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Exploring the relation between visual mental imagery and affect in the daily life of previously depressed and never depressed individuals

DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1365047
Slofstra, C., Nauta, M. H., Holmes, E. A., Bos, E. H., Wichers, M., Batalas, N., Klein, N. S., & Bockting, C. L. (2018). Exploring the relation between visual mental imagery and affect in the daily life of previously depressed and never depressed individuals. Cognition and Emotion, 32(5), 1131–1138. doi:10.1080/02699931.2017.1365047

Abstract

Previously depressed individuals experience disturbances in affect. Affective disturbances may be related to visual mental imagery, given that imagery-based processing of emotional stimuli causes stronger affective responses than verbal processing in experimental laboratory studies. However, the role of imagery-based processing in everyday life is unknown. This study assessed mental imagery in the daily life of previously and never depressed individuals. Higher levels of visual mental imagery was hypothesised to be associated with more affective reactivity to both negatively and positively valenced mental representations. This study was the first to explore mental imagery in daily life using experience sampling methodology. Previously depressed (n = 10) and matched never depressed (n = 11) individuals participated in this study. Momentary affect and imagery-based processing were assessed using the “Imagine your mood” smartphone application. Participants recorded on average 136 momentary reports over a period of 8 weeks. The expected association between visual mental imagery and affective reactivity was not found. Unexpectedly, in both previously and never depressed individuals, higher levels of imagery-based processing of mental representations in daily life were significantly associated with better momentary mood and more positive affect, regardless of valence. The causality of effects remains to be examined in future studies.

Authors

  • Christien Slofstra1
  • Maaike H. Nauta1
  • Emily A. Holmes4
  • Elisabeth H. Bos1
  • Marieke Wichers1
  • Nikolaos Batalas1
  • Nicola S. Klein1
  • Claudi L.H. Bockting1

What This Study Is About

Researchers wanted to know if "seeing things in your mind" acts like a volume knob for our emotions in everyday life. They specifically looked at whether these mental pictures make feelings more intense for people who have struggled with depression in the past.

How They Studied It

The researchers followed 21 people for eight weeks. Half of the group had experienced depression before, while the other half had not. Using a smartphone app called "Imagine your mood," participants were pinged several times a day to report their current feelings and how much visual mental imagery—the ability to picture things in your mind, like a "mental movie"—they were experiencing at that exact moment.

What They Found

Scientists often assume that mental imagery is an "emotional amplifier" that makes good feelings better and bad feelings worse. However, this study found something unexpected! Instead of making emotions more intense, having more mental imagery was simply linked to having a better mood overall.
In both groups, when people reported more mental pictures, they also reported feeling happier and more energetic. It didn't seem to matter if the thoughts were positive or negative; the presence of imagery itself was tied to a brighter mood.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that for many people, the "mind's eye" might be a tool for staying positive rather than just a way to boost every emotion. However, we have to be careful: this was a very small study with only 21 people, so we can't be certain these results apply to everyone. It is also a "chicken or the egg" situation—we don't know if picturing things *causes* a good mood, or if being in a good mood makes you more likely to visualize.
For people with aphantasia (the inability to visualize), this research is exciting because it helps us explore how a lack of mental "pictures" might lead to a different, perhaps more stable, emotional life.

One Interesting Detail

The researchers found that some people in the study almost never experienced mental images, reporting that they thought almost entirely in "words and sentences" instead!
This summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always refer to the original paper for accuracy.