chapter 10: visual imagery Flashcards
define mental imagery
our ability to mentally recreated a perceptual experience in the absence of a sensory stimulus
name the different types of imagery based on different sensory modalities
auditory imagery
tactile imagery
olfactory imagery
what is the vividness of imagery
how clearly we can create an image in our mind’s eye
- familiarity can enhance vividness
in Greenberg & Knowlton (2014) experiment, what difference can we notice when comparing visual imagery with auditory imagery?
visual imagery: visualizer = verbalizer
auditory imagery: visualizer < verbalizer
what is the dual coding theory
human knowledge is represented by 2 separate systems
- verbal system
- nonverbal, imagery system
what is an abstract code
arbitrary symbol system in which the symbols don’t resemble their real-world referent
what is an analog code
a way to store infos that resembles the physical stimulus represented
name the two viewpoints of the imagery debate
- analogue form of representation (Kosslyn)
- by-product of a symbolic code (Pylyshyn)
explain Pylyshyn’s propositional theory
- knowledge is represented as propositional code
- propositions can be used to create mental experiences (images or words)
Explain what Pylyshyn means by “images are epiphenomena” of fundamental cognitive processing
images are a by-product that arise from a process but does not have a causal effect on that process
Explain Kosslyn’s depictive representation theory
knowledge
- represented directly as mental image or linguistic code
what is descriptive representation
symbolic codes that convey abstract conceptual information and do not resemble their real-life referent
name the three techniques used to investigate whether images did maintain the spatial characteristics of physical stimuli
mental scanning
mental rotation
mental scaling
describe Kosslyn, Ball and Reiser (1978) research that supported mental scanning
- Ps memorize map with landmark at diff distance
- further the scanning, longer the RT
describe Crowder’s (1989) experiment on auditory imagery vs perception
- played tones from same or diff instrument
- Ps quicker to respond if tone was the same if they were from same instrument - 1st tone imagine, 2nd played
- RT ↑ when perceived and heard timbre were the same
describe the experiment conducted by Segal and Fusella that showed interference of perception by imagery
- Ps visualize auditory/visual image (imagery)
- Ps detect visual/auditory stimulus (perception)
- visual imagery interfered with visual perception and auditory imagery interfered with auditory perception
explain the research that showed how can imagery facilitate perception
- create visual image of a letter
- asked to detect the letter
- Ps were more accurate at detecting the same letter they were imagining
define motion aftereffects
occurs after viewing continuous motion in one direction for a long period of time.
when looking away, static objects appear to move in opposite direction
how was it proven that imagery uses the same cells as perception
- Ps imagine motion in one direction for 60 sec (imagery)
- creates motion aftereffects
- since motion aftereffects occurs bc of activity of cells in visual system, imagery makes use of the same cells
define falsification and explain why science relies on it
when theories are tested in order to prove they are false
- evidence that confirms theory = can’t be sure if theory true or just true to the experiment
- evidence against theory = can conclude theory isn’t supported
explain one research that showed evidence against depictive explanation
- Ps memorize a picture
- indicate if new figures were part of original pic
- accuracy was low in some cases
- conclude that images are stored using meaningful verbal labels instead of depictive representations
define experimenter expectancy
technique in which an experimenter may unconsciously communicate to Ps their expectations abt what they expect the results to be, causing P to unconsciously behave according to experimenter’s expectations
define demand characteristics
subtle cues in experimental tasks or instructions that may bias Ps behavior
name one difficulty with drawing conclusions from patients with brain damage
damage is rarely localized to particular brain region and it is very unusual to find multiple patients with same pattern of damage
name the brain damage and the correct deficit associated with each patient
- TC
- mme D
- PB
- TC: occipital and temporal lobes = cortical blindness + loss in visual imagery
- mme D: portion of the brain bordering occipital and temporal lobes = visual deficit, but intact imagery
- PB: occipital cortex = cortical blindness, but intact imagery
which regions of the brain are involved in both imagery and perception
brain areas near front of brain
- involved in planning, cognitive control, attention, etc
why is the V1 less engaged in imagery compared to perception
lack of physical stimulus
- nothing detected by receptor cells and sent to V1
how can the activity in FFA be described when viewing pictures of faces compared to imagining those same faces?
a. smaller
b. larger
c. about the same
d. depends on stimuli
b. larger
what is the goal of the multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA)
to use patterns of brain activity during different tasks to distinguish what a person is processing on future trials
what are generative adversarial networks (GANs)
artificial neural nets that are put in competition with each other in which one network tries to generate images and the other tries to pick out the artificially generated images from real images
- generator network
- discriminator network
define picture superiority effect
memory is better for pictures than words
how does Paivio explain the picture superiority effect
pic: create visual representation + verbal label
word: only verbal label
benefit of images is that we store them in memory using 2 codes instead of one
define the concreteness effect
concrete words are remembered better than abstract words
what is the function of a dynamic visual noise display (DVN)
interferes with the ability to create images
True or false? imagery is less effective in evoking emotions than verbal processing
false, imagery more effective
anxiety and depression are both associated with what type of imagery?
increased/decreased
positive/negative imagery
increased negative
how is excessive worrying used as a coping mechanism in people with GAD
worry is verbal code
verbal code less vivid than imagery
reduces negative emotions associated with anxiety
what is imagery rescripting
treat anxiety and depression
- Ps guided through memories of past negative/traumatic experiences
- imagine their younger selves acting in a way they wish they could have during the event
Since mental imagery differs from person to person, what are two ways researchers used to measure mental imagery
- self-report questionnaires (VVIQ)
- objective, performance test (PFT)
the PFT is considered to test ___ while the VVIQ is considered to test ___
spatial ability; object imagery
define congetinal aphantasia
inability to form mental images in the absence of brain damage
define hyperphantasia
having extremely vivid mental imagery
in Highben & Palmer (2004) experiment on imagery and memory, what were the 4 feedback types Ps had to perform
- normal
- motor only
- auditory only
- no performance
what were the findings of Highben & Palmer’s experiment (piano experiment)
memory ↓ as feedback available at practice ↓
- auditory imagery compensates for lack of feedback
a common experience among synesthetes is chromesthesia. what is it
sound or tone is linked to a particular color
true or false? synesthesia can influence memory
true, chromesthesia helps memory of specific pitches and music
what is amusia
deficit in musical abilities
- tone deafness
