Mental Imagery and Symptom Patterns

Abstract

This research is intended to begin a study into the relationships between imagery and some symptom patterns. In particular, we have considered the relationships between image vividness and four most important patterns. These patterns are: depressive, obsessive, eating disorders, and phobic. The relationships between the four patterns and the tendency to somatize have also been investigated. Among the results of interest obtained during research is the existence of a general inhibition of vividness in the depressive group and a marked tendency to produce vivid images (excluding kinesthetic images) in the phobic group. The obsessive group had least difficulty in producing vivid mental images, followed by the group of participants with eating disorders. These results could have important clinical repercussion and applications. These are briefly discussed.