Introduction
The activity of the imagination is closely connected with the emotional domain of the personality. Imagination is a mental process consisting of the reflection of non-existent objects, creating new holistic images by processing the content of the available sensual, emotional, and intellectual experience (Arcangeli, 2017). Moreover, emotions produce images and provide them with negative and positive connotations. Hence, it is essential to analyze the information about the connection between emotions and imagination.
The Correlation Between Imagination and Emotions
It is essential to mention that imagination and emotion are inseparably interconnected psychological processes. Emotions are an accumulator of energy, which is crucial to the normal functioning of all mental processes, including imagination (Arcangeli, 2017). Nevertheless, emotions contribute to the dynamism of the imaginative technique. This enables people to gain the ability to select impressions, thoughts, and images that are in harmony with the mood of the person at the moment. The influence of feeling on the imagination and vice versa has long been observed by scientist Vygotsky, the researcher who deduced the principle of a common emotional sign. The essence of the principle the scientist described is as follows: “every feeling, every emotion tends to be embodied in the images that match this feeling” (Arcangeli, 2017, p. 743). Thus, a rich emotional life stimulates the development of the imagination. In addition, the construction of fantasy inversely impacts individuals’ feelings. This is because the emotions of fantasy images are experienced in a really profound way (Arcangeli, 2017). Emotions, when incorporated into the processes of imagination, transform images into the character of mental reality.
The connection between emotions and imagination is especially evident in mental states of anxiety and frustration, conditions associated with prolonged unsatisfying of physiological needs, competitive situations, and the idealization of emotions. Obviously, this connection is significant in the development of the higher mental functions of people and their creative, constructive activity (Arcangeli, 2017). However, under the influence of emotions, there can be a psychodramatic impact on the not healthy imagination, the content of which forces a person to implement negative anticipations and act inappropriately (Arcangeli, 2017). At the same time, there is an opposite influence of imagination on emotions, which is described as the law of creative imagination and which promotes the activation of the person’s creative work.
The Difference Between Imagination and Emotion in Children and Adults
The imagination of older persons and kids is significantly different in terms of its connections with emotions. The strength of their manifestation in childhood is considerably more intense because kids are not yet capable of controlling their imagination and emotions. For this reason, the circle of image – emotion – image is more often closed in the psyche of childhood (Arcangeli, 2017). Kids have difficulty separating the real from the imaginary, which is why, due to limited experience, they have less control over their imagination and more confidence in its outcomes than adults. In fact, because older people are learning to control their own thoughts and emotions, they do not have enough imagination and are more reluctant to be creative.
Conclusion
Thus, it is reasonable to deduce that using the richness of people’s emotional states makes it potential to develop their imagination successfully. In contrast, it is also through purposefully organizing their imagination that a culture of feeling can be fostered in individuals. This is because emotionally intense events contribute to the fact that children and adults have images in their heads that do not exist in reality. Meanwhile, negative emotions encourage individuals to form inappropriate representations of the situation, while positive ones, on the contrary, promote creativity. In this way, emotions are the primary stimulus for the emergence of any imaginative process.
Reference
Arcangeli, M. (2017). Interacting with emotions: Imagination and supposition.The Philosophical Quarterly, 67(269), 730-750.