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Mental Imagery Shapes Emotions in People’s Decisions Related to Risk Taking

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Tomasz Zaleskiewicz¹ (), Joanna Smieja¹, Agata Gasiorowska¹; ¹SWPS University

This research investigates how mental imagery shapes emotional responses and declared risk-taking decisions. Across four studies, including three experiments, we demonstrate that emotions mediate the relationship between the valence of risk-related visual mental images and people’s willingness to engage in risky behaviors. Two factors moderate this relationship: the cognitive processing mode (analytical reasoning vs. visual mental imagery) and the vividness of imagery. In Study 1, the valence of imagined scenarios influenced the intensity of emotional reactions, which in turn predicted willingness to take risks. Positive imagery evoked stronger positive emotions and greater declared readiness to take risks. The experimental Study 2 provided causal evidence for these associations, showing that participants instructed to imagine risk-related behaviors in a positive manner experienced more intense positive affect and reported a higher inclination to take risks than those imagining them negatively. Two preregistered experiments (Studies 3 and 4) further corroborated the central hypothesis that mental imagery acts as a distinct driver of emotional responses in risk-related decision making and revealed potential boundary conditions for this effect. Study 3 demonstrated that imagery-based decisions elicited stronger emotional engagement than analytically based ones, while Study 4 showed that vividness of imagery amplified these effects—more vivid images led to stronger emotions and higher risk-taking propensity. Overall, the findings underscore the central role of emotions in decisions based on mental imagery and highlight vividness as a mechanism that amplifies the connection between imagined experiences and real-world risk behavior.

Topic Area: THINKING: Decision making