Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Überprüfung der Wirksamkeit von Imaginationsübungen bei klimakterischen Beschwerden (IKB) im Sinne einer Linderung menopausaler Symptome sowie einer Besserung des psychischen Befindens und der Lebensqualität bei Mammakarzinompatientinnen. Das Mammakarzinom ist das häufigste Krebsleiden der Frau in Deutschland. Öfter als bei gesunden Frauen treten bei Brustkrebspatientinnen klimakterische Beschwerden auf, die in Frequenz und Schwere meist stärker ausgeprägt sind. Als Therapiemöglichkeit wurden die IKB in Anlehnung an das Autogene Training (AT) sowie die Simonton-Methode entwickelt. Über eine Entspannungssequenz und folgende Imagination sollen sich Hitzewallungen lindern lassen und das Wohlbefinden sowie die Lebensqualität gesteigert werden. Mittels Kopplung der Imagination an eine Geste soll der Effekt auch im Alltag provozierbar sein. Als Studiendesign wurde eine prospektive kontrollierte Interventionsstudie mit monatsabhängiger Blockrandomisierung durchgeführt, in deren Rahmen die Interventionsgruppe, die IKB erhielt, mit einer Kontrollgruppe verglichen wurde, die am AT teilnahm. Von August 2008 bis Mai 2011 wurden 121 Patientinnen in die Studie involviert, von diesen konnten 94 in die Datenauswertung einbezogen werden. Die Erhebung der nötigen Parameter erfolgte mittels Fragebögen zu drei Erhebungszeitpunkten: am Anfang und am Ende des Klinikaufenthalts sowie drei Monate nach der Entlassung aus der Klinik. Die Auswertung ergab in beiden Kollektiven eine signifikante Linderung von Hitzewallungen und anderen klimakterischen Beschwerden sowie eine Verbesserung des psychischen Befindens und der Lebensqualität, die sich überwiegend nach drei Monaten im häuslichen Umfeld beständig zeigten. Der Nachweis einer signifikanten Überlegenheit des IKBs gegenüber dem AT gelang nicht, allerdings zeigte sich in der IKB-Gruppe überzufällig häufig eine bessere Entwicklung als in der Kontrollgruppe. Zum Nachweis eines signifikanten Gruppeneffekts sowie zur Kontrolle möglicher Konfounder wie der Spontanremission bzw. Effekten der Rehabilitationsbehandlung sind weitere Studien mit einer größeren Power, im ambulanten Setting und gegen treatment as usual zu empfehlen.

O debate da imagética mental consiste de uma controvérsia iniciada nos anos 1970 a respeito da forma das representações mentais, e foi travada principalmente entre Stephen Kosslyn, que propunha uma forma imagética, e Zenon Pylyshyn, que propunha um formato simbólico-estrutural, além de apontar falhas conceituais na teoria da afiguração implícita no modelo pictorialista. Nesta dissertação, apresenta-se um balanço filosófico deste debate, levando em conta também críticas adicionais de Daniel Dennett aos pressupostos da abordagem pictorialista. / The mental imagery debate is a controversy that began in the 1970s concerning the form of mental representation, and was carried out mainly by Stephen Kosslyn, who defended a picture-like representation, and Zenon Pylyshyn, who proposed a symbolic-structural format. The latter also pointed out conceptual problems of the pictorialist model. This thesis presents a philosophical discussion of the debate, also taking into account additional criticisms by Daniel Dennett to the presuppositions of the pictorialist approach.

A normative experimental study was undertaken to establish whether engaging in positive, negative, and neutral mental imagery affected the reaction rate of participants to positive, negative, and neutral word stimuli. The sample consisted of computer literate, English speaking participants with no history of clinical disorders. A total of 80 participants took part in the study, with 40 participants from either gender. The results of a factorial ANOVA indicated that the type of mental imagery engaged in had a significant effect on the rate at which participants responded to stimuli (p=.00023, F=8.4057), whilst the emotional valence of the stimuli did not have a significant effect (p=.30503, F=1.1877). However, the interaction between the type of mental imagery and the emotional valence of the stimuli was highly significant (p=.00794, F=3.4576), thereby indicating that engaging in positive or negative mental imagery did bias participants towards a faster reaction rate to positive or negative stimuli respectively. / M. A. (Psychology) / Psychology

This thesis investigates the acceptability and efficacy of Functional Imagery Training (FIT), a motivational intervention for weight-management. FIT is based on Elaborated Intrusion Theory, delivered in the style of Motivational interviewing (MI), and designed to promote sustained behaviour change and address cravings. It trains the habitual use of affective, goal-directed mental imagery of personal incentives, using imagery to plan behaviours, anticipate obstacles, and mentally try out solutions from previous successes. Participants are taught to update their imagery from their experience, and to generalise their imagery skills to new goals. In study 1, focus groups explored problems and wishes in regards to weight-management, including reactions to Functional Imagery Training (FIT) as a possible intervention. The issue of waning motivation and the desire for motivational app support was expressed in all groups. Participants were positive about FIT. Study 2 was an uncontrolled pilot trial of FIT. Eleven out of 17 participants (65%) lost 5% body weight or more by three months. Participants continued to lose weight during an unsupported 12-month period and experienced mean weight loss of 6kg (SD= 5.7; d=1.06) and mean waistline reduction of 11.5 cm (SD= 7.4; d=1.56) at 15 months. Study 3 compared the impact of FIT with MI on motivation and self-efficacy, over the first month of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) for weight-loss. Structured elicitation and training in goal-related imagery, i.e., FIT, increased motivation and self-efficacy for weight-loss relative to MI. Study 4 was the RCT for weight-loss, comparing FIT and MI over an intervention-supported six-month period, followed by six months unsupported. The FIT group achieved clinically meaningful weight-loss at 6 months (M kg-loss=4.11) and continued weight-loss at 12 months (M kg-loss=6.44); the MI group stabilised by 12 months (M kg-loss=.67), after minimal weight loss at 6 months (M kg-loss=.74). Study 5 qualitatively explored experiences of MI and FIT RCT participants, upon completing the 6-month intervention phase. MI participants wished for continued therapist- support and feared relapse. FIT participants described a mind-set-change and were confident they could maintain changes and overcome challenges using imagery techniques. Given the demonstrated benefit of motivational imagery in weight-control, FIT should be considered and further tested as an intervention for health behaviour change.

Much of cognitive science research and almost all of AI research into problem solving has focused on the use of verbal or propositional representations. However, there is significant evidence that humans solve problems using different representational modalities, including visual or iconic ones. In this dissertation, I investigate visual problem solving from the perspectives of autism, psychometrics, and AI. Studies of individuals on the autism spectrum show that they often use atypical patterns of cognition, and anecdotal reports have frequently mentioned a tendency to "think visually." I examined one precise characterization of visual thinking in terms of iconic representations. I then conducted a comprehensive review of data on several cognitive tasks from the autism literature and found numerous instances indicating that some individuals with autism may have a disposition towards visual thinking. One task, the Raven's Progressive Matrices test, is of particular interest to the field of psychometrics, as it represents one of the single best measures of general intelligence that has yet been developed. Typically developing individuals are thought to solve the Raven's test using largely verbal strategies, especially on the more difficult subsets of test problems. In line with this view, computational models of information processing on the Raven's test have focused exclusively on propositional representations. However, behavioral and fMRI studies of individuals with autism suggest that these individuals may use instead a predominantly visual strategy across most or all test problems. To examine visual problem solving on the Raven's test, I first constructed a computational model, called the Affine and Set Transformation Induction (ASTI) model, which uses a combination of affine transformations and set operations to solve Raven's problems using purely pixel-based representations of problem inputs, without any propositional encoding. I then performed four analyses using this model. First, I tested the model against three versions of the Raven's test, to determine the sufficiency of visual representations for solving this type of problem. The ASTI model successfully solves 50 of the 60 problems on the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) test, comparable in performance to the best computational models that use propositional representations. Second, I evaluated model robustness in the face of changes to the representation of pixels and visual similarity. I found that varying these low-level representational commitments causes only small changes in overall performance. Third, I performed successive ablations of the model to create a new classification of problem types, based on which transformations are necessary and sufficient for finding the correct answer. Fourth, I examined if patterns of errors made on the SPM can provide a window into whether a visual or verbal strategy is being used. While many of the observed error patterns were predicted by considering aspects of the model and of human behavior, I found that overall error patterns do not seem to provide a clear indicator of strategy type. The main contributions of this dissertation include: (1) a rigorous definition and examination of a disposition towards visual thinking in autism; (2) a sufficiency proof, through the construction of a novel computational model, that visual representations can successfully solve many Raven's problems; (3) a new, data-based classification of problem types on the SPM; (4) a new classification of conceptual error types on the SPM; and (5) a methodology for analyzing, and an analysis of, error patterns made by humans and computational models on the SPM. More broadly, this dissertation contributes significantly to our understanding of visual problem solving.

Background Research has shown that people need to be pre-informed about the ambiguity in order to perceive both interpretations (reverse) of an ambiguous figure. Children younger than 4 years mostly do not experience reversal even when informed. This suggests that the processes involved in reversal develop at this age. Aim The aim of the studies reported here was to disentangle the cognitive processes (metarepresentation, executive function, mental imagery) and the role of eye-movements involved in reversal. Method Four studies (7 experiments), each involving around sixty 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children, using multiple tasks, were conducted. The primary tasks used were the Ambiguous Figures Production and Reversal tasks. The secondary tasks used were metacognitive, executive function and mental imagery tasks. New tasks were also implemented in order to assess reversal abilities. Results Between the ages of 3 and 4 children develop the basic conceptual understanding for reversal (Study 1), that an ambiguous figure can have two interpretations. This is associated with the understanding of false belief, synonymy and homonymy. Between the ages of 4 and 5 children develop inhibitory (Study 3) and image generation abilities (Study 4). These are key cognitive processes necessary for reversal. Contrary to previous research, when task demands were changed (Reversal Task Revised) children’s reversal is at ceiling by the age of 5 (Studies 3 and 4). Eye-tracking data suggests that appropriate eye-movements, focusing on particular parts of the ambiguous figure, are not a primary causal factor in the development of reversal abilities (Study 4). Conclusion The ability to reverse develops in two stages. During stage 1 (between 3 and 4 years) children develop the necessary conceptual understanding that an ambiguous figure can have two interpretations (top-down knowledge). During stage 2 (between 4 and 5 years) children develop the necessary cognitive processes for reversal to occur (inhibition and image generation).

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of suicide-related mental imagery in suicidal behavior. It was hypothesized that engagement (frequency, emotional impact, vividness, realism) with suicidal imagery would be related to suicidality, with greater engagement with imagery associated with more suicidal behaviors. Acquired capability for suicide was expected to be a mediator of this relationship. These hypotheses were tested by surveying 237 undergraduate university students (59% female; mean age = 20). Students completed a packet of self-report measures: The Modified Suicidal Cognitions Interview, The Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale, and the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire. Results suggested that engagement with suicide-related imagery was positively correlated with suicidality. The correlational analyses showed that an additional mediational analysis was unwarranted. The implications of these findings are that understanding suicide-related mental imagery could play an important role in clinical risk assessment and treatment for suicidality, and that further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the relationship between suicide-related mental imagery and suicidal behavior.

本研究主要探討消費者想像視角與訊息相適配之說服效果。心像是指感官資訊在短期記憶中運作的心理歷程，在說服文獻中扮演著重要的角色。由過去文獻可知，個體在進行想像時，可以採取兩種不同的想像觀點，一個是行動者觀點，另一個是旁觀者觀點。兩種不同視覺觀點會提供不同的心像資訊，進而影響個體對所想像事件或行動的解讀。旁觀者觀點強調行為的個人意義及個性上的展現，而行動者觀點則強調情境所賦予的感覺及所喚起的情緒。視覺觀點在社會心理學中已有廣泛的研究，但尚未應用到行銷說服領域中。本研究藉由整合心像、視覺觀點、及體現模擬的相關文獻，提出一個觀念性的研究架構，試圖說明當消費對採用不同的視覺觀點時，是如何影響其對廣告訴求的偏好，且是藉由何種心理機制來中介視覺觀點與廣告訴求相一致的說服效果。 針對上述的研究目的，本論文設計三個研究來驗證視覺觀點與廣告訴求適配的說服效果。研究一主要是驗證，若消費者採用行動者觀點來想像，則偏好體驗型產品，相反的，若消費者採用旁觀者觀點來想像，則偏好象徵型產品。研究二主要驗證，若消費者採用行動者觀點來想像，則廠商的溝通策略應強調產品屬性的體驗性利益，相反的，若消費者採用旁觀者觀點來想像，當廠商的溝通策略應強調產品屬性的象徵性利益。研究三是植基體現模擬中預設用途的概念，主要探討的是，如何在廣告圖片中安排預設用途線索，進而可以激發不同的視覺觀點。特別的是，當廣告圖片中有互動的預設線索時，則可以激發出旁觀者觀點，此時應強調象徵型訴求，相反的，當廣告圖片中沒有互動的預設線索時，則可以激發出行動者觀點，此時應強調體驗型訴求。且由三個研究結果可知，視覺觀點與廣告訴求相適配所產生的較佳產品態度，是由體現模擬所中介的。 / The purpose of this research is to understand the persuasive impact of the fit between the visual perspectives and the advertising appeals. Mental imagery, the process by which sensory information is represented in working memory, plays a critical role in persuasion. From a review of the literature, we realize that events can be imagined through the first-person perspective or the third-person perspective. The adoption of the specific vantage point can determine the inference people make about an imagined situation. In particular, the third-person perspective results in a greater dispositional inference, and highlights the broader meaning of the imagined situation, whereas the first-person perspective discloses more information about the inner, affective components of the imagined situation. Visual perspectives have been studied extensively in social psychology, but its implication is rarely applied to consumer behavior. This study adopts three experiments to examine the persuasive impact of fit between the consumers’ visual perspectives and advertising appeals. Study One suggests that when consumers adopt the first-person visual perspective, compared to a symbolic product, consumers would prefer the experiential product; on the other hand, when consumers adopt a third-person visual perspective, compared to an experiential product, consumers would select the symbolic product. Study Two proposes that when consumers adopt the first-person visual perspective, manufacturers should emphasize a product’s symbolic benefits. On the contrary, when consumers adopt a third-person visual perspective, manufacturers should stress a product’s experiential benefits. Study Three demonstrates that affordance cues would prime different visual perspectives, and when the visual perspective and advertising appeals fit mutually, it will have a strong persuasive effect. In particular, when there is an affordance cue in an advertisement, it will encourage consumers to adopt the third-person visual perspective, and then prefer symbolic appeals. On the contrary, when an advertisement does not have any affordance cues, it will stimulate consumers to embrace the first-person visual perspective, and then prefer experiential appeals. All three studies demonstrate that when there is a fit between the visual perspectives and the advertising appeals, consumers will generate a fluent embodied simulation, which would lead them to have a positive product attitude and purchase intention. The results of these three studies not only enrich the literature of visual imagery and marketing communication but also provide useful advice to manufacturers, especially on how to create the fit between product positioning and advertising, in order to promote the the positive product attitude and purchase intention of customers.

Submitted by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-07-19T15:54:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4833847 bytes, checksum: c5b249254b5217e6dc5089861dca6aaf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-19T15:54:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4833847 bytes, checksum: c5b249254b5217e6dc5089861dca6aaf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aimed to investigate the role of mental imagery on teaching and vocal placement domain in lyrical singers. Our first methodological approach consisted in bibliographic research, through which we could observe the importance the resource of mental imagery occupies in human activities as whole, being increasingly scientifically approached in several areas of knowledge; we noted, likewise, the way the issue of vocal placement has been approached in methods, treaties, books and articles since 18th century to nowadays. Afterwards, we used another method, the field research as semi-structured interview, which was applied to seven lyrical singers in different stages of formation and practice, who professionally act such as singers and singing teachers. We aimed to understand the peculiar views of each interviewed about the use of the mental imagery on their activities as singers and teachers, focusing on vocal placement. We concluded that mental imagery are considered an important technical and didactic resource, widely disseminated and accepted among singers and singing teachers as regards vocal placement. We verified, likewise, that these activities are widely supported by the literature, where we can find many studies about the relationship between mental imagery and many aspects of classical singing. / Por meio desta pesquisa investigamos o papel das imagens mentais no ensino e domínio da colocação vocal por parte de cantores líricos. Nossa primeira abordagem metodológica consistiu na pesquisa bibliográfica, por meio da qual pudemos constatar a importância que o recurso de imagens mentais ocupa nas atividades humanas como um todo, sendo cada vez mais abordado cientificamente em várias áreas do conhecimento; constatamos, ainda, a maneira pela qual a questão da colocação vocal foi e vem sendo tratada em métodos, tratados, livros e artigos desde o século XVIII até nossos dias. A seguir empregamos outro método, a pesquisa de campo na forma de entrevista semiestruturada, a qual foi aplicada a sete cantores líricos em diferentes estágios de formação e atuação, que atuam profissionalmente tanto como cantores quanto professores de canto. Buscamos compreender as visões particulares de cada entrevistado acerca da utilização de imagens mentais em suas práticas como cantores e professores, com particular foco na questão da colocação vocal. Concluímos que as imagens mentais constituem um recurso técnico-didático de grande importância, sendo amplamente disseminado e aceito entre cantores e professores de canto, que o utilizam cotidianamente mesmo nos casos em que não o conhecem por este nome, aplicando-o como auxiliar na construção não só da interpretação, mas também da construção técnica, particularmente no que se refere à colocação vocal. Verificamos, ainda, que tal prática é amplamente amparada pela literatura, na qual já podemos encontrar um considerável volume de escritos sobre as relações entre imagens mentais e diversos aspectos do canto lírico.