Imagery Ability Research Articles

Diversity of aphantasia revealed by multiple assessments of visual imagery, multisensory imagery, and cognitive style.

Aphantasia-a condition wherein individuals have a reduced or absent construction of voluntary visual imagery-is diagnosed using either the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) or self-identification. However, a significant discrepancy exists between the proportions of aphantasia in the populations assessed using these two criteria. It is unclear why the reported proportions differ excessively and what percentage of people cannot form visual imagery. We investigated the replicability of the proportion of people with aphantasia using both criteria in the same population of participants. Therefore, we explored the potential causes of the discrepancy and characteristics of putative aphantasia in terms of multisensory imagery, cognitive style, and face recognition ability. First, we conducted an online sampling study (Study 1: N = 2,871) using the VVIQ, self-identification of a reduction in visual imagery, Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (QMI), and Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire (VVQ). We found that 3.7 and 12.1% fulfilled the VVIQ and self-identification criteria, respectively, roughly replicating the proportions reported in previous studies. The self-identification criterion-but not the VVIQ criterion-contains items related to face recognition; hence, we suspected that face recognition ability was factor contributing to this discrepancy and conducted another online sampling study (Study 2: N = 774). We found a significant correlation between VVIQ and face recognition ability in the control group with self-identification, but not in the group defined by low VVIQ (VVIQ ≤32). As the participants in the control group with self-identification tended to exhibit moderately high VVIQ scores but low face recognition ability, we reason that the discrepancy can be partially explained by the contamination of individual differences in face recognition ability. Additional analyses of Study 1 revealed that the aphantasia group included participants who lacked all types of sensory imagery or only visual imagery in multisensory imagery and exhibited a non-specific cognitive style. This study indicates that the VVIQ alone may be insufficient to diagnose individuals who report an inability to form visual imagery. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of multiple assessments-along with the VVIQ-to better understand the diversity of imagery in aphantasia.

Assessing aphantasia prevalence and the relation of self-reported imagery abilities and memory task performance

Aphantasia is the experience of having little to no visual imagery. We assessed the prevalence rate of aphantasia in 5,010 people from the general population of adults in the United States through self-report and responses to two visual imagery scales. The self-reported prevalence rate of aphantasia was 8.9% in this sample. However, not all participants who reported themselves as aphantasic showed low-imagery profiles on the questionnaire scales, and scale prevalence was much lower (1.5%). Self-reported aphantasic individuals reported lower dream frequencies and self-talk and showed poorer memory performance compared to individuals who reported average and high mental imagery. Self-reported aphantasic individuals showed a greater preference for written instruction compared to video instruction for learning a hypothetical new task although there were differences for men and women in this regard. Categorizing aphantasia using a scale measure and relying on self-identification may provide a more consistent picture of who lacks visual imagery.

Probing the unimaginable: The impact of aphantasia on distinct domains of visual mental imagery and visual perception

Different individuals experience varying degrees of vividness in their visual mental images. The distribution of these variations across different imagery domains, such as object shape, color, written words, faces, and spatial relationships, remains unknown. To address this issue, we conducted a study with 117 healthy participants who reported different levels of imagery vividness. Of these participants, 44 reported experiencing absent or nearly absent visual imagery, a condition known as “aphantasia”. These individuals were compared to those with typical (N = 42) or unusually vivid (N = 31) imagery ability. We used an online version of the French-language Battérie Imagination-Perception (eBIP), which consists of tasks tapping each of the above-mentioned domains, both in visual imagery and in visual perception. We recorded the accuracy and response times (RTs) of participants' responses. Aphantasic participants reached similar levels of accuracy on all tasks compared to the other groups (Bayesian repeated measures ANOVA, BF = .02). However, their RTs were slower in both imagery and perceptual tasks (BF = 266), and they had lower confidence in their responses on perceptual tasks (BF = 7.78e5). A Bayesian regression analysis revealed that there was an inverse correlation between subjective vividness and RTs for the entire participant group: higher levels of vividness were associated with faster RTs. The pattern was similar in all the explored domains. The findings suggest that individuals with congenital aphantasia experience a slowing in processing visual information in both imagery and perception, but the precision of their processing remains unaffected. The observed performance pattern lends support to the hypotheses that congenital aphantasia is primarily a deficit of phenomenal consciousness, or that it employs alternative strategies other than visualization to access preserved visual information.

A Quantitative Investigation of Mental Fatigue Elicited during Motor Imagery Practice: Selective Effects on Maximal Force Performance and Imagery Ability.

In the present study, we examined the development of mental fatigue during the kinesthetic motor imagery (MI) of isometric force contractions performed with the dominant upper limb. Participants (n = 24) underwent four blocks of 20 MI trials of isometric contractions at 20% of the maximal voluntary contraction threshold (20% MVCMI) and 20 MI trials of maximal isometric contractions (100% MVCMI). Mental fatigue was assessed after each block using a visual analogue scale (VAS). We assessed maximal isometric force before, during and after MI sessions. We also assessed MI ability from self-report ratings and skin conductance recordings. Results showed a logarithmic pattern of increase in mental fatigue over the course of MI, which was superior during 100% MVCMI. Unexpectedly, maximal force improved during 100% MVCMI between the 1st and 2nd evaluations but remained unchanged during 20% MVCMI. MI ease and vividness improved during 100% MVCMI, with a positive association between phasic skin conductance and VAS mental fatigue scores. Conversely, subjective measures revealed decreased MI ability during 20% MVCMI. Mental fatigue did not hamper the priming effects of MI on maximal force performance, nor MI's ability for tasks involving high physical demands. By contrast, mental fatigue impaired MI vividness and elicited boredom effects in the case of motor tasks with low physical demands.

Developing and validating a Japanese version of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire.

Mental imagery refers to the representation of stimuli that are not physically present and has long been a subject of interest in psychology. However, most research on mental imagery has been limited to visual images, with other types of imagery, such as sound and smell, receiving little attention. A possible reason for this is the lack of appropriate scales to measure the vividness of multisensory imagery. The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Scale (Psi-Q) has been developed to address this issue and has been used in several studies to measure the vividness of seven imageries: vision, sound, smell, taste, touch, body, and feeling. In this study of 400 participants in Japan, the Psi-Q was translated into Japanese and tested for reliability and validity. The results showed good internal reliability and retest reliability and moderate to high correlations with other measures of construct validity, including mindfulness, Big Five, and life satisfaction. Additionally, there is no significant difference in total Psi-Q scores between the Japanese and British samples, although some differences are found in individual sensory imagery abilities. This study provides valuable insights into multisensory mental imagery, and it is expected that research dealing simultaneously with the responses of multisensory modalities will further accumulate.

The effect of graded motor imagery training on pain, functional performance, motor imagery skills, and kinesiophobia after total knee arthroplasty: randomized controlled trial.

The aim was to investigate the effect of graded motor imagery (GMI) added to rehabilitation on pain, functional performance, motor imagery ability, and kinesiophobia in individuals with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Individuals scheduled for unilateral TKA were randomized to one of two groups: control (traditional rehabilitation, n = 9) and GMI (traditional rehabilitation + GMI, n = 9) groups. The primary outcome measures were the visual analogue scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Secondary outcome measures were knee range of motion, muscle strength, the timed up and go test, mental chronometer, Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3, lateralization performance, Central Sensitization Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale. Evaluations were made before and 6 weeks after surgery. Activity and resting pain were significantly reduced in the GMI group compared to the control group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.004, respectively). Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 scores and accuracy of lateralization performance also showed significant improvement (P = 0.037 and P = 0.015, respectively). The Pain Catastrophizing Scale and Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale scores were also significantly decreased in the GMI group compared to the control group (P = 0.039 and P = 0.009, respectively). However, GMI did not differ significantly in WOMAC scores, range of motion, muscle strength, timed up and go test and Central Sensitization Inventory scores compared to the control group (P > 0.05). GMI improved pain, motor imagery ability, pain catastrophizing, and kinesiophobia in the acute period after TKA.

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING MENTAL IMAGERY IN DESIGN COGNITION RESEARCH

AbstractMental imagery is the experience of perceiving an object within one's own mind and is a subjective experience, leading to difficulties in the research and understanding of the phenomenon. This paper documents the development and verification of a framework for researching the elements of mental imagery. The framework was developed following a review of both psychology and design literature which signified three fundamental conceptual viewpoints of mental imagery: imagery modalities, dimensions of imagery ability, and imagery processes. The aim of this framework is to allow for structured research on mental imagery in any given research field. This is verified through discussion for the product design engineering discipline and provides a base for future work on this topic. The conclusions made in this paper reveal that mental imagery, and particularly visual mental imagery, is largely considered to be integral in design overlooking the different realities of designers and confirming a greater need to understand mental imagery experiences in product design engineering.

Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children (MIQ-C): A Measurement Tool to Assess the Imagery Ability of Motor Tasks in Children.

The ability to perform motor imagery has been shown to influence individual athletic performance and rehabilitation. Recent evidence supports its potential as a training tool to improve motor skills in children. Although there is a standardized assessment of the imagery abilities in Slovenian-speaking adults, there is currently no validated instrument for use with Slovenian children. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to conduct a linguistic validation study of the movement imagery questionnaire for children (MIQ-C). A total of 100 healthy children (mean age 10.3±1.3 years; 50 female) were assessed with a Slovenian version of the MIQ-C at Day 1 and Day 8. Inter-day agreement was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity and internal consistency were assessed using a Cronbach's alpha coefficient and exploratory - confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. The test-retest ICC were very high for all three scales examined (ICCKI=0.90; ICCIVI=0.92; ICCEVI=0.90). Excellent internal consistency (up to 0.90) was found for kinaesthetic and both visual imageries. Confirmatory analysis confirmed a three-factorial structure of the MIQ-C. The Slovenian version of the MIQ-C proved to be highly reliable and valid in assessing children's motor imagery abilities, and as such for use with Slovene-speaking children. Moreover, this standardized instrument can be a helpful tool in training and rehabilitation practice with children aged 7-12 years.

Implicit Motor Imagery Performance in Childhood Recurrent Headaches

This study aims to investigate the implicit motor imagery capacities in children with recurrent headaches. The research included children with recurring headaches and children of a comparable age to the control group. The dominant hand, headache localization, intensity, and symptoms accompanying the headache were all determined, in addition to implicit motor imagery abilities and the demographic features of the children participating in the study. These results were compared by measuring the patients' and control groups' right and left lateralization accuracy percentages and response times. According to the study's findings, the group with recurrent headaches had the worse right and left discrimination accuracy percentages and decision-making times, notably in implicit motor imagery performances, than the control group. As a result, whereas children with recurrent headaches have high implicit motor imagery decision-making rates linked to proprioception, they may have impaired accurate decision-making capabilities.

Mental Imagery Between Indigenous &amp; Ball Games Players: A Comparison

Background: - Ball game is a very popular game all over world and indigenous sport also very popular in India. Indigenous sports are native games and play activities originating in and Characteristic of an area or country. Aims: - The Purpose of the study is to compare indigenous &amp; ball games players in respect of sports imagery ability. Methods and Material: - Total 40 Inter University level players from Visva- Bharati University, Santiniketa, Birbhum, WestBengal, India were selected as subjects for this study. The age of the subjects were 21-25 years. Statistical analysis used :- Descriptive statistics and‘t’ test were used. To calculate the collected data socscistatistics.com (Online software) was used. Results:- The result shows that there is no significant difference of sports mental imagery ability between indigenous sports(kho-kho&amp;kabaddi) and ball game(football&amp;volleyball) players. Conclusions:- There is no significant difference between indigenous sports and ballgame players in respect of Sports Mental imagery ability.

Estimation Error Consisting of Motor Imagery and Motor Execution in Patients with Stroke

Previous studies demonstrate that the difference between motor imagery and actual tasks (estimation error) is related to cognitive and physical functions and that a large estimation error (LE) is related to motor imagery ability, including cognitive and physical functions in healthy subjects. The purpose of this study investigated whether estimation error is related to physical and cognitive function in patients with stroke. The study included 60 patients with stroke. The Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) was employed to assess estimation error. First, the imagined TUGT (iTUGT) was performed; thereafter, the actual TUGT was performed. The estimation error was calculated by subtracting TUGT from iTUGT, with conversion to the absolute value. The patients were classified into the small estimation error (SE) and LE groups, with comparisons of various clinical scores (Mini-Mental State Examination, Berg Balance Scale, 10-m walking speed, Brunnstrom Recovery Stage, and Functional Independence Measure). As a result, the estimation error was significantly larger in the LE group than in the SE group. Cognitive function and balance ability were significantly lower in the LE group than in the SE group. In conclusion, the estimation error was related to physical and cognitive functions in patients with stroke.

A Study on the Application of Narrative Transportation in Storytelling Tourism Marketing Communication in Taiwan

In recent years, interactive multimedia guides have become increasingly common in museums, exhibition spaces, and tourist attractions. Over the past decade, Hsin Beitou government and local residents have launched a series of reform movements for local tourism. During the research process, it was found that the current planning of attractions lacks pre-tour guidance and itinerary arrangements. In on-site surveys, tourists expressed uncertainty about the route guidance of the attractions, and their itineraries usually began upon arrival at the destination or by searching for fragmented video materials beforehand. Through this research, the design of different types of videos, including narrative attraction animation videos, influencer videos focusing on attractions, and videos solely introducing attractions, were explored to investigate their impact on viewer attitudes and travel motivations.Previous studies have mainly focused on one-sided tourism discussions. This thesis, however, conducted field surveys, preliminary studies, and interviews to connect cultural and historical tourist attractions into a complete narrative-guided video. Drawing on literature research and analysis of narrative transportation theory, story-based tourism marketing, and video tourism, the thesis designed a video that provides clear and concise travel guidance, saving tourists' time. The 3 types of videos, including narrative animated tour video, influencer tour video and attraction introduction video were provided for tourists to explore the impact of these 3 videos on their travel motivations and the narrative transportation effectiveness. The study employed a questionnaire based on the narrative transportation theory and Likert 5-point scale to understand the satisfaction of the participants with the narrative-guided video and their motivation to visit the attractions.Based on literature research, this study connected significant attractions of Hsin Beitou area to create a narrative-guided video called "Hsin Beitou Healing Notebook". The content of the video was designed according to Gerrig's TIM scale, which includes The TIM scale included 11absorption propensity items and one imagery ability item capturing its major dimensions of cognitive, affective, and imagery involvement. The narrative of the video focused on a Japanese wounded soldier revisiting old sites in Hsin Beitou and recalling his experiences of healing after World War II. From this narrative, nine highlights of Hsin Beitou tourism were identified. The study applied narrative transportation theory to tourism, examining the impact of video design on tourists' travel motivations, using narrative-guided video design as the research method.

Revisiting Motor Imagery Guidelines in a Tropical Climate: The Time-of-Day Effect.

(1) Background: Motor imagery (MI) is relevantly used to improve motor performance and promote rehabilitation. As MI ability and vividness can be affected by circadian modulation, it has been proposed that MI should ideally be performed between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Whether such a recommendation remains effective in a hot and humid environment, such as a tropical climate, remains unknown. (2) Methods: A total of 35 acclimatized participants completed a MI questionnaire and a mental chronometry test at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. Visual (VI) and kinesthetic imagery (KI) abilities, as well as temporal congruence between actual walking and MI, were collected. Ambient temperature, chronotypes, thermal comfort, affect, and fatigue were also measured. (3) Results: VI scores were higher at 6 p.m. than at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m., and temporal congruence was higher at 6 p.m. than at 7 a.m. Comfort, thermal sensation, and positive affect scores were higher at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. (4) Conclusion: Data support greater imagery ability and accuracy when participants perceive the environment as more pleasant and comfortable. MI guidelines typically provided in neutral climates should therefore be adapted to tropical climates, with MI training sessions ideally scheduled in the late afternoon.

Effectiveness of Psychological Skills Training on Resilience and Grit Among Basketball Players

The present study aimed to study the effectiveness of psychological skill training (mental imagery and self-talk) on resilience and grit among college basketball players. The sample targeted was the college basketball team – male: 12 and female: 12 for the pre-test. Based on the results of the pre-test the participants with low or normal resilience and grit and high sport imagery ability were selected for the 3-week intervention. The results shows there is no significant effect of PST resilience and grit among the basketball players.

Can You Imagine That: Individual Differences in Visual Mental Imagery

Differences in mental imagery ability between individuals have been reported since Galton in 1880. Despite much progress in the mental imagery field, particularly with the advent of neuroimaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging, the neural bases of mental imagery and why individual differences exist in mental imagery ability are not fully understood. Several subjective and objective methods have been proposed and utilized to investigate the strength of visual mental imagery, and even to predict the content of imagery. Recent evidence has shown that people with opposite extremes of visual mental imagery ability, aphantasia and hyperphantasia, have selective impairments and enhancements of ability to visualize visual elements in imagery. We argue that this heterogeneity is generalizable to the population who have relatively normal imagery ability. Current studies have overgeneralized specific paradigms and stimuli to apply to visual mental imagery ability of all types of stimuli, under the presumption that this ability is homogenous. Future studies would benefit from both increased granularity and expanded scope of paradigms and stimuli used.

A Supervised Machine Learning Approach to Classify Brain Morphology of Professional Visual Artists versus Non-Artists.

This study aimed to investigate whether there are structural differences in the brains of professional artists who received formal training in the visual arts and non-artists who did not have any formal training or professional experience in the visual arts, and whether these differences can be used to accurately classify individuals as being an artist or not. Previous research using functional MRI has suggested that general creativity involves a balance between the default mode network and the executive control network. However, it is not known whether there are structural differences between the brains of artists and non-artists. In this study, a machine learning method called Multi-Kernel Learning (MKL) was applied to gray matter images of 12 artists and 12 non-artists matched for age and gender. The results showed that the predictive model was able to correctly classify artists from non-artists with an accuracy of 79.17% (AUC 88%), and had the ability to predict new cases with an accuracy of 81.82%. The brain regions most important for this classification were the Heschl area, amygdala, cingulate, thalamus, and parts of the parietal and occipital lobes as well as the temporal pole. These regions may be related to the enhanced emotional and visuospatial abilities that professional artists possess compared to non-artists. Additionally, the reliability of this circuit was assessed using two different classifiers, which confirmed the findings. There was also a trend towards significance between the circuit and a measure of vividness of imagery, further supporting the idea that these brain regions may be related to the imagery abilities involved in the artistic process.

Using transitional information in sign and gesture perception

For sign languages, transitional movements of the hands are fully visible and may be used to predict upcoming linguistic input. We investigated whether and how deaf signers and hearing nonsigners use transitional information to detect a target item in a string of either pseudosigns or grooming gestures, as well as whether motor imagery ability was related to this skill. Transitional information between items was either intact (Normal videos), digitally altered such that the hands were selectively blurred (Blurred videos), or edited to only show the frame prior to the transition which was frozen for the entire transition period, removing all transitional information (Static videos). For both pseudosigns and gestures, signers and nonsigners had faster target detection times for Blurred than Static videos, indicating similar use of movement transition cues. For linguistic stimuli (pseudosigns), only signers made use of transitional handshape information, as evidenced by faster target detection times for Normal than Blurred videos. This result indicates that signers can use their linguistic knowledge to interpret transitional handshapes to predict the upcoming signal. Signers and nonsigners did not differ in motor imagery abilities, but only non-signers exhibited evidence of using motor imagery as a prediction strategy. Overall, these results suggest that signers use transitional movement and handshape cues to facilitate sign recognition.

The effect of simultaneous and alternate action observation and motor imagery combinations on the learning of badminton short serve in children

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the effect of different combinations of action observation and motor imagery on the learning of badminton short serve (BSS) in typically developed children. Fifty female high school students (mean age of 13.76 ± 1.82 years old and novice in badminton) participated in this study. The participant’s motor imagery ability and BSS performance were measured through the Motor Imagery Questionnaire 3 (MIQ-3) and French BSS Test respectively. The participants were randomly allocated to five groups including action observation (AO), motor imagery (MI), simultaneous action observation and motor imagery (S-AOMI), alternate action observation and motor imagery (A-AOMI), and a control group. The participants of each group received their intervention in three sessions per week for six weeks. Both groups performed pretest, retention, and transfer tests. The results revealed that the task performance of all groups, except the control group, significantly improved. Post hoc analyses indicated that the MI group performed significantly better than the control group and the S-AOMI group performed significantly better than the AO group and control group. The A-AOMI group performed significantly better than the AO group, MI group, and the control group. It was concluded that the combination of AOMI may facilitate learning of BSS better than AO or MI alone.

Influence of spatial imagery and imagery control on geometric form location in paintings

The study of artistic works requires an educated vision, a certain way of looking that unveils potential relations amongst objects. Fine art students develop skills that are resultant of their training in finding possible connections amongst elements in a painting. One of the abilities related to the observation and analysis of a work of art is the capacity to form mental images. The present study involved 188 fine art students (105 first-year students and 83 fourth-year students) and was meant to find out whether their education level, their spatial imagery ability and their imagery control had any influence on the location of geometric forms in a painting. We assessed hits minus errors. Results showed Results showed that fine arts students’ spatial ability and imagery control explained a significant percentage of score variation in the task of locating geometric figures in Velázquez's paintings. The significance of these results is consistent with those obtained in previous studies, spatial capacity, and imagery control influence on the achievement of skills in the artistic field.

The creative interplay between hand gestures, convergent thinking, and mental imagery.

Using hand gestures benefits children's divergent thinking and enhances verbal improvisation in adults. In the present study, we asked whether gestures were also associated with convergent thinking by activating individuals' verbal lexicon and maintaining their visuospatial imagery. We tested young adults on verbal and visual convergent thinking, controlling for their mental imagery skills. Results showed that gestures and mental imagery skills play a role in verbal but not visual convergent thinking. Regardless of whether gestures were spontaneous or encouraged, we found a negative association between overall gesture frequency and verbal convergent thinking or individuals with low mental imagery, and a positive association for individuals with high mental imagery. Representational gestures benefited verbal convergent thinking for everyone except those who had low mental imagery and no experience with the task. Performing beat gestures hampered verbal convergent thinking in people with lower mental imagery capacity and helped those who had high mental imagery and previous experience with the task. We also found that gesturing can benefit people with lower verbal abilities on verbal convergent thinking, however, high spatial imagery abilities were required for gestures to boost verbal convergent thinking. The current study adds a new dimension to both the embodied creativity literature and the kaleidoscope of individual differences in gesture research.