An example of a new scenario was “You wake up, get out of bed, stretch and really notice how you feel today.” This item could be interpreted either positively (e.g. they imagine feeling energetic), or negatively (e.g. they imagine feeling lethargic). A pilot study presented online these 55 scenarios to 53 participants

(30 females, 78% aged between 18–34) whose BDI-II scores were recorded simultaneously. The participants with the 25% highest BDI-II (M = 14.75, SD = 4.39) and 25% lowest BDI-II (M = 0.33, SD = 0.65) scores were identified. For each scenario, the mean pleasantness ratings of the two groups were compared, choosing the 24 items showing largest effects. Thus, piloting reduced the initial 55-item set to 24 items, forming the AST-D (Appendix A) used in the current study. E-mail selleck inhibitor invitations to university students allowed us to recruit 208 participants (136 females; mean age = 22.49 years, SD = 5.02). Participants had the opportunity to enter a cash prize draw of £100. This study, complying with the Ethical Recommendations of the British Psychological Society for online studies, received approval from the University of Oxford ethical board. Two groups were generated according to the participants’ scores on the Beck Depression Inventory BDI-II Cut-offs of BDI-II ⩾ 14 (high dysphorics,

N = 70) and of BDI-II ⩽ 6 (low dysphorics, N = 74) were chosen in line with previous research in this area (e.g. Holmes et al., 2008 and Moulds and Kandris, 2006). Bristol Online Survey (2007) software was used to create the web-based survey. Participants gave informed consent online before beginning the questionnaires. Nivolumab The 24 ambiguous scenarios were presented individually, followed by ratings e.g. “It’s New Year’s Eve. You think about the year ahead of you” (Appendix A). Participants were instructed to: “Form a mental image of each of

the scenarios. Imagine each scenario happening to you personally. Follow the first image that comes to mind, don’t think too much about each one. Then rate how pleasant your image is, as well as how vivid it is.” The pleasantness Oxalosuccinic acid rating was given on a 9-point Likert scale anchored from extremely unpleasant to extremely pleasant. The vividness rating was made on a 7-point Likert scale anchored from not vivid at all to extremely vivid. While the term ‘pleasantness rating’ is used henceforth, it does not simply refer to a ‘pleasant meaning positive’ dimension since its range extends from negative (extremely unpleasant) to positive (extremely pleasant). The SUIS is a 12-item measure of the tendency to use imagery in everyday situations. Each item (e.g. “When I think about a series of errands I must do, I visualize the stores I will visit”) is rated on a 5-point Likert scale anchored at each point from (1) “the description is… never appropriate” to (5) “… always completely appropriate”. BDI-II (Beck et al. 1996).