Mental imagery differs markedly between people, with research tentatively identifying three categories, namely aphantasia, mid-range imagery, and hyperphantasia. Further, aphantasia poses interesting questions as to how people with low imagery experience reading. Accordingly, we used Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) on a sample of adults (n = 287) to see what distinct imagery profiles exist empirically. Second, we tested different imagery profiles for associations with different reading enjoyment and absorption experiences. The online correlational study asked participants to complete measures including the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ-2), the Story World Absorption Scale, and a measure of reading enjoyment. LPAs were run to identify imagery profiles and correlations were run with reading enjoyment and absorption. Results of the LPA validate the existence of three profiles. All groups reported moderate to high enjoyment and absorption, however, significant group differences existed between the lowest and highest imagers. Future research needs to better understand what these experiential differences are and how they may or may not affect reading ability.

Disgust is one of the emotions underlying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, particularly washing rituals. This pilot study explored the role of disgust imagery and self-compassion above and beyond established predictors [disgust propensity (DP) and obsessive beliefs] in predicting washing symptoms cross-sectionally. Non-clinical university students ( n = 197) completed online self-report questionnaires on disgust imagery (newly constructed for this study), obsessive-compulsive symptoms, DP, obsessive beliefs and self-compassion. The majority of the sample ( n = 180) reported disgust imagery. The new Disgust Imagery Scale demonstrated promising psychometric properties. The preliminary finding suggested that the severity of disgust imagery in addition to the propensity for misappraisals and disgust experience may be related to the severity of washing symptoms, but self-compassion was non-significant. The cultural, research and clinical implications are discussed. The use of a non-clinical student sample and cross-sectional analyses precluded causal claims and generalization of findings to clinical samples.

Caregivers can forget young children in the back of the car, thereby resulting in the tragic circumstance of infant death. The current exploratory study examined whether the public (N = 171) believes a memory explanation when the defendant caregiver relationship to the child is varied and when expert witness testimony is and is not provided regarding the processes by which these memory failures can occur. Adult participants believed that a memory failure played a role when the defendant caregiver was the grandfather as opposed to when the caregiver was the father. Expert witness testimony did not impact this belief. Other memory-related variables impacted perceptions of defendant guilt when defendant guilt was measured continuously but not dichotomously. Numerous non-memory related outcome variables were also studied. Defendant relationship and expert witness testimony impacted different memory-related and non-memory related outcome variables. Results are discussed in terms of age-related forgetting and collective vulnerability versus prospective memory failures. Implications regarding the legal system are considered.

We investigate if and how imagining a positive future where a societal issue has been rectified can promote hope and support for collective action. Participants imagined (vs. not) a positive future related to climate change (Study 1, N = 301) and economic equality (Study 2, N = 489), two years versus several decades from now. In both studies, imagining a positive future led to support for collective action via increased hope. In Study 1, imagination increased the perceived possibility of achieving the collective goal, in Study 2 it increased its perceived desirability. Possibility was positively related to hope, in particular when imagining a near future, whereas desirability of the collective goal was positively related to hope for a distant imagined future. The research provides evidence for the power of imagination in inspiring hope and collective action, and shows the shifting meaning of hope depending on collective action context and timeframe of the imagination.

Although new digital monetary instruments (e.g., cryptocurrencies) have emerged and proliferated, there is little academic research concerning consumer perspectives on these instruments or the effects of these instruments on consumers’ moral judgments. The present research addressed this gap in the literature by addressing the following research question: Is the morality of tax evasion judged differently when tax evasion is undertaken with cryptocurrency vs. traditional financial instruments (e.g., stocks)? In two online experiments, we exposed participants to a tax evasion scenario with either cryptocurrency or stock trading. The results of Study 1 showed that tax evasion is perceived as being less wrong when it is carried out with cryptocurrency trading rather than stock trading. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and tested an explanatory mediating mechanism hypothesized to underlie the main effect. A mediation analysis showed that the effect of cryptocurrency (vs. stock trading) on the perceived wrongness of tax evasion is partially mediated by the observer's positive (vs. negative) affective evaluation of the person committing tax evasion. This paper also discusses the theoretical, practical, and societal implications of the present results, including the likelihood that people's attitudes toward moral transgressions and crimes will be more lenient when these acts are conducted with new, innovative, and exciting instruments.

People are inundated with readily accessible entertainment media choices. Recommender systems are frequently utilized to support people's media selection and engagement. The psychological factors that influence people's engagement with recommender systems and entertainment content is an under-explored area. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study where users’ explicit experiences of audiovisual media services (e.g., Netflix, TikTok, YouTube, HBO Max) and their recommender systems were examined through an online survey (n = 339). Thematic analysis, factor analysis, and path analysis were used to evaluate the data. The results indicate that (1) recommender systems influence users’ emotions and media use, (2) people prefer personalized compared to generic recommendation lists, (3) the temporal length of recommended content influences people's interest, and (4) perceived utility leads to the endorsement of recommender systems and may influence users’ well-being. The findings point to wider psychological implications associated with user awareness of recommender systems.

A vast number of empirical findings support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Interestingly, research on that topic in adolescents is scarce. In a sample of 100 adolescents (50 female, 50 male) with a mean age 15.30 ± 0.80 years, it was found that for all six topics (watching TV, video gaming, social media use, engage in hobbies, caring for pets, and spending time with the partner), dream percentages of a specific topic was higher if the adolescents spent more time with this activity in waking life. Partner dreams and social media dreams were more frequent compared to adults, stressing the importance these issues have for adolescents. Future research can help to understand the well-being of adolescents by analyzing the emotional quality and content of their dreams.

Expanding the Mediated Imagined Interaction Hypothesis, this article contributes the development of a scale to test the theoretical construct. Interweaving imagined interactions and media, the mediated imagined interaction hypothesis examines how media impacts how people imagine their real life conversations and interactions with others. The multiphase scale development and testing process for the Mediated Imagined Interaction Scale are presented in this article. Further explorations for application of this scale are discussed.

Human personality is based on five fundamental traits, and these traits appear to cluster in three different prototypes (i.e., resilient, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled prototypes). A growing body of research suggests that persons with these prototypes differ in mental health and well-being. We set out to identify if clusters differ in the use of imagination to cope with stress and uncertainty (i.e., Fantastic Reality Ability). For this study, we recruited 398 Israeli adults during the second COVID-19 lockdown, before the vaccine was available; participants were recruited and provided responses online including the FRAME (i.e., Fantastic Reality Ability Measurement). Cluster analyses indicate Israeli participants present with three distinct personality clusters or prototypes similar to research conducted in North America and Europe. Clusters significantly differ in FRA abilities (i.e., control, playfulness, coping, transcendence). That is, the resilient prototype reported higher control, playfulness and coping, and lower transcendence compared to the over- and undercontrolled. Future research should examine FRA in psychotherapy to further understand the clinical utility of this individual difference over time.

Given the associations between mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress and proactive coping, and the implications for health, this research utilised a two-study approach to assess these associations and was the first study to examine whether appraisal states had a mediating role on the relationships of mastery imagery ability with perceived stress and proactive coping. Study 1 used a sample of 148 participants (M age = 22.52, SD = 4.36 years) and Study 2 used a sample of 338 participants (M age = 19.26, SD = 1.58 years). Participants completed online questionnaires measuring mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress, and proactive coping. In Study 1, only threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and perceived stress. However, both challenge and threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and proactive coping. Study 2 results showed challenge appraisal also mediated these relationships, but threat appraisal played no mediating role. Both studies demonstrate the important mediatory role of stress appraisal states, and the role they can have in regulating stress, but further research is warranted to establish when one stress appraisal may mediate the relationship over the other.