VVIQ - Visual Imagery Questionnaire - Suggestion

VVIQ - Visual Imagery Questionnaire - Suggestions

I like the ideas i saw suggested for the updated questionnaire, but I also think an intro for test takers should be added. What is a common reason Aphants give for not realizing their trait sooner? They thought that others were speaking metaphorically when reproducing senses in their mind: seeing, hearing, smelling, etc.

What about testers who see dark shapes, they may think this is super vivid without something to compare it to. So an intro that describes what a “typical” mind might be able to perceive as well as describing what imagery might appear like for someone lower and higher on the chart.

Without an intro explaining these differences, the test will continue to assume everyone is thinking of the same thing when they hear the word vivid.

Any other suggestions? (assuming we can forward them on)

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Jennifer M•recently•edited

This is a great observation about the fundamental challenge with self-report questionnaires - ensuring everyone is calibrating to the same reference point. The issue you’re identifying is real. Someone experiencing only vague dark shapes might rate them as “vivid” because they have nothing else to compare it to, while someone with rich visual detail might rate theirs lower if they’re comparing to seeing with their eyes. We actually created a visualizer tool that lets people generate and compare physical representations of their mental imagery experiences. You can find it here: aphantasia.com/visualize We are working on analyzing the results to compare VVIQ scores with physical representations to get a better picture of what a reported vividness of 3 or 4 looks like for example.

Josh Camden•recently•edited

The first time i heard of Aphantasia, i didn't immediately point the finger at myself and say, "thats me." No, instead i said, "Is this real?" I could find NO SITES, nothing to reassure me that it was actually legit and to describe a typical experience. The only think i could find, were sites expressing their surprise that some ppl couldn't visualize. I later found this website, but i "can't imagine" there are many others.

Liên Vũ Kim•recently•edited

You are probably suffering from cognitive dissonance, since this is a very recent field, and the typical experience is indeed that imagination is literal across all senses.