Probing the unimaginable: The impact of aphantasia on distinct domains of visual mental imagery and visual perception

Abstract

In this study, 117 participants with varying levels of visual mental imagery were evaluated. 44 participants reported experiencing absent or nearly absent visual imagery, known as "aphantasia". These participants were compared to those with typical (N = 42) or unusually vivid (N = 31) imagery ability. The study used an online version of the French-language Battérie Imagination-Perception (eBIP), which consisted of tasks measuring accuracy and response time in five domains of visual imagery and perception, such as object shape, color, written words, faces, and spatial relationships. The results showed that aphantasic participants had similar accuracy to the other groups, but their response time was slower in both imagery and perception tasks, and they had lower confidence in their responses on perception tasks. The findings suggest that individuals with aphantasia experience a slower processing of visual information, but the precision remains unaffected. The observed performance pattern lends support to the hypotheses that congenital aphantasia is primarily a deficit of phenomenal consciousness, or that it employs alternative strategies other than visualization to access preserved visual information.

Authors

• Jianghao Liu10
• Paolo Bartolomeo11

Probing the unimaginable: The impact of aphantasia on distinct domains of visual mental imagery and visual perception

Abstract

In this study, 117 participants with varying levels of visual mental imagery were evaluated. 44 participants reported experiencing absent or nearly absent visual imagery, known as "aphantasia". These participants were compared to those with typical (N = 42) or unusually vivid (N = 31) imagery ability. The study used an online version of the French-language Battérie Imagination-Perception (eBIP), which consisted of tasks measuring accuracy and response time in five domains of visual imagery and perception, such as object shape, color, written words, faces, and spatial relationships. The results showed that aphantasic participants had similar accuracy to the other groups, but their response time was slower in both imagery and perception tasks, and they had lower confidence in their responses on perception tasks. The findings suggest that individuals with aphantasia experience a slower processing of visual information, but the precision remains unaffected. The observed performance pattern lends support to the hypotheses that congenital aphantasia is primarily a deficit of phenomenal consciousness, or that it employs alternative strategies other than visualization to access preserved visual information.

Authors

• Jianghao Liu10
• Paolo Bartolomeo11