Do low imagers know more words? examining the association between mental imagery and vocabulary size

Abstract

Mental imagery is often assumed to support vocabulary learning by enriching semantic representations, yet hybrid accounts of embodied cognition leave open the possibility that limited imagery, and the resulting reliance on verbal-analytic strategies, may ultimately support larger vocabularies. We tested whether imagery vividness predicts vocabulary knowledge and whether any relation depends on word concreteness. After collecting concreteness ratings for Vocabulary Size Test (VST) items, a separate group completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and VST. At the person level, VVIQ was not significantly correlated with total vocabulary score. However, item-level mixed-effects regression revealed a significant VVIQ×concretenessinteraction: higher imagery was associated with lower accuracy for highly concrete words. These findings suggest that vivid imagery does not confer an advantage in definition-matching tasks and may, for concrete words, subtly interfere with performance, consistent with compensatory verbal-analytic strategies in low-imagery individuals.

Authors

• Melisa Yavuz2
• Tatjana A. Nazir2

Do low imagers know more words? examining the association between mental imagery and vocabulary size

Abstract

Mental imagery is often assumed to support vocabulary learning by enriching semantic representations, yet hybrid accounts of embodied cognition leave open the possibility that limited imagery, and the resulting reliance on verbal-analytic strategies, may ultimately support larger vocabularies. We tested whether imagery vividness predicts vocabulary knowledge and whether any relation depends on word concreteness. After collecting concreteness ratings for Vocabulary Size Test (VST) items, a separate group completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and VST. At the person level, VVIQ was not significantly correlated with total vocabulary score. However, item-level mixed-effects regression revealed a significant VVIQ×concretenessinteraction: higher imagery was associated with lower accuracy for highly concrete words. These findings suggest that vivid imagery does not confer an advantage in definition-matching tasks and may, for concrete words, subtly interfere with performance, consistent with compensatory verbal-analytic strategies in low-imagery individuals.

Authors

• Melisa Yavuz2
• Tatjana A. Nazir2