thank you

I have now filled all my research interview times and I’m looking forward to sharing the insights from the research in early 2022.

current research

Imagination allows us to envision our futures and generate infinite potentials for ourselves. It is the root of divergent thinking and creative problem solving. As such, it should be foundational to the coaching process. And yet, as countless Google Scholar searches have proved to me, imagination in coaching is little understood and barely represented in published research. Current coaching training neglects imaginative processes despite the fact that they are implicit in several ICF coaching core competences and established coaching models, including GROW, OSKAR and WOOP.

If we could understand the conditions for imaginative thriving we could help clients see further into their futures and vividly imagine potential outcomes, aiding decision making, goal setting and motivation in the process.

All of which is why I am conducting academic research to understand the role and conditions for imaginative processes in coaching. I hope that the findings will help bring clarity to all coaches – and, indeed, facilitators, managers and team leaders – about the potential and the means to best use our imaginative faculties and support others to do the same.

The research will be complete in 2022 and I will share the the results and insights here and on LinkedIn thereafter.

 
 

Definitions of imagination

Imagination -

The mental representation of an idea, image or sensation that is not currently present to the senses (Dewey, 1981; Scott & von Stumm, 2017; Seligman et al., 2016)

Reproductive imagination -

Bringing to mind of past events, overlapping with memory (Addis, 2020)

Productive imagination -

Constructing novel ideas (Scott & von Stumm, 2017)

related terms

Prospection -

The representation and contemplation of possible futures (Gilbert & Wilson, 2007; Seligman et al., 2013)

Mental simulation -

Imagining in detail the step by step process of future possible events (Taylor et al., 1998)

Possible selves -

Imaginary future versions of ourselves (Markus & Nurius, 1986)

Counterfactual thinking -

Reconstructing the past as other than it was (Byrne, 2016)

divergent thinking -

Ideation that moves in many different directions, including original or novel ideas (Runco, 2020) providing a diversity of responses to an open-ended question (Razumnikova, 2013)

creativity -

‘Imagination is the seed of creativity’ - it is (arguably) the underlying skill that makes creativity possible (Gotlieb et al., 2019)

interesting papers

Boyatzis, R. E., Rochford, K., & Taylor, S. N. (2015). The role of the positive emotional attractor in vision and shared vision: toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 0, 670.

Gilbert, D. T., & Wilson, T. D. (2007). Prospection: Experiencing the future. Science, 317 (5843), 1351–1354.

Gotlieb, R. J. M., Hyde, E., Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Kaufman, S. B. (2019). Imagination is the seed of creativity. In The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity: Second Edition (pp. 709–731). Cambridge University Press.

Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible Selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969.

Oettingen, G., & Mayer, D. (2002). The motivating function of thinking about the future: Expectations versus fantasies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1198–1212.

Seligman, M. E. P., Railton, P., Baumeister, R. F., & Sripada, C. (2013). Navigating Into the Future or Driven by the Past: Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(2), 119–141.

Taylor, S. E., Pham, L. B., Rivkin, I. D., & Armor, D. A. (1998). Harnessing the Imagination: Mental Simulation, Self-Regulation, and Coping. American Psychologist, 53(4), 429–439.

 

My research has been approved by the UEL School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee. The Committee’s evaluation of this ethics application has been guided by the standards of research ethics set by the British Psychological Society.

 

I am a graduate member of the British Psychological Society and abide by their code of ethics.