(Apr. 15, 2009) – We’ve heard it before: “Imagine yourself passing the exam or scoring a goal and it will happen.” We may roll our eyes and think that’s easier said than done, but in a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologists Christopher Davoli and Richard Abrams from Washington University suggest that the imagination may be more effective than we think in helping us reach our goals.
A group of students searched visual displays for specific letters (which were scattered among other letters serving as distractors) and identified them as quickly as possible by pressing a button. While performing this task, the students were asked to either imagine themselves holding the display monitor with both hands or with their hands behind their backs (it was emphasized that they were not to assume those poses, but just imagine them).
The results showed that simply imagining a posture may have effects that are similar to actually assuming the pose. The participants spent more time searching the display when they imagined themselves holding the monitor, compared to when they imagined themselves with their hands behind their backs. The researchers suggest that the slower rate of searching indicates a more thorough analysis of items closer to the hands. Previous research has shown that we spend more time looking at items close to our hands (items close to us are usually more important than those further away), but this is the first study suggesting that merely imagining something close to our hands will cause us to pay more attention to it.
The researchers suggest these findings indicate that our “peripersonal space” (the space around our body) can be extended into a space where an imagined posture would take us. They note there may be advantages to having this ability, such as determining if an action is realistic (e.g., “Can I reach the top shelf?”) and helping us to avoid collisions. The authors conclude that the present study confirms “an idea that has long been espoused by motivational speakers, sports psychologists, and John Lennon alike: The imagination has the extraordinary capacity to shape reality.”
Journal reference:
. Reaching Out With the Imagination. Psychological Science, (in press)
Adapted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.
Email or share this story:
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA
MLA
Association for Psychological Science (2009, April 15). Power Of Imagination Is More Than Just A Metaphor. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/04/090414153527.htm
My client (who is in school to become a Chiropractor) was demonstrating to me how positive/negative thinking can affect even bodily strength. (which is totally in line with Hypnobabies!)
I laid on my back and raised my arm in the air. He asked me to push/put resistance against his hand as he pushed it.
We did a “test” for strength to determine “normal” resistance.
The second time he asked me to think of something absolutely negative. (I thought about the argument my husband and I had got into that day which had really affected me.)
My resistance was so poor he easily pushed my hand aside.
The third time he asked me to think of something beautiful and positive. He gave me a moment to collect my thoughts and when he pushed against my hand, I had quite a bit of strength to it, even past the normal stage.
While, granted, this is simple demonstration. I was personally in awe at just how negatively even the thought of the previous argument had affected me!