L12 article on affect amplification and mental imagery

Question 1

What is the article about?

Answer 1

This study investigated positive mood amplification, a characteristic feature of the bipolar disorder spectrum (BPDS). The researchers aimed to better understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying this elevated mood, specifically focusing on the role of mental imagery as a potential ‘emotional amplifier’

Question 2

What is mental imagery?

Answer 2

• the experience of perception in the absence of eliciting sensory input
• mental imagery of past, present, future, or fantasy events triggers affective processing in a manner like perception
• it is identified as a potential transdiagnostic risk mechanism and treatment target in a number of mental disorders
• Consequently, mental imagery paradigms are a potent experimental tool for manipulating affect (e.g., picture-word cue imagery generation paradigm)
• In BPDS, mental imagery is hypothesized to drive pathological mood amplification, exacerbating both manic and depressed states

Question 3

Participants and experimental groups

Answer 3

• The study compared two groups of young adults: those reporting high (n=31) versus low (n=30) hypomanic-like experiences based on their scores on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
• Participants were randomly assigned to generate either ‘elated’ or ‘calm’ positive mental imagery
• Their momentary affect was rated four times during the experimental session (before, twice during, and after the imagery task)

Question 4

What were the hypotheses?

Answer 4

1. H1 Stimulus-specificity: Individuals in the high MDQ group would show a greater increase in affect when generating elated imagery compared to calm imagery, and compared to the low MDQ group
2. H2 Affect-specificity: They predicted that mood amplification would be related to particular affective clusters. Specifically, they hypothesised:
   - Increased positive (compared to negative) affect
   - Increased active, goal-directed (compared to calm, consummatory) positive affect
   - This part of the hypothesis investigated whether the amplification effect was specific to certain categories of affect, particularly those associated with (hypo)mania

Question 5

Methods

Answer 5

• A subclinical BPDS-relevant sample was recruited based on MDQ scores
• Participants underwent psychiatric screening using the Mini International Neuro-psychiatric Interview (MINI) to exclude those with current or past (hypo)manic, depressive, or psychotic episodes

Question 6

Procedure

Answer 6

• Participants completed a standardised imagery generation training procedure (definition of mental imagery was discussed and were trained in generating mental imagery)
• They engaged in a computerised picture-word cue imagery generation task with either ‘elated’ (reward-pursuit, achievement) or ‘calm’ (peace, contentment) stimuli. All participants saw the same pictures, but the accompanying word cue varied by condition. (e.g. a photo of the university library was paired with the phrase ‘achieving my best’ in the elated condition and ‘reading a book’ in the calm condition). They were asked to look at the picture, read the word or phrase, and then close their eyes and generate a mental image which combined both the picture and the word(s)
• Affect was measured using an expanded version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Expanded form (PANAS+), which included additional mood words relevant to hypomania and mood instability - reported 4 times
• Vividness of imagery was rated after each trial

Question 7

Findings

Answer 7

• For the high MDQ group, affect increased steeply and in a sustained manner over time in the ‘elated’ imagery condition, and more shallowly in the ‘calm’ condition. The low MDQ group did not show this sustained amplification effect
• Time-series analysis indicated that for the high MDQ group, affect increased additively over time in both conditions, with a faster increase in the elated condition. For the low MDQ group, elated imagery led to a decelerating pattern of mood increase, while calm imagery showed no significant affect change. (picture 1)
• Cluster analysis of affect words identified three subtypes: ‘negative’, ‘calm-positive’, and ‘active-positive’.
• In the high MDQ group, mood amplification in the ‘elated’ imagery condition was most pronounced for the active-positive affect subtype (e.g., elated, excited, energetic). The task did not impact the negative affect cluster in either group.
• In the low MDQ group, positive affect showed a modest decrease over time, more pronounced for the calm-positive cluster

Question 8

Conclusions and Implications

Answer 8

• The study provides experimental evidence for the Emotional Amplifier Theory in the context of hypomanic-like mood amplification
• It demonstrates that not all positive mental images are equal in their potential to amplify mood in individuals with high hypomanic-like experiences - Elated, approach-related imagery led to sustained mood amplification
• The findings suggest that positive, calm imagery might be used to modulate positive mood amplification in (hypo)manic states and potentially improve positive affect without the risk of escalation
• The study highlights the potential for targeted mental imagery interventions to dampen maladaptive mood amplification while preserving beneficial positive mood

Question 9

Future suggestions

Answer 9

• The researchers suggest that future work should extend these findings to clinical BPDS samples and explore the link between imagery, creativity, and approach-motivation
• They also noted that the ‘hypomanic-like’ affect words added to the PANAS+ require validation