Visual Imagery and Perception Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering key concepts related to visual imagery and perception, highlighting their similarities and differences, research findings, and functions.

Visual Perception

A bottom-up process driven by external sensory input, typically vivid, stable, and follows the laws of physics.

Visual Imagery

A top-down process that does not require direct sensory input, generally weaker, less detailed, and more manipulable.

Neuroimaging

Techniques that show visual imagery activates similar brain areas as visual perception.

Mental Scanning Tasks

Tasks that demonstrate how it takes longer to scan between greater distances in mental images.

Kosslyn et al (1978)

Conducted experiments demonstrating the time it takes to mentally scan between locations on an imagined map.

Imagery and Perception Interaction

Imagery can prime perception and vice versa, highlighting their interrelatedness.

Memory Function of Visual Imagery

Serves functions including memory recall, problem solving, future planning, and enhancing creativity.

Differences between Imagery and Perception

Imagery requires generation and maintenance, is often piecemeal, and is more mentally manipulable than perception.

Mental Rotation Tasks

Show that reaction time correlates with the degree of rotation needed, suggesting imagery operates similarly to perception.

Imagery Vividness

Subjective vividness of imagery correlates with the degree of neural overlap in the brain areas activated during visual perception.