Psychology of the Image

Psychology of the Image outlines a theoretical framework bringing together the semiotic concepts developed by Charles Peirce, the sociological insights of Ervin Goffman and the psychoanalytic ideas of Jacques Lacan. Image studies in fashion, advertising, photography, film studies and psychology have been influenced by these theorists in significant ways. The framework presented helps the reader understand how these ideas relate to the study of different domains of the image: the internal imagery of dreams, external images such as the photograph and image processes which span both contexts, e.g., images we have about ourselves. The topics discussed are organised into three themes. The first considers mental imagery, including sound and dreams. The second addresses the interdependent nature of internal and external images, e.g., the gendered self and social identity. In the third theme, attention turns to external images including television, film, photography, the computer and the internet. Psychology of the Image will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, lecturers and researchers in the fields of psychology, media studies and sociology.

Michael Forrester is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Kent. His previous publications include The Development of Young Children's' Social Cognitive Skills (Psychology Press) and Psychology of Language (Sage)

Outlining a Psychology of the Image. Preface to Theme 1: Images of What is 'Inside' or Internal. Seeing, Visualising and Mental Imagery. Sound Imagery. Dream Images and the Conceptions of the Unconscious. Preface to Theme 2: Interdependent Images: Inside and Out, or Outside and In? The Developing Self. Self Image and Social Identity. The Gendered Image. Preface to Theme 3: External Images and All That is 'Out There'. The Mass Media of the Moving Image: Television and Film. Virtual Semiotics and Electronic Images. Photography and the Photographic Image. Postscript to a Psychology of the Image.