ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three fields of application that are selected because they provide most of the relevant evidence for the influence of imaging abilities in important life situations. They are clinical psychology, health psychology, and sport psychology. The chapter considers the role of imaginal variables in the treatment of anxiety and depression. For want of a better classification, studies on the role of individual differences in imaging abilities have been placed under the headings of health loss, health improvement, and health preservation. That illnesses involving much pain and emotional distress may benefit from imaginal forms of treatment has been demonstrated in several published and unpublished investigations few have included individual difference measures of imaging abilities in their design. Research is needed to investigate the relative effectiveness of self-selected scripts when employed by individuals differing in their imaginal abilities and preferences. Research on the role of imaging differences in influencing the amount gained from mentally practising a sport skill is sparse.
