Cognitive Psychology: Visual Imagery

Front 1

Mental imagery

Back 1

Experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input.

Front 2

Visual imagery

Back 2

“seeing” in the absence of a visual stimulus

Front 3

Shepard and Meltzer

Back 3

Mental chronometry
Participants mentally rotated one object to see if it matched another object
Time it took to rotate related to actual time it would take to rotate that object

Front 4

Kosslyn

Back 4

Memorize picture, create an image of it
In image, move from one part of the picture to another
It took longer for participants to mentally move long distances than shorter distances
Like perception, imagery is spatial

Front 5

Kosslyn 2

Back 5

Island with 7 locations, 21 trips
It took longer to scan between greater distances
Visual imagery is spatial

Front 6

Imagery neurons respond to:

Back 6

both perceiving and imaging an object

Front 7

Imagery aids in subsequent perception?

Back 7

Results showing that accuracy was higher when the letter in (b) was the same as the one that had been imagined in (a).

Front 8

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Back 8

Decreases brain functioning in a particular area of the brain for a short time
If behavior is disrupted, the deactivated part of the brain is causing that behavior

Front 9

TMS to visual area of brain during perception and imagery task.
Either directly compare length of lines or do so by imaginging.

Back 9

Response time slower for both
Brain activity in visual area of brain plays a causal role for both perception and imagery

Front 10

Perception and Imagery are _____ and _____

Back 10

overlapping and dissociating.