Two of our researchers explore the concept of imagination in articles published in this month’s edition of The Psychologist, part of a six-part series on the imagination.
Georgia Punton, Postdoctoral Research Associate, writes about imagination during fiction reading, and how we have no way of knowing if what two people reading the same book are ‘imagining’ is the same. The way people imagine varies wildly between individuals, and our research shows readers draw on different “forces” of imagination (such as visual imagery, inner voice, character understanding, and perspective-taking), which creates highly personal ways of engaging with stories. Georgia finishes by suggesting that better understanding these differences could improve areas like wellbeing, education, and even mental health support. The variation in readers’ imagination is being explored as part of our ongoing ReaderBank project, in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Our Discovery Research Platform Co-Director, Ben Alderson-Day, Professor of Psychology, explores the idea of ‘reality shifting’: actively trying to ‘shift’ from the shared reality we all experience, to a desired reality – a psychological experience created by the brain’s ability to blur the line between imagination and reality. He describes the similarities between reality shifters, lucid dreamers and tulpamancers, and highlights the lack of research into this area and how these phenomena might be a route to wellbeing, as opposed to a symptom of psychopathology.
Both of these fascinating articles explore how one can be ‘transported’ to other worlds via our imaginations, and how powerful the mind can be.
If you are interested in finding out more about how your own imagination works, visit ReaderBank and complete our Imagination Quiz.
Find out more
All the articles in The Psychologist‘s series on imagination can be read freely at the links below:
‘Reality shifting – at the boundaries of the brain‘
Ben Alderson-Day, Durham University.
‘Reimagining imagination through the minds of fiction readers‘
Georgia Punton, Durham University.
‘Why don’t we hallucinate every time we imagine?’
Ella Rhodes spoke to Dr Nadine Dijkstra, a principal research fellow at the Department of Imaging Neuroscience (University College London), where she leads the Imagine Reality Lab.
‘They can turn a normal city street into a jungle’
Ella Rhodes spoke to Dr Reshanne Reeder (Lecturer in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Liverpool), who researches extremes of mental imagery, individual differences in mental imagery, and their impacts.
‘Tulpas are not simply a companion imagined into being on a whim’
Emma Palmer-Cooper, University of Southampton.
‘Fairy tales are stories of awakening, opportunity and transformation’
Jon Sutton meets Dr Sharon Blackie, psychologist and author of ‘Ripening: Why Women Need Fairy Tales Now’. Plus an extract, ‘Cultivating your inner imaginarium‘.
‘I’d recommend observing animals closely… imagine yourself, as far as you can, in their skin’
Jon Sutton meets Michael Bond, author of ‘Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind’.
