Vividness

According to Nisbett and Ross, “Information may be described as vivid, that is, as likely to attract and hold our attention and excite the imagination to the extent that it is (a) emotionally interesting, (b) concrete and imagery-provoking, and (c) proximate in a sen­ sory, temporal, or spatial way.” Despite a widespread belief held by scholars and practi­ tioners alike that vividness enhances persuasion, most early studies on this topic found weak or nonexistent vividness effects. To further understand this relationship, subse­ quent research focused on explaining these inconsistent findings. Taylor and Thompson explored the different ways that vividness has been operationalized across studies. Guadagno, Okdie, Sagarin, DeCoster, and Rhoads elucidated the conditions under which vividness enhances or detracts from persuasion. Generally, the extant literature suggests that vividness is an effective means of enhancing persuasion when the main point of a communication is the sole component made vivid. These findings caution against at­ tempts to persuade by increasing overall message vividness, because off-thesis or incon­ gruent vividness has the unintended and undercutting consequence of distracting influ­ ence targets from the point of the communication. This conclusion is based on the results of individual empirical studies as well as meta-analytic findings. Literature on shock ad­ vertising as a specialized case of vividness also exists. Future research on vividness might further delineate when, how, and why vividness sometimes enhances and sometimes de­ tracts from persuasion.

The aim of this article is to evaluate the vividness of visual imagery from three different sample groups:
a contemporary dance group (n = 24), a group of modified state of consciousness experts (n = 24) and a
group of students (n = 48). We argue that the mental imagery activity into low vigilance level and into a
modified state of consciousness has a closed link mechanism with vividness of visual imagery. We show
that the modified state of consciousness experts reached a significantly higher level of vividness open-eyes
score than the group of students. This could mean that higher open-eyes score is a cognitive trait of hypnotic
susceptibility linked to specific training. These results stem from research into the close relationship between
imagery and perception. We present a French adaptation and a French translation of Vividness of Visual
Imagery Questionnaire, too. The VVIQ [Br. J. Psychol. 64 (1973) 17–24] is a questionnaire very used in
clinical psychology and in cognitive psychology.

By focusing on the Enlightenment philosopher Christian Wolff, the article intends to shed light upon an author who both played an important role in the process of substitution of Latin with German as a means of scientific communication and in the development of discipline-specific language varieties in 18th century Germany. Against this background,the coexistence of explicit rules proposed by Wolff to render German more scientific and an implicit undercurrent of his translation theory inherited from rhetorical tradition will be identified as the common origin of two increasingly bifurcating strains of thought destined to govern linguistic practice in future science and poetics respectively. To this end, it will first be shown that Wolff’s precepts for Bible translation on the one hand tend to construe translation as a process of conceptual specification and clarification, and therefore as an instance of scientification, while on the other hand unintentionally promoting a positive outlook on polysemy due to the reception of the rhetorical concept of emphasis. In a second step, these results will be interpreted from the point of view of the history of disciplinary differentiation, yielding the hypothesis that the further development of the concept of emphasis will allow for the justification of the autonomy of poetic language up to Herder, whereas the concept of translation as conceptual specification and clarification may be traced forth via Condillac to Lavoisier, where in the guise of chemical nomenclature it will finally help to build up a specific language for a newly evolving scientific discipline.

Mental imagery is an experience like perception in the absence of a percept. It is a ubiquitous feature of human cognition, yet has been relatively neglected in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of depression. Imagery abnormalities in depression include an excess of intrusive negative mental imagery; impoverished positive imagery; observer perspective imagery; and overgeneral memory, in which specific imagery is lacking. We consider the contribution of imagery dysfunctions to depressive psychopathology, and implications for cognitive-behavioural interventions. Treatment advances capitalising on the representational format of imagery (as opposed to its content) are reviewed, including imagery rescripting, positive imagery generation, and memory specificity training. Considering mental imagery can contribute to clinical assessment and imagery-focussed psychological therapeutic techniques, and promote investigation of underlying mechanisms for treatment innovation. Research into mental imagery in depression is at an early stage. Investigation of imagery-related mechanisms by bridging clinical psychology and neuroscience is recommended.

The lack of physical contact between products and consumer represents a key characteristic of online environments that can influence consumer's purchase behavior. In an effort to offer a close experience with the product, websites usually present vivid information in order to convince consumers about the goodness of their products. Vivid information is likely to prompt different aspects of the purchase process, like reduced feelings of uncertainty or a higher need for physical information. The goal of this research is twofold: first, we analyze how the presence and type of vivid information, in the form of product presentation videos (PPVs), affects consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward the product. Furthermore, we examine how the perceived ease of imagining the product evoked by vivid information mediates these effects. Second, we propose that individual differences , related to the consumer's need of touching products, determine the impact of vivid information on the preferences toward the purchase channel (online or offline). The results of an experiment, which manipulated the presence and the style of PPVs, support the importance of vivid information in order to favor consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions, as well as to influence the relative preference for the purchase channel. Additionally, message and consumer characteristics are found as important factors that affect these relationships.

This experiment explores whether vivid writing can improve ethical reasoning by testing it in public relations against non-vivid writing, alone and in combination with pictures. Vivid writing has effects similar to photographs on attention, memory, emotion, and persuasion; this study explores whether vivid writing effects includes one of the more important effects that photographs can have—improving ethical reasoning. Results show non-vivid writing alone raised participants' moral judgment, however photographs increased participants' perceptions of the issues as morally important. Vivid writing did increase participants' empathy, and empathy was related to support for the organization. Photographs increased participants' perception of the issue as morally important.

The use of imagination is a dominant strategy for consumers to form evaluations in the e-commerce environments. Online Product Presentation Videos
(OPPVs) are vivid information that can facilitate consumers this task. Following the imagery fluency approach, we analyze the impact of OPPVs on consumers’ quality of product-related thoughts, ease of imagining, and responses toward the product. A series of studies combining experimental- and survey-based procedures shows that the presence and type of OPPV improves consumers’ cognitive responses and facilitates imagination about the product, which becomes a strong determinant of attitude and purchase intention. We also control for the OPPV’s trustworthiness to isolate the effects of the content characteristics of video. Moreover, we consider the moderating role of the consumer’s motivation to process information. The results demonstrate that high and low motivated consumers use their imagination differently. In addition, when OPPVs are featured by the brand, ease of imagining does not relate to purchase intention.

The assertion that people are more likely to help identified as opposed to unidentified victims has not been investigated among secondary victims. This experimental study examined a) whether identifiability predicted changes in observers' sympathy for a secondary victim; b) whether sympathy for a single primary victim is transferred as helping behaviour to a secondary victim and c) whether sympathy mediated the relationship between identifiability and helping behaviour. The sample comprised 130 undergraduate students at a university in Kenya. Their age ranged from 20 to 24 years (M = 22.09). Data were collected using a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 25. Significant gender differences in helping, significant differences in sympathy and helping by identifiability were found. Sympathy significantly mediated the influence of identifiability on helping. Findings provide support for the role of identifiability and affective reactions in decision making concerning helping indirect victims. Future directions are discussed.

Autobiographical memories are characterised by a range of emotions and emotional reactions. Recent research has demonstrated that differences in emotional valence (positive vs. negative emotion) and arousal (the degree of emotional intensity) differentially influence the retrieved memory narrative. Although the mnemonic effects of valence and arousal have both been heavily studied, it is currently unclear whether the effects of emotional arousal are equivalent for positive and negative autobiographical events. In the current study, multilevel models were used to examine differential effects of emotional valence and arousal on the richness of autobiographical memory retrieval both between and within subjects. Thirty-four young adults were asked to retrieve personal autobiographical memories associated with popular musical cues and to rate the valence, arousal and richness of these events. The multilevel analyses identified independent influences of valence and intensity upon retrieval characteristics at the within-and between-subject levels. In addition, the within-subject interactions between valence and arousal highlighted differential effects of arousal for positive and negative memories. These findings have important implications for future studies of emotion and memory, highlighting the importance of considering both valence and arousal when examining the role emotion plays in the richness of memory representation.

Mixed reality technology is being increasingly used in cultural heritage attractions to enhance visitors' experiences. However, how the characteristics of mixed reality affect satisfaction and brand loyalty has not been explored in previous research. The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting satisfaction with mixed reality experiences at cultural and artistic visitor attractions and their influence on brand loyalty, which is connected with management performance. We propose a theoretical model based on brand equity theory in the context of mixed reality experience. Survey data were gathered from 251 respondents visiting a cultural and artistic visitor attraction in Seoul, Korea, using a stratified sampling method. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for the data analysis. The results suggest that the characteristics of mixed reality (interactivity, vividness) not only influence the affective aspects (perceived immersion, perceived enjoyment) of visitors' experiences, but also positively affect brand awareness, brand association, and brand loyalty.

The assertion that people are more likely to help identified as opposed to unidentified victims has not been investigated among secondary victims. This experimental study examined a) whether identifiability predicted changes in observers' sympathy for a secondary victim; b) whether sympathy for a single primary victim is transferred as helping behaviour to a secondary victim and c) whether sympathy mediated the relationship between identifiability and helping behaviour. The sample comprised 130 undergraduate students at a university in Kenya. Their age ranged from 20 to 24 years (M = 22.09). Data were collected using a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 25. Significant gender differences in helping, significant differences in sympathy and helping by identifiability were found. Sympathy significantly mediated the influence of identifiability on helping. Findings provide support for the role of identifiability and affective reactions in decision making concerning helping indire...

How do you kill a hero? The deaths of Sherlock in the 19th century, and that of Eline Vere in Louis Couperus’ Eline Vere in the early 20th century stirred the hearts of their audiences to such a degree that people actually believed an actual person had died. In present popular culture, the death of a protagonist can still have a profound impact. Lord Eddard Stark’s death, the main protagonist in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones, comes rather unexpected and the very
unorthodox way of killing the characters in the rest of this series has become a meme on the internet. The death of Brian the talking dog in the sit-com Family Guy (season 12, episode 6) even led to protest and Facebook pages to get him back into the series. Patroclus’ death is considered to be “terrifying”, and to have “great psychological depth” Janko (1992, p. 312). Together with Sarpedon’s death before and afterwards Hector’s, it is claimed by De Jong (2012, 13-15) to be the central death scene in the Iliad. With the modern examples in mind, the question arises how the narrator of the Iliad conveys the emotional charge these deaths have. To investigate how the audience is involved in their deaths, the study of immersion will be applied. This thesis will deal with the emotional involvement in the death scenes of three heroes: Sarpedon, Patroclus, and Hector. These deaths are knitted together. Patroclus kills Sarpedon, and against Achilles’ wishes, he rushes to the Trojan walls. There he is killed by Hector. In return, Hector is killed by Achilles to avenge his fallen friend Patroclus. Elements of Sarpedon’s death are repeated in Hector’s. Sarpedon is the leader of Troy’s allies, and second to Hector. In both scenes, Zeus deliberates on their deaths. In all killing scenes there are a dialogue, spoliation of armour, and threat of mutilation. There is a fight for Sarpedon’s, and Patroclus’ corpse; Hector’s is claimed by Achilles, and the Greeks only run around his body. The central question of this thesis will therefore be how these death scenes relate to each other and to other deaths in the Iliad. In order to substantiate judgments like “terrifying”, this research will assess scenes with the deaths of minor and major heroes. It can be expected that the former are less immersive than the deaths of major heroes that have a crucial role in the plot. Scene 6.1-24 will be assessed for minor heroes. Passage 16.394-867, Sarpedon’s and Patroclus’ deaths, and 22.90-404, that of Hector, are examined as examples of the deaths of major heroes. I will argue that visual and sensory immersion is present in most deaths, but that emotional immersion is used mostly in passages important to the development of the story. The continuation of the same mental space will be shown to be an important feature of visual immersion in death scenes. Allan, De Jong, & De Jonge (2014) have already argued for the immersive style of Homer’s epic. This thesis will add to this claim that, when larger stretches of narrative are taken under scrutiny, it is revealed the Homeric narrator does not just use these immersive elements at random: there is logic to his choices. (pdf of thesis on request)