|
The relationship between self-reported
vividness and latency during mental size
scaling of everyday items:
Phenomenological evidence of different
types of imagery
AHEDEO D'ANGIULLI
Saint Louis University
ADAM REEVES
Northeastern University
We examined how the relationship between ratings of vividness (or image strength)
and image latency might reflect the concerted action of two visual imagery pathways
hypothesized by Kosslyn (1994): the ventral pathway, processing object properties,
and the dorsal pathway, processing locative properties of mental images. Participants
formed their images at small or large angular display sizes, varying the amount
of size scaling needed. In Experiment 1, display size varied between participants,
and images were trial unique. The higher the vividness, the faster the generation of
small images (requiring size scaling of less than 10°), which would recruit mainly the
ventral pathway. This vivid-is-fast relationship changed for large images (requiring
size scaling of 10° or more), which would recruit mainly the dorsal pathway. The
size-dependent alteration of the vivid-is-fast relationship was replicated in the first
block of Experiment 2. However, when repeated over 3 consecutive blocks, image
generation sped up, and gradually the vivid-is-fast relationship tended to occur
for all display sizes until complete automatization of image generation occurred.
The findings suggest that differential patterns of vividnesslatency relationship can
reflect the types of images involved, their relative ventral and dorsal contributions,
and the involvement of working memory.
|
|
