Images and goals

Abstract

We propose that mental images are derived from goals. Goals are represented in a complex hierarchy and form a major part of the "working self". Images reflect the existence of specific goals and also act to maintain goals by facilitating the derivation of beliefs from the content of an image. Images in psychopathology may reflect the operation of dysfunctional goals: goals that are unconstrained and which increase discrepancy (experienced as anxiety) within the goal system. Another feature of the goal system is that it is conservative and avoids change. By this view some aspects of distortions in intrusive images of traumatic experiences might be viewed as a defence against goal change. Conversely generating new images might lead to the formation of new goals. These ideas are applied to the findings of the papers in this special issue of Memory and to several new case studies.

The organization of prospective thinking: Evidence of event clusters in freely generated future thoughts

“…On the other hand, distant future events were rated as more important and corresponded in large part to events related to personal goals. These results are in accordance with previous research showing that with increasing temporal distance, envisioned events are more personally relevant (Berntsen & Bohn, 2010;Stawarczyk et al, 2013) and conceived in a more abstract and decontextualized form that conveys the perceived essence of the events (Trope & Lieberman, 2003 (Conway, Maeres & Standart, 2004).…”

Individual differences in the phenomenology of mental time travel: The effect of vivid visual imagery and emotion regulation strategies

“…Most philosophers and psychologists consider that visual imagery plays a key role in memory for past events (see Brewer, 1996), and neuropsychological data support that claim, by showing that damage to areas known to support visual imagery can, as a secondary consequence, result in an impairment of memory (Conway & Fthenaki, 2000;. According to Conway (2001), a crucial function of episodic memory is to keep track of ongoing goal processing, and mental images, especially visual ones, play an important role in representing information about personal goals (Conway, Meares, & Standart, 2004).…”

“…As we have already noted, an important function of visual imagery is to represent information about personal goals (Conway et al, 2004). Therefore, it is possible that individuals who are able to form vivid visual images have more information about goals available when representing future events (compared to individuals with less vivid imagery), thereby constructing events that are perceived as more important and that induce more intense emotions.…”

Impact of imagery rescripting on adverse self-defining memories and post-recall working selves in a non-clinical sample: a pilot study

“…In the end, this search yields a specific SDM, an affective response, and a related working self that guides the individual's response to the goal status change . According to this model, working selves associated with adverse memories are highly salient and accessible because these memories threaten the achievement of the individual's goals and are not integrated within the autobiographical knowledge of the long-term self (Conway, Meares, & Standart, 2004). The literature is not clear with regard to the similarities and differences between working selves and schemas or self-representations.…”