Imagination inflation and the perils of guided visualization

When adults vividly imagine the occurrence of events that took place in the ir childhood, they become increasingly confident that these incidents actua lly happened to them. This phenomenon has been called imagination inflation . In a study of 94 engineering students, strong evidence for this effect wa s found. Items from the Dissociative Experiences Scale (E. M. Bernstein & F . W. Putnam, 1986; E. B. Carlson & E W. Putnam, 1993) and a measure of self -concept tied to interpersonal theory of personality and psychotherapy (str uctural analysis of social behavior) predicted imagination inflation in the se individuals. The authors discuss implications of these findings for the use of guided visualization or imagination activities in psychotherapy.