The Four-Factor Imagination Scale (FFIS): a measure for assessing frequency, complexity, emotional valence, and directedness of imagination

Abstract

Recent findings in psychological research have begun to illuminate cognitive and neural mechanisms of imagination and mental imagery, and have highlighted its essential role for a number of important outcomes, including outcomes relevant for the study of psychopathology and psychotherapy. Scientific study of imagination, however, has been constrained by the virtue of being framed mainly as an ability for mental imagery. Here we propose that imagination is a widespread phenomenon that we all engage in, and which affects a wide range of important outcomes beyond more commonly studied constructs like creativity. Thus, the Four-Factor Imagination Scale (FFIS) focuses on features of the imaginative process, and measures imagination in terms of individual differences in those features, including Frequency, Complexity, Emotional Valence, and Directedness of imagination. Study 1 consisted of construct elicitation and generation of a large pool of candidate survey items. Study 2 (N = 378) conducted exploratory quantitative analysis on the preliminary pool of candidate items in a larger sample, revealing four distinct factors of the designed items. Study 3 (N = 10,410) confirmed the structure of the preliminary items, and reported internal consistency and unidimensionality, as well as convergent and discriminant validity of the resultant scales. The FFIS confirms that imagination is multifaceted in nature, and is better approached as a constellation of more narrowly measurable constructs.

A multifactorial model of visual imagery and its relationship to creativity and the vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire.

“…Indeed, Meyer et al’s work is close to the seminal study of “structured imagination” by Ward (1994) in which participants were asked to imagine animals that might live on a planet somewhere else in the galaxy. Similarly, Zabelina and Condon have also recently drawn attention to the many mundane imaginings that are commonplace in normal human life (such as imagining forthcoming conversations or work-based aspirations) in their development of the Four-Factor Imagination Scale (Zabelina & Condon, 2020; measuring the frequency, complexity, emotional valence, and directedness of imagination). Terming the more veridical images “proximal simulations” and their more fanciful cousins “distal simulations,” Meyer et al argued that distal simulation is more likely to lead to creativity.…”

Creative people use memory differently: Divergent thinking modulates how episodic memory is combined with semantic knowledge

“…Participants also completed questionnaires to assess other aspects of creativity. They completed the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (Carson et al, 2005), the Four-Factor Imagination Scale (Zabelina & Condon, 2020), the Short Imaginal Processing Inventory (Huba et al, 1982), and the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind-Wandering Scales (Seli et al, 2016). To control for general cognitive ability, we also had participants complete the International Cognitive Ability Resource (ICAR; Condon & Revelle, 2014).…”

Modelling and Profiling Student Designers’ Cognitive Competencies in Computer-Aided Design

“…Imagination is a complex, multifaceted construct, and in the present study, we used the Four-Factor Imagination Scale (FFIS; Zabelina and Condon, 2019) to characterize individual differences in the imagination of designers. The FFIS consists of 26 items and measures imagination across four subconstructs: frequency (time spent imagining), complexity (detail of imagination), emotional valence (positive or negative imagination), and directedness (goal-oriented imagination).…”