The elaborated intrusion theory of desire 2 Imaginary relish and exquisite torture: The Elaborated Intrusion Theory of desire AbstractWe argue that human desire involves conscious cognition that has strong affective connotation and is potentially involved in the determination of appetitive behavior rather than being epiphenomenal to it. Intrusive thoughts about appetitive targets are triggered automatically by external or physiological cues and by cognitive associates. . When intrusions elicit significant pleasure or relief, cognitive elaboration usually ensues. Elaboration competes with concurrent cognitive tasks through retrieval of target-related information and its retention in working memory. Sensory images are especially important products of intrusion and elaboration, since they simulate the sensory and emotional qualities of target acquisition. Desire images are momentarily rewarding, but amplify awareness of somatic and emotional deficits. Effects of desires on behavior are moderated by competing incentives, target availability and skills. The theory provides a coherent account of existing data and suggests new directions for research and treatment.A cognitive-emotional model of desire 3 The imaginary relish is so sweetThat it enchants my sense. (Shakespeare, Troilus & Cressida, Act 3, Scene 2).Here you are, innocently reading a psychology journal, and a paper suddenly mentions someone drinking a cup of excellent coffee at a sidewalk café on a sunny Sunday morning. Chances are that you immediately imagine how good it would be to have a cup yourself. Maybe you imagine the smell of the freshly ground coffee beans, the smell and taste of the coffee, perhaps even the sound of the grinder and the bubble and steam of the espresso machine. If you do not especially enjoy coffee, or have just finished a cup, this image may have little appeal. But if you would really enjoy a cup of coffee right now, the image has a pleasurable piquancy -a tantalizing enchantment that, like a tickle to your foot, moves easily to a sense of torture if the desire cannot be fulfilled. From its inception, the thought captures your attention. It has strong emotive power, and there is a sense that it triggers action. You may even feel unable to continue to read this paper until you get a cup.What are the essential elements of this subjective experience? Our impression is that they include the intrusive and often unexpected nature of the initial thought, the imagery of the coffee and of drinking it, and the pleasure and torture that image brings. Once begun, it is difficult to stop thinking about it-in fact, it is difficult to think about anything else. If the affective impact of the desire is particularly strong, its fulfilment may seem imperative, although of course it is not inevitable.In this paper, we describe an Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory of desires, which embodies these key aspects of the subjective phenomena as well as encompassing the wide range of related empirical evidence. As its name suggests, the theory distinguishes ...

In the 1st of 2 experiments, currently clinically anxious, recovered clinically anxious, and normal control subjects were presented with a mixture of unambiguous and ambiguous sentences; both threatening and nonthreatening interpretations were possible for the latter. A subsequent recognition-memory test indicated that the currently anxious subjects were more likely than normal control and recovered anxious subjects to interpret the ambiguous sentences in a threatening fashion rather than in a nonthreatening fashion. This suggests that the biased interpretation of ambiguity found in currently anxious subjects reflected their anxious mood state. A 2nd experiment established that the difference in interpretative processes between currently anxious and control subjects was not due to response bias and that the interpretative bias was a reasonably general one.

Over the past decade there has been a proliferation of work on homelessness by geographers. Much of this has been framed by the desire to connect discussions of homelessness to wider debates around gentrification, urban restructuring and the politics of public space. Though such work has been helpful in shifting discussions of homelessness into the mainstream geographical literature, too much of it remains narrowly framed within a US metric of knowledge and too closely focused upon the recent punitive turn in urban social policy. Here we advance instead a framework that recognizes the growing multiplicy of homeless geographies in recent years under policies that are better understood as multifaceted and ambivalent rather than only punitive.

Mental imagery may occur in any sensory modality, although visual imagery has been most studied. A sensitive measure of the vividness of imagery across a range of modalities is needed: the shorter version of Bett's Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (Sheehan, , J. Clin. Psychology, 23, 386) uses outdated items and has an unreliable factor structure. We report the development and initial validation of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi-Q) comprising items for each of the following modalities: Vision, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, Bodily Sensation, and Emotional Feeling. An exploratory factor analysis on a 35-item form indicated that these modalities formed separate factors, rather than a single imagery factor, and this was replicated by confirmatory factor analysis. The Psi-Q was validated against the Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (Reisberg et al., , Appl. Cogn. Psychology, 17, 147) and Marks' (, J. Mental Imagery, 19, 153) Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VVIQ-2). A short 21-item form comprising the best three items from the seven factors correlated with the total score and subscales of the full form, and with the VVIQ-2. Inspection of the data shows that while visual and sound imagery is most often rated as vivid, individuals who rate one modality as strong and the other as weak are not uncommon. Findings are interpreted within a working memory framework and point to the need for further research to identify the specific cognitive processes underlying the vividness of imagery across sensory modalities.

Objectives: Vivid and intrusive memories of extreme trauma can disrupt a stepwise approach to imaginal exposure. Concurrent tasks that load the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSSP) of working memory reduce memory vividness during imaginal exposure. Such tasks may help maintain a progressive exposure protocol while minimizing distress during treatment. The current study tested whether relief of distress from a competing VSSP load during emotive imagery is at the cost of impaired desensitization.Design: This study examined repeated exposure to emotive memories using 18 unselected undergraduates, using a within-subjects design.