the pandemic.