imaginatia Flashcards
What is a mental representation?
A hypothetical symbol that represents something in the external reality.
What is a mental imagery?
It is a mental representation.
Mental imagery functions like a weak form of perception.
What is the evidence that mental imagery works like perception?
Work from neuroimaging suggests that in the visual cortex the brain activity involving perceiving there is a similar pattern of neural activity associated with looking at an object and thinking about that object.
What is the purpose of imagery?
It helps us solve problems and it is good for memory.
How can imagery have negative impacts?
Intrusive imagery leads to mental disorders:
PTSD
OCD
Schizophrenia
What is Phhylshyn’s imagery debate?
Phhylshyn argues that visual imagery is based on abstract, symbolic and linguistic information in the brain.
Once we have stored a representation that was initially based on sensory motor information from our sense, it gets translated into something more abstract.
Similar to amodal view
What is Kosslyn’s imagery debate?
Kosslyn argues that visual imagery is based on visual information of the brain. Imagery is a weak form of perception. Imagining reactivates the same neural patterns that would be activated when seeing something.
Similar to embodied view.
What is the support for Kosslyn’s claim?
TMS was used to impair participant’s visual cortex.
Participants were asked to perceive a task and the imagine it.
They were asked to to do this both with the influence of TMS and without.
It was found that TMS in the visual cortex impairs both perception and imagery.
Supports the idea that patterns of activity generated by imagery resemble those generated by perception.
What is counter-evidence for Kosslyn’s claim?
Some patients with brain damage suggest a double dissociation between imagery and perception.
Impaired imagery with intact perception or vice versa
Suggests these are different processes.
E.g. Patient CK had impaired perception of objects. But he had normal imagery and was good at drawing objects from memory.
What is another counter-argument for Kosslyn’s claim that imagery and perception are the same?
Aphantasia which is lack of mental imagery.
Most people with aphantasia still see visual imagery when they dream.
They have no problem with perception.
What is another counter-argument for Kosslyn’s claim?
MX lost the ability to visualise things.
MX was still able to do mental rotation tasks but much slower.
