A Bio‐Informational Theory of Emotional Imagery

TLDR

Evidence links differentiated efferent activity to the type and content of imaginal activity, and cognitive psychology treats both sensory imagery generation and text comprehension as propositional information processing. The study proposes a theory of emotional imagery in which the brain image is a conceptual network that controls specific somatovisceral patterns and serves as a prototype for overt behavior. The authors apply propositional analysis, used in therapy, to emotional imagery to examine its structure and efferent outputs. Experiments demonstrate that the conceptual structure of an emotional image and its efferent outflow can be directly altered by instruction and by shaping reports of image experience, suggesting therapeutic relevance for psychopathology.

Abstract

ABSTRACT A theory of emotional imagery is described which conceives the image in the brain to be a conceptual network, controlling specific somatovisceral patterns, and constituting a prototype for overt behavioral expression. Evidence for the hypothesis that differentiated efferent activity is associated with type and content of imaginal activity is considered. Recent work in cognitive psychology is described, which treats both the generation of sensory imagery and text comprehension and storage as examples of the processing of propositional information. A similar propositional analysis is applied to emotional imagery as it is employed in the therapeutic context. Experiments prompted by this view show that the conceptual structure of the image and its associated efferent outflow can be modified directly through instructions and through shaping of reports of image experience. The implications of the theory for psychopathology are considered, as well as its relevance to therapeutic behavior change.