Magnification and diminishing of image size and their effects on psychological states.

Examined the affective and cognitive-perceptual changes in a total of 60 undergraduates after exposure to 1 of 3 types of visual alternation: magnification (M), diminishment (D), and restriction (R) on the visual field. Comparison of pre- and posttreatment scores on the Nowlis Adjective Check List of Mood and the Clyde Mood Scale indicates that changes of image size (both M and D) were experienced as more demanding, unpleasant, and threatening than the R condition. While the M and D conditions were experienced as equally difficult and stressful, the M group experienced time as moving more slowly, and located the apparent horizontal on a posttreatment line judgment task at a significantly lower point than the D group. These changes in the M group are comparable to the changes previously reported in depression. The performance of the R group on time production and apparent horizontal was intermediate to the M and D groups, differing significantly primarily from the D group. Results offer some support for clinical observations on an association between depression and the need to maintain volume representation. Some of the limitations of experimental studies of psychopathology as a means of testing clinical observations and hypotheses are discussed. (31 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)