Chapter 10: Visual Imagery Flashcards
Mental Imagery
experiencing a sensory information in the absence of sensory input
Imageless Thought Debate
the debate about whether thought is possible in the absence of images
Conceptual Peg Hypothesis
a hypothesis associated with Paivio’s dual coding theory, that slates that concrete norms create images that other words can hang on to, which enhances memory for these words
Mental Chronometry
determining the amount of time needed to carry out a cognitive task
Mental Scanning
a process of mental imagery in which a person scans a mental image in his or her mind
Imagery Debate
the debate about whether imagery is based on spatial mechanisms, such as those involved in perception, or on propositional mechanisms that are related to language
Spatial Representations
a representation in which different parts of an image can be described as corresponding to specific locations in space
Epiphenomenon
a phenomenon that accompanies a mechanism but is not actually part of the mechanism
an example is lights that flash on a mainframe computer as it operates
Propositional Representations
a representation in which relationships are represented by symbols, as when the words of a language represent objects and the relationships between objects
Depictive Representations
corresponds to spatial representation, so-called because a spatial representation can be depicted by a picture
Mental Walk Task
a task used in imagery experiments in which participants are asked to form a mental image of an object and to imagine that they are walking toward this mental image
Imagery Neurons
neurons in the human brain studied by Kreiman, which fire in the same way when a person sees a picture of an object and when a person creates a visual image of the object
Topographic Map
each point on a visual stimulus causes activity at a specific location on a brain structure, such as the visual cortex, and points next to each other on the stimulus cause activity at points next to each other on the structure
Unilateral Neglect
a problem caused by brain damage, usually to the right parietal lobe, in which the patient ignores objects in the left half of his or her visual field
Method of Loci
a method for remembering things in which the things to be remembered are placed at different locations in a mental image of a spatial layout
Pegword Technique
a method for remembering things in which the things to be remembered are associated with concrete levels
Spatial Imagery Refers
the ability to image spatial relations
Objects Imagery Refers
the ability to image visual details, features, or objects
Paper Folding Test (PFT)
a test in which a piece of paper is folded and then pierced by a pencil to create a hole
the task is to determine, form a number of alternatives, where the holes will be on the unfolded piece of paper
Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ)
a test in which people are asked to rate the vividness of mental images they create
this test is designed to measure object imagery ability
Degraded Pictures Task
a task in which a line drawing is degraded by omitting parts of the drawing and obscuring it with a visual noise pattern
the person’s task is to identify the object
Mental Rotation Task
a task in which a person judges whether two pictures of three-dimensional geometric objects are pictures of the same object rotated in space or are pictures of two mirror-image objects rotated in space
What is visual imagery?
“seeing” in the absence of a visual stimulus
What is mental imagery?
experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input
Why is visual imagery useful?
provides a way of thinking that adds another dimension to purely verbal techniques
What is the imageless thought debate?
is thinking possible without images?
What is the imagery and cognitive revolution?
developed ways to measure behavior that could be used to infer cognitive processes
What were early ideas about imagery?
the founder of behaviorism, John Watson, describe images as “unproven” and “mythological”, and therefore not worthy of study
What is the spatial correspondence between imagery and perception?
mental scanning
participants create mental images and then scan them in their minds
Is imagery spatial or propositional?
spatial representation is an epiphenomenon
accompanies real mechanism but is not actually a part of it
proposed that imagery is propositional
can be represented by abstract symbols
What is relationship between viewing distance and ability to perceive details?
imagine small object next to large object
quicker to detect details on the larger object
What is the mental-walk task?
move closer for small animals than for large animals in order that the animal fills the visual field
move toward until the elephant (or the mouse) fills the visual field, tell distance to the animals
distance to mouse is shorter
images are spatial, like perception
What is brain activity in response to imagery?
may indicate something is happening
may not cause imagery so still we do not know whether imagery is spatial or propositional
What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?
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
What is unilateral neglect?
patient ignores objects in on half of visual field in perception and imagery
What are the differences in experience between imagery and perception?
perception is automatic and stable
imagery takes effort and is fragile
What is the method of loci?
visualizing items to be remembered in different locations in a mental image of a spatial layout
What is the pegword technique?
associate items to be remembered with concrete words
pair each of these things with a peg-word
create a vivid image of things to be remembered with the object represented by the word
What are individual differences in visual imagery?
visualizer could be type of spatial imagery or object imagery
spatial imagery people better in mental rotation
object imagery people better in degraded picture task
