Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Back to all research
Ask AI About This Paper

The Nature, Measurement, and Development of Imagery Ability

DOI: 10.1177/0276236617752439
Cumming, J., & Eaves, D. L. (2018). The nature, measurement, and development of imagery ability. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 37(4), 375–393. doi:DOI: 10.1177/0276236617752439

Abstract

This introduction to a special issue of Imagination, Cognition and Personality discusses how imagery ability is conceptualized, measured, and developed within sport and exercise sciences. Drawing from the model of imagery ability in sport, exercise, and dance, we explain that imagery ability is best understood not as a single undifferentiated general ability but as a complex multiprocess, multisensory, and multidimensional set of capacities. We argue that a more nuanced way of understanding imagery ability and its subcomponents should guide the development and selection of appropriate measurement tools and training methods. Finally, we introduce the four articles that make up this special issue on imagery ability, which collectively present a range of approaches for progressing this area of research further.

Authors

  • Jennifer Cumming1
  • Daniel L. Eaves1

What This Study Is About

Researchers wanted to prove that mental imagery—the ability to picture things in your mind—isn’t just one single skill. Instead, they argue it is a "mental toolbox" made of many different parts that athletes and dancers use to perform better.

How They Studied It

This paper is a review that brings together several different studies. Researchers looked at data from hundreds of people, including professional athletes and children. They used a mix of:
  • Self-reports: Participants rated how "vivid" their mental pictures were.
  • Brain scans: Looking at how the "visual center" of the brain (the V1 area) differs between people.
  • **The *MiScreen* App:** A new tool that measures imagery by seeing how much faster someone learns a physical task just by thinking about it.

What They Found

The researchers discovered that "seeing" in your mind is actually four separate steps:
1. Generating: Creating the image from memory.
2. Inspecting: Looking at the details (like zooming in on a mental map).
3. Transforming: Moving or changing the image (like rotating a 3D shape).
4. Maintaining: Keeping the image from fading away.
They also found that lifestyle matters! For example, athletes who got better sleep were significantly better at creating clear mental images. They also found that children who are more physically active tend to use mental imagery more often during play.

What This Might Mean

For people with aphantasia—the inability to visualize or "see" with the mind's eye—this research is a big deal. It suggests that imagery isn't an "all or nothing" switch.
Even if you can't *see* a mental photo, you might still be good at other parts of the process, like "feeling" a movement (kinesthetic imagery) or "spatial" imagery (knowing where objects are without seeing them). However, because this study focused mostly on athletes, we can't be 100% sure if these same "toolbox" rules apply to everyone in the same way.

One Interesting Detail

The researchers found that the size of your brain matters! People with a larger primary visual cortex (the part of the brain that processes what your eyes see) usually report having much more vivid and detailed mental images than people with smaller ones.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always refer to the original paper for accuracy.