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A taxonomy of intrusive mental images in clinical disorders: what can “non-veridical” images tell us about the nature of human memory?

A taxonomy of intrusive mental images in clinical disorders: what can “non-veridical” images tell us about the nature of human memory?
A taxonomy of intrusive mental images in clinical disorders: what can “non-veridical” images tell us about the nature of human memory?
Intrusive mental images associated with autobiographical memories or depicting imagined scenes are common in psychological disorders. Although there is a growing body of literature on their contribution to psychopathology and their role in therapy, to date there have been limited attempts to categorise the different types of images that patients experience. In this article, we present a taxonomy which ranges from veridical to non-veridical intrusive images. We highlight the fact that many types of images consist of a blend of veridical and imagined details. After presenting some of the main explanations for the existence of blended and non-veridical images, we reflect on what the evidence on the content and origin of intrusive images tells us about the nature of human memory. We argue that it supports the idea of memory being constructive and briefly discuss what this means for clinical and non-clinical settings in which intrusive images have to be evaluated and used.
Intrusive mental imagery, constructive memory, psychological disorders, trauma
0965-8211
60-66
Çili, Soljana
4b2dd936-d0f8-453c-bfeb-db4417deb88d
Stopa, Lusia
b52f29fc-d1c2-450d-b321-68f95fa22c40
Çili, Soljana
4b2dd936-d0f8-453c-bfeb-db4417deb88d
Stopa, Lusia
b52f29fc-d1c2-450d-b321-68f95fa22c40

Çili, Soljana and Stopa, Lusia (2022) A taxonomy of intrusive mental images in clinical disorders: what can “non-veridical” images tell us about the nature of human memory? Memory, 30 (1), 60-66. (doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1910311).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Intrusive mental images associated with autobiographical memories or depicting imagined scenes are common in psychological disorders. Although there is a growing body of literature on their contribution to psychopathology and their role in therapy, to date there have been limited attempts to categorise the different types of images that patients experience. In this article, we present a taxonomy which ranges from veridical to non-veridical intrusive images. We highlight the fact that many types of images consist of a blend of veridical and imagined details. After presenting some of the main explanations for the existence of blended and non-veridical images, we reflect on what the evidence on the content and origin of intrusive images tells us about the nature of human memory. We argue that it supports the idea of memory being constructive and briefly discuss what this means for clinical and non-clinical settings in which intrusive images have to be evaluated and used.

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Cili_Stopa_2021 - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 25 March 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 17 May 2021
Published date: 2 January 2022
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords: Intrusive mental imagery, constructive memory, psychological disorders, trauma

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 456369
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456369
ISSN: 0965-8211
PURE UUID: 7ad6d453-fccc-40aa-81b2-0fa110dc8277

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Date deposited: 27 Apr 2022 15:10
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 17:13

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Contributors

Author: Soljana Çili
Author: Lusia Stopa

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