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Seeing meaning: How perspective shapes the function of imagery| old_uid | 19008 |
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| title | Seeing meaning: How perspective shapes the function of imagery |
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| start_date | 2021/05/07 |
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| schedule | 14h-15h30 |
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| online | no |
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| summary | Visual images are a ubiquitous tool for representing and communicating information. This is true looking at the world around us – e.g., advertisements, news, and social media. It is also true when looking at the world within: Mental imagery is a frequent, and functional, feature of human cognition. Imagery necessarily has a perspective, and when it comes to actions and events, they can be visually depicted either from the actor’s first-person perspective or observer’s third-person perspective. This talk will review a program of research exploring the social-cognitive function of visual perspective in event imagery. This work supports a novel model of imagery perspective’s function by identifying a critical mechanism by which perspective operates: by shaping cognitive processing style. First-person imagery supports a processing style in which people’s understanding of events emerge from particular sensations and low-level associations that the concrete features of the pictured event evoke. Third-person imagery supports a processing style in which people’s understanding of events follows from a coherent integration of the pictured event with other high-level relevant knowledge according to the logic that governs an abstract belief system. These effects of imagery on cognitive processing style hold, regardless of whether imagery is internally generated or externally presented, and whether imagery depicts one’s own or others’ actions. This talk will review evidence supporting this model of imagery perspective’s cognitive function and demonstrating implications for judgment, emotion, and behavior. These findings distinguish the visual dimension of perspective from other dimensions on which perspective may vary and suggest connections with other theories concerning the self, memory, and event representation, as well as implications for phenomena including behavioral change, emotional coping, decision-making, and self-insight. |
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| responsibles | Perret |
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