Vivid imagery is reported faster than weak imagery

Visual mental imagery, or the ability to “see” with the mind’s eye, varies substantially across individuals. This vividness ranges from aphantasia, where no mental images are experienced, to hyperphantasia, characterized by exceptionally vivid imagery. In the present study we investigated the possible connection between the vividness of visual mental imagery and precision of information retrieval from visual memory. We hypothesized that individuals with weak or no imagery would show reduced memory precision compared to those with vivid imagery. Participants completed three tasks: a visual perception task (control), a visual working memory task, and a visual long-term memory task. Imagery vividness was assessed using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ). In all tasks, participants adjusted the color of a grayscale test object to match a colored sample object shown previously (memory tasks) or simultaneously (perception task). Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no association between mental imagery vividness and memory precision. We discuss possible explanations, including the surprisingly widespread and apparently effective use of verbal strategies in visual memory tasks regardless of imagery strength.

Vividness of imagery usually refers to the degree of similarity between mental images and corresponding percepts of real objects. One of the recently developed questionnaires, proposed to measure the vividness of auditory imagery, is the Clarity of Auditory Imagery Scale (CAIS). The main goal of the present study was to assess the factor structure, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability of the Polish version of the CAIS. The study was conducted on musicians (N = 39) and non-musicians (N = 40) to establish differences between the two groups in the vividness (or more specifically, clarity) of their auditory images. A combination of the minimum average partial (MAP) test and parallel analysis (PA) was used as a method of establishing the number of factors and provided evidence that the CAIS is one factor questionnaire. Test–retest reliability was measured by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the mean scores obtained in two measurements made over a one-week interval. The test–retest (ICC) obtained between two measurements equaled .85. The ICC value showed satisfactory stability of the measurement of the vividness of auditory images, at least for short time intervals. The internal consistency of the scale was also satisfactory (Cronbach’s α = .87). Summarizing, the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the CAIS indicate that the scale is a reliable measure of the vividness of auditory imagery. Vividness of auditory imagery measured by the CAIS was not influenced by sex or musical expertise factors.

BackgroundDifficulties with prospective mental images are associated with adolescent depression. Current treatments mainly focus on verbal techniques to reduce negative affect (e.g. low mood) rather than enhancing positive affect, despite anhedonia being present in adolescents. We investigated the concurrent relationships between the vividness of negative and positive prospective mental imagery and negative affect and positive affect; and examined whether negative and positive prospective mental imagery moderated the impact of recent stress (COVID-19-linked stress) on negative and positive affect.Methods2602 young people (12–25 years) completed the Prospective Imagery Task and self-reported on symptoms of negative affect, anhedonia and COVID-19 linked stress.ResultsElevated vividness of negative future mental imagery and reduced vividness of positive future mental imagery were associated with increased negative affect, whereas only reduced vividness of positive future imagery was associated with increased symptoms of anhedonia. Elevated vividness of negative future images amplified the association between COVID-19 linked stress and negative affect, while elevated vividness of positive future images attenuated the association between COVID-19 linked stress and anhedonia.ConclusionsFuture mental imagery may be differentially associated with negative and positive affect, but this needs to be replicated in clinical populations to support novel adolescent psychological treatments.

The relationship between attention networks and individual differences in visual mental imagery vividness - An EEG study

Our visual perception is usually determined by an interaction between externally driven “bottom-up” sensory information and internally generated “top-down” signals guiding interpretation of the sensory input and reflecting prior knowledge and intent. Mental imagery, which relies entirely on this top-down signal, provides a means to investigate the nature of top-down signals independent of bottom-up perceptual processing. While prior studies have suggested similar neural substrates for imagery and perception, the specificity of imagery representations and their distribution across visual cortical areas remain unclear. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and multi-voxel pattern analysis in an ungrouped event-related design to conduct a detailed comparison of the neural activation patterns to ten individual objects throughout visual cortex during both visual imagery and perception. We found that visual imagery as well as perception activated a precise and fine-grained representation allowing decoding of individual imagined objects throughout ventral visual areas. Further, there was a close correspondence between the imagery and perceptual representations, allowing cross-decoding between them. However, while there was a posterior-anterior gradient of performance with better perceptual decoding in early visual cortex compared with object-selective regions, imagery decoding was similar across ventral visual areas. Moreover, the structure of representations across visual areas were more similar in imagery than perception, suggesting less transformation of visual representations between areas during imagery. Finally, the correspondence between imagery and perception was correlated with independent behavioral measures of participants' vividness of mental imagery. These results suggest that while perception and imagery share similar neural substrates, even at the individual object level, they remain distinct particularly in terms of the distribution and similarity of representations across visual areas.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. During this treatment, patients recall traumatic memories while making horizontal eye movements (EM). Studies have shown that EM not only desensitize negative memories but also positive memories and imagined events. Substance use behavior and craving are maintained by maladaptive memory associations and visual imagery. Preliminary findings have indicated that these mental images can be desensitized by EMDR techniques. We conducted two proof-of-principle studies to investigate whether EM can reduce the sensory richness of substance-related mental representations and accompanying craving levels. We investigated the effects of EM on (1) vividness of food-related mental imagery and food craving in dieting and non-dieting students and (2) vividness of recent smoking-related memories and cigarette craving in daily smokers. In both experiments, participants recalled the images while making EM or keeping eyes stationary. Image vividness and emotionality, image-specific craving and general craving were measured before and after the intervention. As a behavioral outcome measure, participants in study 1 were offered a snack choice at the end of the experiment. Results of both experiments showed that image vividness and craving increased in the control condition but remained stable or decreased after the EM intervention. EM additionally reduced image emotionality (experiment 2) and affected behavior (experiment 1): participants in the EM condition were more inclined to choose healthy over unhealthy snack options. In conclusion, these data suggest that EM can be used to reduce intensity of substance-related imagery and craving. Although long-term effects are yet to be demonstrated, the current studies suggest that EM might be a useful technique in addiction treatment.

Effect of an upright (vs. stooped) posture on interpretation bias, imagery, and emotions

Sex hormones predict the sensory strength and vividness of mental imagery

The concept of "presence" describes the quality of subjective experience in immersive virtual reality (IVR). Presence refers to a specific state of consciousness: we behave and feel as if we actually were in the virtual world even though we know there is nothing there. In their handbook of Virtual Reality, Burdea and Coiffet (Virtual reality technology, Wiley, New York, 2003) suggested that the experience of presence in IVR would emerge from the combination of three Is: Immersion or capacity to isolate from the external world, Interaction or capacity to naturally exploring the virtual environment, and Imagination or individual aptitudes with mental imagery. So far, several studies have investigated the technological and psychological factors affecting the degree of immersion and interaction. However, no study has explored the relationship between perceived presence and mental imagery. Here we aim at filling this gap through a correlational study comparing self-reports about sense of presence and mental imagery abilities. After experiencing two IVR scenarios (an art gallery and a living room), 142 male and female users were administered with questionnaires assessing the degree of presence (Igroup Presence Questionnaire), the degree of vividness (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire) and control (Test of Visual Imagery Control) of subjective mental images. Results showed a clear positive correlation between presence and vividness: the higher the vividness of mental images the stronger the reported sense of presence felt in IVR scenarios. Instead, the capacity to control mental imagery showed a weaker association with presence. We may conclude that individual differences in the degree of perceived presence and mental imagery ability are associated.

Vivid visual mental imagery is thought to influence perceptual processing, but much of the current knowledge on this comes from one highly cited, though underpowered (N = 8) study from 2007, which found that more vivid imagery increases interference between imagined and perceptual content. However, that study has not been repeated since. We therefore conducted a conceptual (Experiment 1) and direct (Experiment 2) replication study. In Experiment 1, we recruited 185 online participants across the mental imagery spectrum, including individuals with self-reported aphantasia (impoverished or absent mental imagery) and hyperphantasia (extremely vivid imagery). In Experiment 2, we recruited 56 participants, 28 with self-reported aphantasia and 28 gender- and age-matched typical imagers. Consistent with the original 2007 study's interpretation, we predicted that those with more vivid imagery would exhibit stronger imagery-perception interference, as measured by decreased performance in a priming task when a color and word were congruent (e.g., red prime, word "RED") compared to incongruent (e.g., blue prime, word "RED"). We were unable to replicate this effect in either experiment. Instead, we observed performance benefits for color-word congruency across the mental imagery spectrum, with no difference in the magnitude of this effect across imagery ability or vividness, even among those with extreme imagery variations (aphantasia, hyperphantasia). Interestingly, we observed a relationship between a measure of mental imagery externalism and the congruency effect, suggesting that individuals with the ability to project their mental images into the external environment (i.e., prophantasia) may exhibit stronger congruency effects. The results of this study challenge our current understanding of the role of mental imagery in perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Humans can generate mental auditory images of voices or songs, sometimes perceiving them almost as vividly as perceptual experiences. The functional networks supporting auditory imagery have been described, but less is known about the systems associated with interindividual differences in auditory imagery. Combining voxel-based morphometry and fMRI, we examined the structural basis of interindividual differences in how auditory images are subjectively perceived, and explored associations between auditory imagery, sensory-based processing, and visual imagery. Vividness of auditory imagery correlated with gray matter volume in the supplementary motor area (SMA), parietal cortex, medial superior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. An analysis of functional responses to different types of human vocalizations revealed that the SMA and parietal sites that predict imagery are also modulated by sound type. Using representational similarity analysis, we found that higher representational specificity of heard sounds in SMA predicts vividness of imagery, indicating a mechanistic link between sensory- and imagery-based processing in sensorimotor cortex. Vividness of imagery in the visual domain also correlated with SMA structure, and with auditory imagery scores. Altogether, these findings provide evidence for a signature of imagery in brain structure, and highlight a common role of perceptual–motor interactions for processing heard and internally generated auditory information.

Visual perception is heavily influenced by "top-down" factors, including goals, expectations, and prior knowledge about the environmental context. Recent research has demonstrated the beneficial role threat-related cues play in perceptual decision making; however, the psychological processes contributing to this differential effect remain unclear. Since visual imagery helps to create perceptual representations or "templates" based on prior knowledge (e.g., cues), the present study examines the role vividness of visual imagery plays in enhanced perceptual decision making following threatening cues. In a perceptual decision-making task, participants used threat-related and neutral cues to detect perceptually degraded fearful and neutral faces presented at predetermined perceptual thresholds. Participants' vividness of imagery was measured by the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VVIQ-2). Our results replicated prior work demonstrating that threat cues improve accuracy, perceptual sensitivity, and speed of perceptual decision making compared to neutral cues. Furthermore, better performance following threat and neutral cues was associated with higher VVIQ-2 scores. Importantly, more precise and rapid perceptual decision making following threatening cues was associated with greater VVIQ-2 scores, even after controlling for performance related to neutral cues. This association may be because greater imagery ability allows one to conjure more vivid threat-related templates, which facilitate subsequent perception. While the detection of threatening stimuli is well studied in the literature, our findings elucidate how threatening cues occurring prior to the stimulus aid in subsequent perception. Overall, these findings highlight the necessity of considering top-down threat-related factors in visual perceptual decision making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Studies have suggested that visual imagery forms an important part of the listening experience and might be one of the mechanisms by which music induces emotions in a listener. However, little is known about the content, prevalence, and function of visual imagery during music listening. To that end, an online survey was constructed to explore music-related visual imagery. This included 24 statements about visual imagery based on previous research and an open question regarding the content of their inner images. Several standardized questionnaires (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire and Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index) were included as well to investigate the link to visual imagery in non-musical contexts and across individuals with various levels of musical training. In total, 669 participants provided responses to an online survey. A factorial structure of music and visual imagery statements provided a three-factor structure consisting of vivid, soothing, and disruptive visual imagery, although the actual factor structure was nonidentical between the musically trained and untrained respondents. Separate analyses of factors for musically trained and untrained participants yielded a more parsimonious structure of visual imagery, which consisted of vivid and soothing visual imagery. These two factors consistently exhibited different weights across the items; for musically trained participants, vivid imagery was more related to modulating arousal than for untrained participants. The ability to conjure up vivid visual imagery was only weakly related to the presence of music-related visual imagery. A content analysis of the open question revealed common themes that related to a mixture of concrete visual imagery (landscapes, images of people, and scenes from past events) and abstract visual imagery (shapes, objects, and colors). Implications of these findings for further studies on music-induced emotions are discussed with a focus on a recent constructionist account of emotional meanings in music.

The vividness of motor imagery may be assumed to be one of the important variables that may predict the effects of image training on motor skill learning. Likewise, the special characteristics of the vividness of motor imagery are generally assumed to be different from that of the general imagery. In an attempt to construct a test battery to measure the vividness of motor imagery, a respective test (VMI test) was proposed in this study. The first purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between the vividness of general imagery measured by Betts's test and the vividness of motor imagery by use of factor analytical techniques. The second purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure of the vividness of motor imagery. The third purpose of this study was to test some differences of the factor structure and the factor scores of VMI test between physical education major students (PE) and non-physical education majors (Non-PE). The subjects were 110 male and 80 female undergraduate physical education majors and 107 male and 98 female non-physical education majors. The fifty items of VMI test were constructed under consideration of main sensory modalities and several basic movements. All subjects were asked to evaluate their own vividness of imagery on Betts's and VMI test with five-point rating scales. The following results were mainly found out: 1. Nine factors were extracted from the factor analysis including both Betts's and VMI test items. Each of these nine factors was correlated with either Betts's test items or VMI test items, but not with the both. It seems that the vividness of motor imagery might be independent from the vividness of general imagery at some degrees. Therefore, the vividness of motor imagery should be measured at the different view point from the vividness of general imagery. 2. In the factor analysis of VMI test, five factors were reasonably interpreted. The first factor was named as visual Imagery of General Movements. This factor seems to indicate visual dominance of motor imagery. After that, the following factors were detected in order: Compound Sense-Imagery of Throwing and Hitting, Compound Sense-Imagery of Gymnastic Movements, Compound Sense-Imagery of Tapping, and Compound Sense-Imagery of Running. It seems that the first factor might be an imagery of "seeing" and the others might be an imagery of "performing". 3. Concerning the first factor of VMI test, the similar factor structures mentioned in 2 were found out both for PE and Non-PE subjects. The other factors for PE majors, however, were more specific in regard to movements than the ones for Non-PE majors. As to these results, it was indicated that characteristics of the vividnese of motor imagery factors were changeable with athletic experiences and acquisition of motor skills. 4. Non-PE majors showed significantly higher factor scores on Visual imagery of General Movements than PE majors. PE majors showed significantly higher factor scores on Compound Sense-Imagery of Gymnastic Movements and Compound Sense-Imagery of Running than Non-PE majors. Probably, an ability of vividness of motor imagery can be differentially affected by athletic experiences.

This research investigates the specific effects of mental imagery on people's emotional responses and risk-taking decisions. We present findings across four studies, including three experiments, that highlight emotions as a mediator between the valence of mental images related to risk and subsequent risk-taking propensity. Our research identifies two key factors that moderate this relationship: the category of cognitive process (analytical thinking vs. visual mental imagery) and the vividness of mental imagery. In Study 1, we found an effect of the valence of mental images on the intensity of emotional reactions, which in turn were linked to risk-taking willingness. Positive imagery corresponded with stronger positive emotions and increased declared risk taking. The experimental Study 2 provided causal evidence for these associations, showing that participants positively imagining risk-related behaviors reported more intense positive feelings and a greater inclination to take risks than those imagining risk taking in a negative manner. Subsequent preregistered experiments (Studies 3 and 4) corroborated our central hypothesis that mental imagery is a distinct driver of emotional responses in risk-related decision making and showed potential boundary conditions for this effect. Study 3 emphasized that decisions influenced by mental imagery had greater emotional strength than those based on analytical reasoning. The final Study 4 demonstrated that vividness of mental imagery further moderates this effect: more vivid images led to stronger emotions, thus affecting risk-taking propensity. These results underscore the significance of emotions in decision making, particularly when decisions are based on mental imagery rather than analysis, and point to the amplifying effect of image vividness on emotional and decision-making processes.