Positive Imagery Research Articles

Exploring wordplay and humour in English usage within Japanese texts

English has been extensively integrated into various commercial contexts in Japan, infiltrating brand names, clothing, products, packaging (Dougill, 2008), shop signs (Backhaus, 2006; Inoue, 2005; MacGregor, 2003a), advertising copy (Seargeant, 2011; Takashi, 1990a, 1990b), television commercials (MacGregor, 2003b; Stanlaw, 1992), television programs (Jinnouchi, 2007), and Japanese popular music (Moody, 2001; Moody, 2006; Pennycook, 2003; Stanlaw, 2021). Scholars attribute this phenomenon to English's attention-catching effects (Bhatia, 2009) and its ability to stand out amidst predominantly Japanese scripts (Takashi, 1990b). While some argue that English is primarily used for decorative purposes, conveying positive imagery without necessarily prioritising communication (Dougill, 2008; Haarmann, 1989; Seaton, 2001), others contend that marketers capitalise on the public's superficial knowledge of basic English to achieve both decorative and communicative goals (Daulton, 2008). Previous studies have focused on English-based loanwords in the Japanese language system, overlooking the creative use of English wordplay in Japanese advertising texts (Inagawa, 2015; Scherling, 2016). This study aims to fill this gap by examining five instances of English wordplay in Japanese commercial texts that go beyond basic usage.

Positive mental imagery and mental health amongst university students in Pakistan.

Mental health problems amongst university students pose a major public health challenge, and this is particularly the case in Pakistan. Alongside broader societal and cultural pressures, cognitive factors likely also play a role in the development of and resilience to mental health problems and may provide a feasible target for interventions. The current study built on previous research in primarily European samples investigating the relationship between one cognitive factor, positive future-oriented mental imagery, and mental health, extending this to a sample of university students in Pakistan (N = 1838). In a cross-sectional design, higher vividness of positive future-oriented mental imagery was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher levels of positive mental health amongst participants completing questionnaire measures on paper (N = 1430) or online (N = 408). In the sample completing the measures on paper, these relationships remained statistically significant even when controlling for socio-demographic and mental health-related variables. The results provide a foundation for further investigating positive mental imagery as a potential mechanism of mental health and intervention target amongst university students in Pakistan.

Psychological skills in athletic rehabilitation (AR): trainers and therapists perceptions

Sport-injury recovery is said to benefit from psychological abilities, yet there is little use of mental imaging in treatment protocols. To determine if the opinions of Physical Therapists (PTs) and Athletic Trainers (ATs) on the healing process for harmed sportsmen may be sped up by the use of positive language, setting targets, and mental imagery in treatment. To participate in an experiment that was only administered once and asked participants about the efficiency of psychological techniques, the ATs and PTs were approached for increasing adherence and speeding up the healing of wounded sportsmen enduring treatment. A total number of 309 ATs and 356 PTs responded out of the one thousand ATs and PTs that were randomly selected. The Attitudes about Imagery (AAI) study gauges opinions on psychological techniques for improving injured athletes' commitment and recovery speed. The AAI asks questions on demographics and measures attitudes regarding the influence of pain management on injured athletes' compliance with therapy and utilizes fifteen inquiries and a Likert scale with seven points to measure recovery speed. To ascertain if variations in views occurred due to the professionals' educational background, training experience, and interest, we performed 1-way analyses of variances. The usefulness of psychological skills to support the recovery process was generally viewed favourably by ATs and PTs. The utilization of mental abilities is considered in terms of clinical ramifications.

How Fear Training and Other Unique Training Methods Help South Korea Maintain Dominance in Archery?

In the modern day, South Korea is the most successful country in archery at the Olympics. The South Korean Women’s team is particularly known for their legendary record of gold at every Olympic Games since 1988. This success is not mere luck, however, as the South Korean archery team goes through much more rigorous and unique training compared to other countries. For one, archery is more widespread in Korea, allowing more people to try out the sport. The school system set in place in South Korea encourages the development of archers at a young age, which ultimately leads to more and more South Koreans pursuing archery as a career. In addition, the South Korean archery team goes through unique forms of training, such as mindfulness training, exposure therapy, heart rate analysis, equipment optimization through shooting robots, and general sports psychology techniques like positive self-talk and imagery. All of these training methods provide South Korean archers with benefits such as increased confidence, reduction of fear, higher concentration and focus levels, as well as superior insight into how their shot goes through. South Korea’s long success in archery is backed up by South Korea’s intense dedication to their training, through their long hours, as well as their commitment to go through various forms of unique training to improve.

Applying concepts of relational density theory to climate related consumer behavior: A contextual extension study

Predicting and influencing consumer behavior can aid in combating the climate crisis. Previously, Matthews et al. (2022) modelled the influence of relational framing on consumer purchasing, where relational training established pro- and anti-environmental coordinated classes. The current paper extends Matthews et al.’s (2022) analysis by empirically modelling complex relational networks consistent with Relational Density Theory (RDT; Belisle & Dixon, 2020). In the experiment, participants completed a pre- and post- relational training multidimensional scaling procedure including positive and negative valence environmental related imagery and unfamiliar symbols. The relational training was designed to establish coordination between the symbols and evaluative climate functions. This analysis allowed for the development of a geometric model of complex relational behavior that were consistent with shifts in purchasing behavior observed in the prior study, supporting the link between relational behavior and overt behavior that may be of interest to behavior and climate scientists. Moreover, the current study provides a direct translational extension of existing research on RDT to a topic of immense social importance.

How source of product acquisition affects consumers' reliance on positive word-of-mouth: a mental imagery perspective

PurposeThis research focuses on the role of product acquisition cues in positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) content on social media, comparing the characteristics of different sources of product acquisition (purchased vs. gifted) and exploring whether and how they affect consumers' reliance on word-of-mouth (WOM).Design/methodology/approachThe research model was developed based on the mental imagery theory. Two offline experiments and two online experiments were used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that, compared to the purchased source, the gifted source evokes more positive mental imagery and greater emotional attachment to the product, resulting in greater consumer reliance on PWOM. In addition, the effect of the source of product acquisition on reliance on PWOM was stronger for experiential (vs. material) products and for consumers with higher interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal.Originality/valueThis research highlights the role of product acquisition cues in PWOM in influencing consumers' evaluation of WOM, while also revealing the processes inherent in how consumers process information through mental imagery. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of reliance on WOM and offer new insights and recommendations for management practitioners.

Linguistic Means of Manipulation in English Fiction: B. Shaw’s Works

This article summarizes studies identifying linguistic means of implementing manipulative influence in English fiction. The article discusses various scientific views on the essence and main characteristics of manipulation, the levels of analysis of linguistic means of manipulation, the methods of speech influence that are used in linguistic manipulation, and the types of manipulation. The authors consider linguostylistic means of manipulative influence. The article presents the results of an empirical study of linguistic means of manipulative influence at the lexical and syntactical levels as exemplified by the classic plays by B. Shaw. It is concluded that the above-mentioned verbal means are pragmatically conditioned and have a high manipulative potential. Having emotive and associative semantics, they attract the attention of the addressee, create positive imagery, and stimulate emotional-associative reactions.

Symbolic Violence in the Language of Game Descriptions of Blackness: The Case of Pathfinder

The present article analyzes the impact of discourses surrounding Black ethnicities in tabletop role playing games. I use discursive thematic analysis to examine the descriptions of individuals represented as Black in the Pathfinder game setting, a game system related to Dungeons & Dragons. I critically analyze descriptions in the game materials that discuss in-game Black ethnicities. I demonstrate how the discourse represents a symbolic violence surrounding blackness. While the descriptions provide imagery and word use to highlight the positive aspects of the characters, the overemphasis signals stereotypes of a conceptual “other.” These characters then become examples of “good Blacks” that differ from “bad” individuals. The positive imagery provokes a stereotype threat, and a need to uphold this “good Black” mentality, lest one becomes the Other. While thinking of race and ethnicity in tabletop gaming continues to evolve, even advancements fall into tropes which reinforce symbolic violence.

Small Changes Make a Big Difference: The Impact of Visual Symbol Color Lightness on Destination Image

Visual symbols, such as logos, landmark pictures, and mascots, play a significant role in attracting tourists and improving destination images. However, only a few studies have examined how the basic visual elements of these symbols influence potential tourists’ responses to a destination. This study aims to investigate the role of color lightness in destination visual symbols. Through three experiments, we repeatedly found that lightened visual symbols nudged consumers to evaluate their destination better. Furthermore, positive mental imagery mediated this effect. Nonetheless, the positive effect of lightened visual symbols on destination images was diminished when informational interventions were present. Our study provides new theoretical insights into destination images research by highlighting the positive effect of a fundamental visual attribute—symbol lightness. We suggest that tourism practitioners can make a “big difference” to the destination image by making “small changes,” such as adjusting visual symbol lightness.

Positive Prospective Mental Imagery Characteristics in Young Adults and Their Associations with Depressive Symptoms

BackgroundPositive prospective mental imagery plays an important role in mental well-being, and depressive symptoms have been associated with difficulties in generating positive prospective mental images (PPMIs). We used a mobile app to gather PPMIs generated by young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzed content, characteristics, and associations with depressive symptoms.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial with 95 healthy young adults allocated into two groups (intervention and control). Participants used the mobile app decreasing mental health symptoms for seven consecutive days. Fifty participants in the intervention group reported PPMIs at least three times per day using a mobile app inducing PPMI generation. We categorized entries into themes and applied moderation models to investigate associations between PPMI characteristics and depressive symptoms.ResultsWe distinguished 25 PPMI themes. The most frequent were related to consuming food and drinks, watching TV/streaming platforms, and doing sports. Vividness and ease of generation of PPMIs, but not their anticipation, pleasure intensity or number of engagements with the app were associated with fewer depressive symptoms.ConclusionsWe identified PPMI themes in young adults and found significant negative associations between depressive symptoms and vividness and generation ease of PPMIs. These results may inform prevention and intervention science, including the design of personalized interventions. We discuss implications for future studies and treatment development for individuals experiencing diminished PPMI.

Body Positivity or Humorous Parody? The Impact of Instagram Imagery on Body Image Concerns

Research has shown that Instagram imagery can affect women's body image. However, it remains unclear how Instagram images are perceived, and which type of images can have a positive impact on body image. In this study (N = 170), we examined whether exposure to body positive and humorous parody (vs. body ideal) imagery would be perceived as critiques of thin body ideals, would elicit photo-based activity in the form of “likes”, and would positively affect women's body image. Results showed that both body positivity and humorous parody images elicited more “likes” and were perceived as critiquing thin body standards more than body ideal images. Moreover, women's body satisfaction and positive mood were higher after exposure to body positivity and humorous parody compared to exposure to body ideal images. Women exposed to humorous parody also reported a lower drive for thinness. These findings demonstrate that both body positivity and humorous parody can be considered critiques that improve body image.

The serial mediation effect of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms among Chinese vocational college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mental health of vocational college students has been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective imagery may play a role in the relationships among stress, anxiety and depression. This study aimed to survey the mental health of Chinese vocational college students and explore the mediation effect of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 2, 381 vocational college students (Mage = 18.38years, range: 16-21, SD = 0.92) provided self-report data on perceived stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms and prospective imagery vividness. Two potential serial mediation models were postulated regarding the roles of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms in the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. The prevalence rates of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms were 55.7%, 33.2% and 53.5%, respectively, among vocational college students. Perceived stress was associated with decreased vividness of positive prospective imagery and increased vividness of negative prospective imagery and anxiety symptoms, leading to increased depressive symptoms. Additionally, prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms had a serial mediation effect on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. The results demonstrated that impoverished vividness of positive prospective imagery is not only a central feature of depression but also associated with anxiety. Interventions targeting prospective imagery vividness may alleviate anxiety and depressive symptoms among Chinese vocational college students and should be implemented as soon as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Freely-chosen positive intergroup imagery causes improved outgroup emotions and encourages increased contact seeking immediately and at follow-up

In two ethnic contexts, we focus on volitional imagined contact as a potential method to increase individuals’ readiness to voluntarily initiate intergroup contact and engage in responses with implications for reconciliation. In Study 1, we used a quasi-experimental design to determine the causal role of volitional (vs. non-volitional) valenced imagined contact with a refugee on downstream processes. Irrespective of volition, positive visualizations led to more positive outgroup emotions, action tendencies, and contact seeking; however, manipulated volition amplified the differential impact of valenced contact on outgroup emotions: negative contact was more detrimental when freely chosen, than forced, whereas positive contact was equally beneficial irrespective of volition. Study 2 investigated factors driving individuals’ choices for positive (vs. negative) imagined contact in conflict-laden Cyprus and assessed immediate and longer-term consequences of such choices for interethnic contact seeking. In both studies, participants chose to engage in imagined contact of a valence that aligned with their prior contact histories consistent with an evaluative fit mechanism. Volitional valenced imagery predicted participants’ active and self-initiated contact seeking immediately and after a 2-week period. Hence, volitional intergroup imagery as a “mental contact script” prepares individuals for actual intergroup contact and behaviors with implications for intergroup reconciliation and cohesion.

Is Future Mental Imagery Associated with Reduced Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Negative Affect and Anhedonic Symptoms in Young People?

BackgroundDifficulties with prospective mental images are associated with adolescent depression. Current treatments mainly focus on verbal techniques to reduce negative affect (e.g. low mood) rather than enhancing positive affect, despite anhedonia being present in adolescents. We investigated the concurrent relationships between the vividness of negative and positive prospective mental imagery and negative affect and positive affect; and examined whether negative and positive prospective mental imagery moderated the impact of recent stress (COVID-19-linked stress) on negative and positive affect.Methods2602 young people (12–25 years) completed the Prospective Imagery Task and self-reported on symptoms of negative affect, anhedonia and COVID-19 linked stress.ResultsElevated vividness of negative future mental imagery and reduced vividness of positive future mental imagery were associated with increased negative affect, whereas only reduced vividness of positive future imagery was associated with increased symptoms of anhedonia. Elevated vividness of negative future images amplified the association between COVID-19 linked stress and negative affect, while elevated vividness of positive future images attenuated the association between COVID-19 linked stress and anhedonia.ConclusionsFuture mental imagery may be differentially associated with negative and positive affect, but this needs to be replicated in clinical populations to support novel adolescent psychological treatments.

The Enigma of the Golden Cockerel: Catch It if You Can

Pushkin’s fable was a creative remake of a tale by Washington Irving, which he wrote during his travel to Granada (the Alhambra) with Pushkin’s pal, Russian diplomat pal, Count Dmitry Dolgorukov. This legend about an Arabic Astrologer (from Tales of Alhambra, 1832), undergoing metamorphosis was relocated from Spain to Russia and Shamakha. Current research delves into the connection between the two texts, tracing the transformation of the main characters in the context of the central plotlines. I explore how and why Irving’s gothic princess turned into Pushkin’s Tsarina of Shamakha and how the plotline relates to Russia’s historical annexation of Azerbaijan. The core of my research is the musical language Rimsky-Korsakov employs to create the fairytale and Eastern characters. Is there any positive Russian imagery in the opera? Why is Rimsky-Korsakov’s Golden Cockerel considered an anti-opera? To what extent can Stravinsky’s first ballets, Firebird and Petrushka, be viewed as the continuation of Rimsky-Korsakov’s stream of fairytales? Extending author’s work on Russian operas and Rimsky-Korsakov in particular, this research originated at the invitation to write program notes for the Santa Fe Opera production of The Golden Cockerel in 2017.

Destination branding though major sporting events: The case of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon

The study elicits visitor perceptions on the destination brand of Cameroon through sport event hosting. The nations' brand is often reduced to its geo-political and socio-economic status, and it becomes challenging for Cameroon to overcome this powerful negative discourse. Sport events are proven to be a powerful vehicle for changing perceptions and reimaging nations. This study employed a quantitative approach to data collection whereby face-to-face survey questionnaires were conducted with sport event spectators (n=465) at the AFCON tournament to determine the brand images held in the minds of visitors and moreover to determine the consequential effects on destination branding. Results of the study not only reveal that positive brand imagery is linked to cultural diversity but that it also demonstrates strong associations to sport brand positioning. The results further expose elements of branding challenges linked to policy development and leadership. This research holds key significance for destination brand stakeholders in terms of utilising appropriate marketing strategies in event promotions. It also supports existing destination branding constructs linked to brand image and brand positioning.

Police as communicators to prevent the spread of the COVID-19

For the last two years, Indonesia and all countries in the world have been engaged with the COVID-19 pandemic. The government issued various forms of policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including PSBB and PPKM. The West Java Police Public Relations, as part of the government, also communicated the program through their social media. One of the social media accounts used is the Instagram account @humaspoldajabar. However, the uploaded content has yet to achieve optimal results. The purpose of this study is to describe the management of Instagram social media @humaspoldajabar during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research uses qualitative research methods with the type of case study research and collecting data using observation and literature study. The result of this research is that the contents uploaded by the Public Relations Division of the Java Regional Police are content related to appeals, information, and policies for controlling the COVID-19 outbreak. Public Relations of the West Java Regional Police uploaded content that described humanist police activities accompanied by the positive imagery of officials within the West Java Regional Police. The West Java Police Public Relations should use brand influencers to optimize content and display content that suits the needs and characteristics of the public. Content in the form of positive imagery can actually threaten the image of the police themselves.

Tracing the Image of Turks in Travel Writing through Translation

The main aim of this study is to examine how the images of Turks were depicted in the travel writing A Journey through the Crimea to Constantinople, written by the English traveler Elizabeth Craven, and to trace their repatriation into Turkish through translation entitled 1786’da Türkiye (Turkey in 1786) by the translator Reşat Ekrem Koçu. This study benefits from an imagological perspective in its methodology and applies a comparative textual analysis, which puts a particular emphasis on the abundance of negative images of Turks in the source text and reflects the scarcity of such images in the target text. The analysis, from an imagological lens, shows that the heteroimages of Turks, which were mostly constructed through negative implications by the foreign writer, were lost in their repatriation to their own culture. In other words, the negative images of Turks were largely omitted from the target text, and the source text was abridged to a large extent by the Turkish translator, revealing the fact that the Other’s negative views about the Turks could not cross the borders at all. This, naturally, leads the text with a pejorative tone towards the Turks to be rewritten as a target text having a commendatory tone due to the presence of a plethora of positive Turkish imagery along with the paratextual additions such as several illustrations, comments, the translator’s preface, and the publisher’s note. Therefore, the analysis suggests that the translator, as an intercultural agent, seemed to claim his position as an author-translator in the translation process while particularly illustrating the function of gatekeeping and the use of translation for selecting and highlighting the representation of mental pictures of a certain culture and period.

Future self-imagery of young people in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory mixed methods analysis

Global restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly limited the capacity to plan for the future. Little is known about young people’s future self-images and the impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have had upon them. Given evidence that the ability to imagine a positive future can be protective for mental health, research into the impact of the pandemic on future self-imagery is needed. In two studies, we therefore explored the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for future self-imagery in an unselected sample of young people in Sweden, specifically: (a) how content and characteristics of future self-images changed from before to during the pandemic, and (b) how such change was related to trauma history, intrusive memories of COVID-19 media footage, past time perspective and optimism (assessed with questionnaires/intrusive memory diary). Future self-images before and during the pandemic were assessed using the ‘I Will Be’ task (NStudy1=74; NStudy2=99). A mixed methods design, combining quantitative analysis, qualitative content coding and thematic analysis was used. Exploratory results of Study 1 indicated that future images were rated as less positive during than before the pandemic and that this reduction was less pronounced in people with higher optimism. Results were replicated in an independent sample (Study 2, collected later during the pandemic). In conclusion, whilst the findings are preliminary and emerged from an unselected sample, they prompt the suggestion that brief, novel interventions which aim to bolster positive future imagery may hold promise as a scalable means by which to enhance mental health for young people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A single-group pilot feasibility and acceptability study of the Broad Minded Affective Coping technique for suicidal adults in crisis

The evidence base for psychological interventions for suicidal individuals is limited and the delivery of longer-term therapy within mental health crisis services is confronted by several barriers. For these reasons, identifying briefer techniques that can be delivered to at-risk groups is pertinent. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of the Broad Minded Affective Coping (BMAC) technique, a brief positive mental imagery intervention, for suicidal adults. Of 32 individuals referred by mental health crisis services, 14 adults with experience of suicidal ideation in the past three months took part. All participants received a one-session BMAC brief intervention, and invited to practice the BMAC independently for the next seven days and provide logbook ratings of pre-post BMAC mood states. Suicidal ideation and depression were assessed at baseline and at the end of the week of imagery practice. Nine participants (64%) completed the study by providing baseline and follow-up assessments of depression and suicidal ideation, completing a logbook and participating in a feedback interview. The BMAC appeared acceptable to participants and showed promise in improving mood and suicidal thoughts. We discuss the implications of these findings for future investigations of a one-session BMAC brief intervention.