Exam 2 (Mental Imagery)

Question 1

What is a mental image?

Answer 1

• mental representation of an object or event that is not perceptually present
• internally-generated (top-down), perception-like representation

Question 2

What are the two major theoretical issues with mental images?

Answer 2

• they are just epiphenomena (by-products)

- do they have functional significance - help us make decisions?

Question 3

What is the propositional hypothesis?

Answer 3

all information is coded and stored in propositional form; images are created from information and stores in the form of propositions (t/f abstract language-like representations)
- ex. yes or no - frogs have 4 legs, frogs have a tail

Question 4

What is the analog code (pictorial representation) hypothesis

Answer 4

imagery and perception are similar (analogous); visual images are like “mental pictures”
- e.g. whats the second verse to your favorite song

Question 5

T/F

Research results show that mental imagery can substitute for actual perfection

Answer 5

True

Question 6

What are mental rotations?

Answer 6

timed same/different judgements for paired rotated letters and depictions of 3D objects

• less discrepancies between objects, less time to match
• e.g. mental paper folding (do 2 edges meet)

Question 7

What is image sizing?

Answer 7

relative size of mental and sensory images is similar

Question 8

What are internal psychophysics?

Answer 8

people take longer making decisions about mental objects when they are similar

Question 9

What are the two types of internal psychophysics?

Answer 9

1. symbolic distance effect

2. mental clocks

Question 10

What is the symbolic distance effect?

Answer 10

longer time when identifying size of similar objects

Question 11

What are mental clocks?

Answer 11

we take longer to judge angle of hands of (imaged) clocks when hands are closer together

Question 12

what is selective interference?

Answer 12

easier to do a task if the modalities are different rather than the same. If you are doing a visual task and interfered with another visual task it is harder. If you are doing a visual task and have to do auditory it is easier to do

Question 13

What is image scanning?

Answer 13

time req’d for scanning mental and sensory images is similar: increased distance there is an increase reaction time (even though eyes are closed)

Question 14

what is the experimenter expectancy effect?

Answer 14

researchers cognitive bias causes them to influence the participants in a study

Question 15

What is neuropsychology?

Answer 15

While the brain in engaging in imaging it involves the same parts of brain or equivalent to the version of perceiving

Question 16

What hypothesis does the research on imagery support?

Answer 16

analog code hypothesis

Question 17

prosopagnosia

Answer 17

face blindness

Question 18

neuroimaging

Answer 18

many common neural processes underlie perception and depictive imagery - ex fusiform face area in temporal cortex is activated when we see faces and when we imagine them